Leave No Trace

Black Rock Leave No Trace Course

We kicked off the LNT course with history of Leave No Trace

Last weekend we traveled to Black Rock to support the Friends of Black Rock and the Nevada Outdoor School in teaching a Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics Class!

The short video below show the highlights of the class.  The class was a great chance to reinvigorate our LNT skills and get us all excited about teaching LNT and Black Rock.

Read on below for more information about the class!  If you haven’t already been to a Leave No Trace Class – consider going!   Leave No Trace is about a lot more than just Pack it in , Pack it out!  You’ll leave Tips and techniques for making your hiking, camping or Burning Man trips easier, less stressful and better for the environment!

Seven Principles of Leave No Trace

Janice and Mitchell lead us through Plan Ahead and Prepare

As it should be, the class was focused on the seven LNT principles, how they apply in different situations and how to teach them.  Do you know what the seven principles of LNT are?

  1. Plan ahead and Prepare
  2. Dispose of Waste Properly
  3. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
  4. Be Considerate to Other Visitors
  5. Leave What You Find
  6. Minimize Campfire Impacts
  7. Respect Wildlife

Participants

We had a great mix of Burners from different departments (Man Build, Playa Info, ESD, Theme Camp LNT leads, EGs) as well as participants from Friends of Black Rock High Rock interested in being guides at Fly Ranch.  In addition to playing lots of games which help us think through how the seven principles apply in wilderness areas, we also talked about applications at both Burning Man and at Fly Ranch.

Locations

Double Hot, Black Rock and Trego Hot Springs

We did spend some time at the Friends of Black Rock office for some classes, but spent most of our time at local area hot springs and hiking on Steamboat!  The local hot springs are great examples of sensitive zones around the playa where impacts vary from significant to minimal.

In particular, we were concerned by the heavy impacts of visitors to Trego Hot Springs.  In contrast, Black Rock Springs and Double Hot showed some impacts and trash, but were really beautiful and a great place to discuss what durable surfaces really are and how to be considerate to others.

Teaching Leave No Trace

While we typically think of ‘teaching’ involving lectures and power points, much of our learning this weekend was done through games and discussions.  See one of the funnier skits below.

More Information

National LNT Center for Outdoor Ethics: http://www.lnt.org/  

– Online Awareness Course: https://lnt.org/learn/online-awareness-course
– Tread Lightly http://www.treadlightly.org/

Teaching Sites
– Environmental Education for Kids http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/eek
– Project Learning Tree http://www.plt.org/

 

Making MOOP Bags

Volunteer Workshop – Making MOOP Bags! The Man Burns on September 1, 2018. Will you be ready? Are you getting ready? Are you ready! The Earth Guardians will be ready. Last weekend a dedicated and hard-working group of Earth Guardians got together to make MOOP Bags and custom silk screen …

Continue reading

LNT Trainer Course! June 9-10th

Learn About Leave No Trace in Black Rock! The Friends of Black Rock and the Nevada Outdoor School are holding a Leave No Trace Trainer course in our backyard in the Black Rock Desert!  These courses are a great way to leave about all 7 of the LNT principles in …

Continue reading

Video and Photos from our Sewing Bee

MOOP Bag Sewing Bee

Here are few photos and a video from our MOOP Bag Sewing Bee at BMHQ!  It was a great group of volunteers making MOOP bags to give our during Burning Man 2017!    Thanks everyone!

 

Video

Photo Gallery

Activities and Alternative Energy Demo Garden Shifts!

Sign Up Now! Since the Activities and Alternative Energy Demo Garden shifts are still relatively new teams, we wanted to explain what they are all about and maybe entice you to sign up for one of them. Right now we have shifts available for both teams all week! Here are …

Continue reading

Fairy Shrimp – our playa neighbors

2017 – Year of Water and Fairy Shrimp! 2017 has been an interesting year on the playa!   The rains that we received this winter gave us several treats.  First many burners got to take kayak’s out on the temporary lake that covered our desert home!   While out there and as …

Continue reading

Leave No Trace! – More advice from DA!

MOOP is on the Rise

D.A., manager of Playa Restoration, has more information and advice on MOOP, which is on the rise!  Watch it and learn more about Leaving No Trace!  Let’s cut down on wood chips!

Full Story here: https://journal.burningman.org/2017/05/black-rock-city/leaving-no-trace/video-leave-no-trace-moop-is-on-the-rise/