This past week, RCSE took our meeting outdoors and met at Mother Mathilda Beasley Park for a Picnic in the Park and a presentation by fellow member Bill Von Alt about the program Leave No Trace. Even though it was a bit windy, it was a perfect day to be outdoors. President Jason Jones opened the meeting and then turned it over to Bill.
Leave No Trace started in 1987 as a program aimed at back country and wilderness camping. Over the years, it has turned into an international, non profit organization. There are seven guidelines and principles to Leave No Trace:1. think ahead, 2. travel and camp only on durable services, 3. dispose of waste properly, 4. leave what you find, 5. manage campfires appropriately, 6. respect wildlife, and 7. be considerate. Bill taught us an interactive dance to help us remember the principles! He shared some statistics about how our actions impact the environment. We then did an exercise on how long it takes for certain objects to disintegrate. Bill said that just because a thing is natural doesn't mean it belongs in that natural environment.
Bill concluded his talk by tying this all into Rotary. Around 1990, Rotary International made a decision to make the environment an area of focus. In 2020, it became one of the pillars of Rotary known as Protecting the Environment. Within the past five years, 18.4 million in Foundation global grant money has been allocated to environment-related causes.