Workshop: Effective Communication of Leave No Trace

Workshop Leaders: Elena Miyasato, Jesse Velleu

Workshop Overview:

This workshop is for Trail Ambassadors and Crew Leaders with Trailkeepers of Oregon and BLM staff to learn more in-depth about the principles and goals of Leave No Trace, communication techniques and best practices for interacting with the public, general best practices for signage & social media, and the common impacts in both wilderness and non-wilderness areas.

What to expect:

This workshop is intended for people who already have a basic understand of Leave No Trace.

We will be providing food and beverages (with dietary restrictions in mind) for workshop facilitators and participants.

You will be asked to electronically sign the e-waiver for this event and perform a self-assessment health screening within the 24 hours proceeding the event. The leader for this event will verify that you have done both of these requirements at the trailhead before the party begins. Your pre-event emails will contain further details and links for both of these requirements.

You should expect to participate in this hike for its entirety. For safety reasons, please do not arrive late or expect to be able to leave early.

COVID-19 Information:

**You will be asked to electronically sign the e-waiver for this event, provide proof of vaccination or recent negative COVID-19 test result, and perform a self-assessment health screening within the 24 hours preceding the event.** The crew leader for this event will verify that you have completed these requirements at the trailhead safety talk before the trail party begins. The registration confirmation and pre-event emails will contain further details and links.

What to bring:

• Plenty of water
• Snacks
• A pack to carry your water, snacks, and other items in.

What to wear:

• Comfortable shoes – Please wear something you will feel comfortable sitting, standing, and moving at a relaxed pace in for a few hours.
• Layered clothing that can be removed or put on to meet rapidly changing weather conditions.
• Rain gear as appropriate for the weather

Directions:

Directions to the location will be provided prior to the event.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: TKO recognizes that the trails we work on travel through the traditional lands of many Indigenous tribes. In every corner of what we now call Oregon, these people were forced to cede their land, their home, to the US government at various times throughout history. We are privileged to be here today & express gratitude to the descendants of these tribes for being the original stewards of this land.

EQUITY & INCLUSION: TKO seeks to make Oregon’s trails a place where people can go to connect with nature & one another. Not everyone feels safe & welcome in the outdoors due to racism, bias & hate. We commit to being part of the solution to change that. Conduct, speech, or expressions that target individuals or groups will not be tolerated by TKO, regardless of whether they are based on age, citizenship, disability, ethnicity, gender identity/expression, geographic origin, language, marital status, nationality, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status.

PERSONAL SAFETY: Your physical & emotional safety is our number one priority. If a person’s actions or comments make you feel uncomfortable/unsafe – interrupt directly, tell a crew leader &/or complete the post-event survey.