Leave No Trace & Trail Clean Up

There are a lot of resources available through the Leave No Trace Website for all ages.

• Opening Ceremony
• The Seven Principles of Leave No Trace
  • Plan Ahead and Prepare
  • Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
    • For Otters, this can be explained as “stay on the trail”.
  • Dispose of Waste Properly
  • Leave What You Find
  • Minimize Campfire Impacts
  • Respect Wildlife
  • Be Considerate of Others
    • Think about your noise level when you're in nature
• How to the Leave No Trace Principles relate to Scout Law?
• Activity: Trash Timeline
  • The activity suggests having the kids wander around and try to connect with each other, but for otters I suggest modifying this activity and working on it as a group. Have the kids look at each trash item and try to guess how long it takes to decompose, then put it in that category. At the end, reveal how long it actually takes.
  • Did anything take a lot longer than the kids thought to decompose?
  • Why is it important to dispose of waste properly and help clean up green spaces?
• Snack and Story Time
  • Suggested Books: What if Everybody Did That? by Ellen Javernick or A Good Deed Can Grow by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman & Holly Hatam
• Activity: Trail or Park Clean Up
• Closing Ceremony

• Pre-printed Trash Timeline Cards
• Book for Story Time
• Gloves, Trash Bags and Litter Pickers for Clean Up

• Raft Good Turn

• Caring for the Environment/Leave No Trace
• Trail or Park Clean Up