Finding Our Place

Just today a number of Leave No Tracers were in Wellington for a meeting with a government department crucial to our moving forward and spreading our message around. It went great and there is a real belief developing that what we are putting forward can make a real difference to the New Zealand outdoors and that the time is right!

This is what we put forward as what we have to offer:

1)Education and Training: We have a proven education resource backed up by research, focused on environmental care and awareness.

2)Cascade Effect: Our education programme is replicable and cascades. Those who are trained teach more trainers and onwards. We seek the greatest outreach possible.

3)International Message: LNT courses have been run in 25 countries and we have branches in key tourist countries.

4)Independent Voice: We are a focused, independent advocate for environmental care.

5)Environmental Care: We will ultimately have an effect on the state of our outdoors by educating users and building community awareness.

In general though what we are largely doing at the moment is "finding our place" as an organisation. While this is not as meaningful as the places we are connected to as individuals, which largely drive us to be involved with this project, it is still a worthy and sometimes complicated task. Navigating the different goals and patches of organisations in the outdoors, environment and tourism industry is somewhat of a minefield that we are learning our way around.

For example, Tourism New Zealand is an organisation we will make contact with early in the New Year and I was checking out its website tonight, looking at what its goals were and how they fit in with ours. I have highlighted the relevant sections in the image below, which show their focus on ensuring tourists have a sustainable impact on New Zealand's natural environment. Hopefully when we check in with them we are singing the same tune!!