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?

Plan ahead and Prepare
Dispose of Waste Properly
Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
Be Considerate to Other Visitors
Leave What You Find
Minimize Campfire Impacts
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.