Boy Scouts of America

Activity Plan for Be Considerate of Other Visitors

In the end we will conserve only what we love.

We will love only what we understand.

We will understand what we are taught.

— Baba Dioum 1968

Exploring How to Be Considerate of Other Visitors

This activity should take about 40 minutes.

What Your Group Will Learn

After participating in this activity plan, which is designed to help participants learn about the importance of being considerate of other visitors, participants will be able to

  • Describe the ways they can be considerate of other visitors.
  • Help others to improve their behavior, thus improving everyone’s experience.

This activity will help the participants think about how their actions affect other people’s experiences in the backcountry. It will also help them think about how to ensure all users have a good experience.

Materials and Preparation

Materials

  • Backpacks full of gear for a hike
  • Two stick horses and two mountain bikes or two mountain bikers and two horse riders

Preparation

  • Read the entire lesson plan and the Background on the Principles of Leave No Trace thoroughly.
  • Have the group bring full backpacks as though they were going on an overnight campout.
  • Assign two individuals to bring their mountain bikes and borrow or build two stick horses.
  • As an option, arrange for two local mountain bike club members and two horse riders to assist with the activity.
  • Contact the Backcountry Horsemen of America and International Mountain Bicycling Association for literature, videos, etc., on their activity.

    Backcountry Horsemen of America
    P.O. Box 1367
    Graham, WA 98338-1367
    888-893-5161

    International Mountain Bicycling Association
    P.O. Box 7578
    Boulder, CO 80306
    888-442-4622
    Web site: http://www.imba.com

Grabbing Your Group’s Attention (10 minutes)

Your group has been excited for weeks about hiking into White Pine Lake. As you arrive at the trailhead to the lake, group members grab their packs and head up the trail, running, shouting, and kicking up their heels in fun. As you round the first bend, a group of youths, quite unfamiliar with horses, comes riding toward you down the steep trail on horseback.

Ask group members what changes they need to make in their behavior to allow the horse riders to pass safely by on the trail. What kind of behavior would help create a good relationship with these horse riders or other horse riders in the future? (Stop and make no sound, move off the trail and let the horses pass by, continue down the trail and hope the horse riders get by OK with their own skills.)

Steps for Teaching the Activity (20 minutes)

Doing Unto Others

Ask group members how they would have felt encountering the group on horseback. What was their first reaction? What were their first thoughts? Would they have felt better if they had known beforehand what to do? Few hikers know they should pull off on the downhill side of the trail when encountering horse riders, and that a little conversation as you pass by one another may reduce the chance of the horses being spooked.

Ask the group what they should do if they are on the trail and are overtaking those on horseback. Horse riders need to be aware and remember the hiker is packing a load and has a right to be on the trail, too. Ideally the horse riders will find a good spot and let you pass. Here again, a little light conversation as you pass will reduce the chances of spooking the horses. Hikers may also want to consider taking off their packs so horses won’t wonder what those strange things on their backs are.

Select one or two from your group to ride mountain bikes down a trail and a couple others to ride stick horses down the trail, or consider recruiting a couple of local mountain bike club members and horse riders to ride down the trail. Have the remainder of the group hike up the trail and demonstrate how to show respect for other users while passing the horse riders and those on the mountain bikes. The mountain bikers should slow down and/or stop their mountain bikes to let the hikers pass.

After the hikers have passed the horse riders and mountain bikers, pull the group back together at an appropriate location on a hardened surface off the trail for discussion. How did the horse riders feel about the hikers, and how did the hikers feel about the mountain bikers? If everyone shows respect for other users, all can share the trail and the outdoors without affecting the outdoor experience of others.

Other points for discussion to minimize the group’s impact on other users may include the following. Thoughtful campers

  • Travel and camp in small groups (no more than the group size prescribed by land managers).
  • Keep noise down and leave radios, tape players, and pets at home.
  • Select campsites away from other groups to help preserve their solitude.
  • Always travel and camp quietly to avoid disturbing other visitors.
  • Make sure the colors of their clothing and gear blend with the environment.
  • Respect private property and leave gates (open or closed) as found.
  • Are considerate of other campers and respect their privacy.
  • Are friendly and smile as they encounter other visitors and avoid long conversations unless the other group exhibits an interest in talking.

Any of these efforts work to create better understanding and appreciation between different backcountry user groups, which benefits us all.

Wrapping Up the Activity (10 minutes)

Your campers are very considerate of all users of the backcountry! They know how to show respect for a variety of different users.

  • How well have they learned what to do to make the experiences of all users experiences more enjoyable?
  • Have participants brainstorm how, as a group to, set the example for being considerate of other visitors they meet.
  • Challenge them to be the premier example of how one should act and respect others who will, in turn, have a desire to do likewise.

Congratulations on conducting a well-prepared meeting for your group!

Additional Activities

Discuss with the group the following.

  • How would you like it if someone (Add your own ideas to the list based on your group.)
  • Knocked down your tent?
  • Put water in your sleeping bag?
  • Shouted while you were watching a deer?
  • Visit an equestrian group or horseback riding stable to learn more about the characteristics of horses. Invite members of the Backcountry Horsemen of America or other horse riding groups to visit with your group.
  • Meet with your local mountain bike club or write for information on mountain biking from the International Mountain Bicycling Association, which has adopted Leave No Trace as part of its rules for the trail. You can write to the IMBA at International Mountain Bicycling Association, P.O. Box 7578, Boulder, CO 80306.

Bray Barnes

Director, Global Security Innovative
Strategies

Bray Barnes is a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, Silver
Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Learning for Life Distinguished
Service Award. He received the Messengers of Peace Hero award from
the royal family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and he’s a life member of
the 101st Airborne Association and Vietnam Veterans Association. Barnes
serves as a senior fellow for the Global Federation of Competitiveness
Councils, a nonpartisan network of corporate CEOs, university presidents, and
national laboratory directors. He has also served as a senior executive for the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, leading the first-responder program
and has two U.S. presidential appointments

David Alexander

Managing Member Calje

David Alexander is a Baden-Powell Fellow, Summit Bechtel Reserve philanthropist, and recipient of the Silver Buffalo and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the founder of Caljet, one of the largest independent motor fuels terminals in the U.S. He has served the Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association, Teen Lifeline, and American Heart Association. A triathlete who has completed hundreds of races, Alexander has also mentored the women’s triathlon team at Arizona State University.

Glenn Adams

President, CEO & Managing Director
Stonetex Oil Corp.

Glenn Adams is a recipient of the Silver Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the former president of the National Eagle Scout Association and established the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award. He has more than 40 years of experience in the oil, gas, and energy fields, including serving as a president, owner, and CEO. Adams has also received multiple service awards from the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.