
First "Leave No Trace Trainer Course" organized by Scouts of China(Taiwan) WSEP Team
Since 2013, Scouts Of China(Taiwan) consider the Outdoor Ethics Principles from Leave No Trace Center is very valuable add-on to the World Scout Environment Program we have been implementing. We made contact with LNT Center and Boy Scouts of America to organize an authorized LNT Master Educator in Taiwan. In 2014 August, we organized 2 LNT Master Educator Course in Central Taiwan with 21 scout leaders from Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan instructed by lead trainer from BSA Outdoor Ethics Task Force Mr. Charlie Thorpe and assisted by Mr. Thomas Ponne Thrift, both certified Master Educator(ME) by LNT Center.(Course photos in https://goo.gl/WE6HRR)
WSEP Team working with LNT ME's to plan for 2015 in organizing registered LNT Trainer Course for scout leaders and Rovers in order to promote Outdoor Ethics as part of Environmental Education in Scouting, 5 courses of 3 days each designed for 16 participants begin on 2015 May 29th at National Scout Center in Young-Ming-San. The Trainer Course is lead by ME Scout Leaders Stefan Huang, Eilif Wang and Tony Yeh, participants from several councils including off shore islands Kin-Men and Peng-Hu. The course is to provide Outdoor Ethics information and practices in backcountry, front country and Urban area; we also invited a professor in Outdoors Education hosting a brain storming discussion of the impact to the nature environment by the scouting activity.
During the course, each participant chose one topic from The Leave No Trace Seven Principles Ethics (https://lnt.org/learn/7-principles) and designed a demonstration of teaching activity to different sections of scouts. Followed by peer comment, critiques and finally suggestion from the ME's. This approach makes everyone do their home work first, get prepared, deliver, get comments and reflect for further understanding the true meaning of the Principles. The course has successfully bring the scout leaders with different perspectives to the nature and combination of the scout spirit with environmental education. There will be 4 more course around Taiwan in 2015 and we look forward to see more actions from the new LNT Trainers in the Scouts of China.
During the coming 23rd World Scout Jamboree in Yamaguchi, Japan, there will be a activity module in the Global Development Village called "Boy Scouts of America Outdoor Ethics" where all scouts can experience the Leave No Trace Principles. (http://outdoorethics-bsa.org/)