Watch this video by Healthy Child's new video drives the point home: Chronic childhood illnesses like asthma and autism are linked to the 80,000 chemicals in cosmetics and household cleaners that have never been checked for safety.

A few events are taking place

• The American Camp Association is hosting a gathering of Camp professionals in Denver February 16-19, 2010.  To register for this National Conference follow this link.

• Mountain Khakis is presenting MOG Outdoor gear sale and COPMOBA Bike Swap in Grand Junction, Colorado April 10th, 2010.  The public is welcome to attend.  To have a booth contact Jen Taylor and visit the MOGoutdoorfest website.

Environmental Literacy included in Obama's new Education Budget: Historic First

We just logged a major victory for No Child Left Inside Act, perhaps our most significant.  President Obama’s budget that was released yesterday includes environmental literacy in the U.S. Department of Education budget for the very first time.  We now have the Obama administration officially on our side, and better yet, in their budget. President Obama and Secretary Duncan have made innovation and student achievement a major platform of the Obama Administration and as a result have included environmental literacy in a new program.

Organization worth looking into:

Interview with Inner City Outings Co-chair aired on KPBS on January 25^th, 2010

Website about outdoor activities for kids:

What do you do outdoors?  Koolkin.com

Article you may be interested in:

Wend Magazine Blog I't time to get outdoors baby about OutdoorBaby.net

News:

US Surgeon General Advocates Outdoor Play

Help out:

Haitians urgently need more tents.  If you have any large family tents donating them may help families in great need.

If you are not familiar with the WOR, it is a very large gathering of all the leading manufacturers of outdoor gear, wannabees and small companies that gather to meet, party, sell, sell and beat each other at the race of the best latest gear to hit the outdoor scene.

Yeah, I am the paper bag princess who fell in love with dirt and all its simplicity, of not washing for twenty days on a semester-long Outward Bound trip, the one who said no to the charming tennis short wearing prince and found an unshaven, stinky, very badly dressed, grungy bum to live my life with.  I also left the big city for the small village life of mountain towns in Colorado and started a website.

And yes, now I am the one who loves the gear and looks for the best outdoorsy fashion out there.  Who hopes to come across the latest product that will make me and my website outdoorbaby.net the most famous and sought after for information for outdoorsy parents.  I even transformed my husband into a shaven, clean (sometimes two showers a day), pretty handsome dresser.

A few days ago I posted my top ten No-No list for Winter Outdoor Retailers (WOR).

Here is my Yes, oh, Yes, yes Give Me MORE list:

1.      Shoes:

These days our favorite shoes are Keen.  Can you realize my disappointment when I went to their showcase to be presented with some bla, bla teaching about each of their new boots? I almost took my shoes off right there . Then, somehow the whole thing was saved by the appearance of Keen’s CEO, James Curleigh, who talked with animation about the company’s vision (yeah, I know the things that excite me) and it made me realize that we are all humans trying to make it.  Maybe I will move to Portland just to hear him speak or to have all his staff go crazy over the cuteness of my daughter.

2.      Knives or understanding:

I had a lot of meetings to go to and many body parts to take care of.  I was late to some meetings, and missed some completely.  Patrick who represents Wenger, was the one person who truly got it when I ran into his booth and said I had to go, my younger daughter was melting down and the older one, even though she had just vomited two times, would not leave the show floor.

3.      Inner Peace:

Do you remember me 14 years ago, Prana, when I called you and convinced you that you should give New York City Outward Bound a pro deal? Well, I remember because I am probably the only employee that bought a whole bunch of stuff through you.  Anyways, when I visited your booth to say hello to my contact, your staff was so relaxed and unfazed by my crazy too much fluorescent lights and taking care of two children look.  August smiled at me, someone else gave my daughter some tea, while I just breathed a little. Then, I realized what I needed to do.  I went upstairs and visited Prana’s rejuvenation room, put down my six month old for a nap and did some mommy and me yoga with older daughter Cora.

4.      Smiles

To be greeted, taken care of and treated like one of the big ones is so wonderful.  People like Maura at Soar Communications and all the different vendors that take people like me seriously even though I come to meetings with children in tow and a dirty shirt.  Like, Kerri from Cascade Designs, that remembered ME, yes ME, from last year even though we did not have a chance to meet.

5.      Free stuff

I am still waiting for the free car, iPhone or computer since all three of these items are either missing from my life or on the way out the door.  But come on; it is so great that when you work so hard and are really trying that someone recognizes your children and hands them a cute water bottle (thank you Sigg)

6.      Hot girls:

There are many cute athletic men walking around WOR and for some reason there are also these made up, non outdoorsy looking girls walking around some of the booths…  So, high five to these women who batted eye lids at my husband  (or so he thought -- maybe it was meant for  our infant daughter) and confirmed that he is really cute....

and thank you to Royal Robin’s tattooed, dyed hair barista who gave me  FREE LATTES ( at the moment we have budgeted a once a week latte for this family, so you really added luxury to our tour), and an image of someone I can live vicariously through  (I really don’t see very many cool looking people these days).

7.      Mellow atmosphere:

If this show case was a technology show or a gun show I am sure that I would have been so discouraged and stressed out by the end of it.  Everyone was so relaxed and a general sense of camaraderie was in the air (for the most part; see also my No No list).  I think that it has to do with the fact that most of these people spend time outdoors and exercise their bodies on a regular basis.

8.      Helping hand:

People who help out are always great.  I was able to leave my daughters at the Colorado Rocky Mountain School’s booth on different occasions so that I could walk around unaccompanied.  It was great to visit the bathroom alone and to know that my daughters were either sleeping or climbing or playing with the slack line.

Stay tuned for my two other 2010 Winter Outdoor Retailer ( WOR) articles.  I am sure they will be as serious as this piece.

Heidi

1.      Don’t Teach:

Some companies forgot how bored they were in public school and give a ‘Chalk Talk’ about their product. There is no conversation, just straight up information about products.  People forget that personal connection and experience will motivate people more than lectures.

2.      Don’t tell someone your product is not what they want:

I am not one to trash talk a company, so I won’t name names here, but I will say that it was a bike company present at this year’s WOR that taught me this lesson.  When my daughter (3 ½) saw this amazing cruiser bike she rushed to it and tried to get on to ride.  I could not see if the seat was all the way down because my six month old was in a front pack so I approached the rep to ask if the seat was low enough.  He looked at me like I was crazy and said that it would not lower more ( I realized later that if it would have lowered one more inch, she could have tried it since she can ride standing up and she would be big enough for it by summer or next fall). I asked if that bike came in a smaller size and he said no only our Hello Kitty bike comes with training wheels.  When in the conversation I asked for training wheels I am not sure, but he seemed to think that I was in the market for something else.  I explained that my small but powerful daughter had been riding a bike for more than six months now and wanted a real looking bike not a bubble gum, baby bike.  He shrugged, and showed me the picture of the bike he had in mind. Look even if my daughter was paralyzed from the waist down,  maybe I was shopping for my other kids or I was looking to write about bikes or products for other children.

3.      Don’t pretend your specific employee is not there when they clearly are:

Yeh, you go to the front desk.  You ask for the person you want to talk to, you spot that person and the front desk person says that person is not here.  Come on guys; be a bit more tactful here.

4.      Don’t ignore us:

Talking on the phone, pretending to write something down, turning your back, not giving a business card or informational material and having no one at your booth, yep, I’ve seen it all.

5.      Don’t string us along:

Don’t talk for hours, communicate by email many times, say that you will buy ad space, sell products, send things for review, ask for more information, email information, request work to be done for you, then ask for more, and more and then not follow through on anything that you said you would do.  It makes your company look bad.

6.      Don’t give a speech:

People come to your booth to learn something, to make a personal connection and to be blown away with a conversation; not to be given speech numbers 2, 10 and 15 without a chance to give input or to walk away.

7.      Don’t be mean to children:

If you sell let’s say strap on dildo’s maybe you don’t have to love my children if they are in your booth, but if you sell something that might appeal to parents or to CHILDREN then you have to set up your booth in a way that you either can pretend you like children, that you don’t care if something is touched or that it is child friendly.  My daughter stopped at a booth that only had children things and the rep hemmed and hawed when she touched the different articles and he got frustrated when she played with a display meant to impress children.

8.      Don’t omit information and lie:

This is horrible, horrible.  You sell a product that is either ingested or rubbed on your skin (the biggest organ in your body is your skin) and you lie:  made from plants, herbs and natural sources and other undisclosed secret ingredients, Wink, wink or you could read the bottle but you need a heavy magnifying glass.  Well guess what I can read fine print and hint, hint your product had bad stuff in it -- not Secret ingredients.

9.      Don’t be the wise one:

Because you are the representative does not mean you know everything about socks, children, parenting, the outdoors or what would work for other people’s lives.  Let the people that you interact with share the information they have on the specific product you are talking about or about the products uses.

10.   Don’t hoard the goodies:

I know, I know, getting swag is great and expecting to get more is not cool but think of these two scenarios:

1)      Your booth is covered in stuffed animals or kid appeal gadgets that are not your product but there to attract people, then you need to let go of your inner bully and hand over the pink whatever it is when a child comes running in.  Hey, right after the kid comes the adult who is there to do business.  Keep child happy, parent will stick around ( This happened in two different booths where my daughter was very excited to be a part of Maman’s work, but the reps totally let her down and therefore myself.

2)      Your advertisement for getting to your booth includes an exchange where your customer needs to stop by your booth and talk to you.  By all means don’t be surly and mean when  that person actually shows up and follows through.

I will post a Yes, Do, Do list in the next few days.

If you are reading this you should thank Winter Outdoor Retailers (WOR) for these amazing lessons, so that you will not make the same mistakes.

Heidi

P.S If you are reading this and want to know which company did what, please email me and depending on who you are I may give you that information. Better yet, share your story on OutdoorBaby.net and then I may give away even more details.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the fact that Ramona (4 ½ months old) had not gone on a real outdoor adventure yet.  A few years ago we had gone on many outdoor adventures by the time our first daughter was six months old.  At one point, during the winter we went on a full day Nordic ski expedition across a ridge and down Powder Horn on the Mesa by Grand Junction.  This was a one way trip and we had no plans as what we would do at the other end to get a ride.  We just went with it.

Now, having two children under the age of four brings a whole different set of challenges; so many needs and little limbs to keep warm, and energy to be harnessed.   Regardless, great adventures and outdoor time can be accomplished as long as you stay calm and are prepared.

 So, off we went to ski a two mile classic Nordic loop one Saturday morning.  By the time we all were strapped in the car, it had taken us an hour and a half to get ready.  Then it was a twenty minute drive to the start of the trail, followed by fifteen minutes of gear set up before we started.  We skied for 1 hour ( Cora the 31/2 year old skied for 30 minutes) and then we drove back home ( 20 minutes) and put everything away 20 minutes.

Prep time: 2hrs 5 minutes

Ski time: 1 ½ hours

 Clean up: 40 minutes.

Was it worth it?  You bet!

You should have seen the snow capped mountains that surrounded us or the sun reflecting on the beautiful crisp snow and all the people that passed us that were so happy to be outdoors.  There were so many different people out on the trail, huge family groups, old people, young people with very bad equipment, the newest gear, and top athletes.  But to top it off, it was just a beautiful day where we could spend some quality time outdoors with each other.

Hey , someone even told us that we looked like we were on a polar expedition.  Erik was pulling the sled where Ramona was sleeping soundly in her car seat, while Cora was on the back riding on her knees and yelling Mush! Mush! to her pretend dog sled team.  I was carrying Cora’s skis and poles in a large X in front of me.

To get ideas and tips on how to ski with your children read our past ski articles on our winter page.

Heidi

Log on, share stories, ask questions, and visit OutdoorBaby.net often!

The Premier Gay and Lesbian Winter Travel & Vacation Event in Colorado: Aspen Gay Ski Week is in its 33rd year and continues to be the premier GLBT winter travel event. If you enjoy skiing, snowboarding, dining, shopping, music, comedy and more...you will love Aspen Gay Ski Week!  We are located in the Heart of the Rockies in Aspen, Colorado.

This year the dates for Aspen Gay Ski Week are January 17-24, 2010. 

Check these articles and website for information about Aspen Gay Ski Week.  If you are too late to join this year,  maybe you can plan ahead for next years festivities:

Aspen Gay Ski Week Website

Aspen Times Article Not all fun and games

Hockey Game blog : Gay vs. Straight

Heidi Ahrens

When I used to work for Outward Bound it was hard to explain to the students and their families why bringing cell phones on wilderness trips was not a great idea.  After all one of the reasons to go on extended (or even just a day hike) nature trips is to get away, take time to contemplate and be attuned to what is around you.

If cell phones now have applications that would make some people believe that it is an indispensible  safety tool, it would be hard to deny their uses on courses or even on trips where other families may think they are important.

I must note that I may have a biases opinion on this subject.  For one I have never used a cell phone that has the possibility of having applications.  Also, without truly admitting it to myself I would kind of like to be able to be able to be so much in tune with the latest technological gadgets.

Here is a short list of information about these outdoor applications:

·         If you go on the iphone website to see the list of all there outdoor applications.  They include bird watching, butterflies, night ski guides,  blaze a trail ( create a photo and map documentary of your trip), 360 degree photo options and nautical applications.

All in all the iphone applications are more like guidebooks and journals.  This seems to be a good thing since it would reduce on weight while backpacking or traveling outdoors.

The applications that made me question this new trend are the applications:

·         The Canadian Avalanche Centre (CAC), Canada’s national public avalanche safety organization, and Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) have developed a free iPhone app. An article about this appeared on Trail Space. Read article

At first this applications seems to be a good idea.  To give people the latest information on avalanche, etc.  But, it can give false confidence for people and make some folks think that less training is required.  Many outdoor destination are out of cell phone service.

·         As reported in the Aspen Times on Saturday January 16^th, 2010, Alex Tiger of NJ has created the “Scare Bear Trail Companion”,  it is an application that makes noise to deter a bear.

 Like the previous cell phone application it seems that it could give people a fake sense of security. Especially since I know that iphones don’t work in Woody Creek, for example, where a friend of mines tenant was face to face with a bear in her living room last year.

Since, it really seems like I phones are taking over the world, it may become a requirement for me to try one out one of these days and then I could really report on the pros and cons of each of these great outdoors applications.

Heidi

Coming to the United States from Germany the Walderkindergarten movement, is growing in popularity.  These schools that often start before kindergarten have as a mision to keep your children outside for long periods of time.  Children do activities outdoors in all kinds of weather and explore the natural landscape.

Here are some links to articles and schools.  This may give you somemore ideas on which type of school is good for your child:

News Paper Article

Wikipedia: Forest Kindergarten

Carbondale, Colorado Walderkindergarten

There was an article in Mothering a few years ago but I tried to locate it and could not.

Have fun learning about Walderkindergarten.

I can see the stares, the Woo’s the haw’s at the deception I am instilling in all of you faithful readers of OutdoorBaby.net.  Yes, my second daughter Ramona who is already 4 ½ months old has no real outdoor experience to brag about. Her sister went on her first camping trip at two weeks, but the second Ahrenskeaff is not as lucky.

Having two children does change the dynamics and the possibilities for outdoor travel.  I should say that yes, Ramona has gone on little strolls outside, she has gone on a few little hikes, but no big mountains, no ski trips, no tent camping, no long car travel.

Should I be ashamed?

On my writing list, I have had for months “Tell the world about Ramona’s first outing” and then nothing happens. No trips are planned, no hiking boots get pulled out and not skis get ready.

Why?

It takes us 20 minutes to put on all of our snow gear and then 20 minutes later Cora gets tired or has a runny nose or needs to go to the bathroom and then it is time for Ramona’s first nap which for some weird reason can’t happen in the car or in a stroller (that is the only way Cora would ever sleep).

Or, take the time that we went to get our passport photos.  We first needed to visit the notary and then go to the post office.  We all had to be present, so it took us 4 ½ hours to accomplish what a single person would spend 1 hour doing.  It was a huge ordeal consisting of running around slushy wet streets, pulling on and off many layers of warm clothing, changing diapers on our lap in the car. To me that is a wilderness adventure.  I don’t need to add trees, bears or rushing rivers to make it eye opening or real.

So what’s next?

Of course, we are not planning on spending our days with our new daughter driving around to post offices and taking shuttles to the ski hills without actually being outdoors with her, but we are taking life one day at a time.   I have to admit that most of my bigger outdoor adventures with just Cora involved either me going with a friend or having other people involved in the planning.  All that has just not happened yet for Ramona, but I am sure it will. So, stay tuned for the story ‘ Ramona’s first outdoor adventure’

Heidi Ahrens

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We are poised for victory in 2010, but WE NEED YOUR HELP!

The U.S. Department of Education is working RIGHT NOW on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (aka No Child Left Behind), and they need to hear from you about the need to include provisions for pre-K through grade 12 environmental and outdoor education as outlined in the No Child Left Inside Act, sponsored by Senator Reed and Congressman Sarbanes.

It is essential that DOE hear from every one of us about the value of environmental and outdoor education to student success and teacher quality. Use the address, ESEA.comments@ed.gov and let Secretary Duncan and the Obama Administration know that you support the inclusion of NCLI in the reauthorized ESEA.  If you choose, you may cut and paste from the template below.

At this very moment, we are faced with an exciting and very rare opportunity to gain the support of the Department of Education and the Obama Administration—it is a moment that may not come again. Please join us in calling for the inclusion of NCLI in the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act today.

Please send your comments to ESEA.comments@ed.gov today, and ask your members to do the same by sending them the attached alert.

Thank you, and Happy 2010!

The template message below may be of use to you in crafting your email. Remember to personalize it with information about why you are a member of the NCLI Coalition.

Dear Secretary Duncan,

As you consider strategies to strengthen and amend ESEA, we urge you to consider the provisions laid out in the No Child Left Inside Act, which would expand opportunities for environmental and outdoor education in America’s schools. Comprehensive environmental education has been shown to improve student achievement across core subject areas and increase engagement in learning. Environmental education is critical to providing our students with the knowledge and skills to tackle complex problems, and succeed in a green economy. Increasing environmental literacy is a proven way to expand the academic pipeline for STEM subjects and is increasingly seen as an innovative way to give students the sense of wonder and excitement so essential to encouraging scientific inquiry. What’s more, getting children outside and active promotes a healthy lifestyle that is essential to fighting obesity and reducing symptoms associated with attention deficit disorder, depression, and stress.

Leaving environmental education out of ESEA would be a missed opportunity to improve education while helping to systemically address the Obama administration’s other priorities of energy independence, a strengthened economy, and a healthier nation. We support the inclusion of NCLI in the reauthorized ESEA.

Sincerely,

The Secrets of Happy Families is a refreshing read!  Dr. Haltzman begins by defining the family and illustrating that in this day and age, the “family” can take on many different forms.  He explains the importance of values and provides an exercise to use with your own family in order to develop which values will motivate your family as a unit.  As he progresses through each of his eight keys to building “a lifetime of connection and contentment,” he uses many examples from his own family life in an entertaining and very personal way.  He makes his point clearly and concisely.  Reading this book has made me realize that the secrets of happy families are actually very straightforward and relatively simple.  I am excited to apply them to my own family and am anxious now to read more of his books!

Many adult skiers may feel inclined to teach their own children how to ski.  I see how this can be a rewarding experience for all.  Mom or Dad gets to have a bonding experience with their young child, while teaching them a difficult sport.  But many factors come into play when learning anything: fear, excitement, ability to teach, expectations.

Cora went skiing last year when she was 2 ½.  She had a great time with her dad and grandfather, but she learned the most when she went with a friend of ours who is an instructor.  Ski instructors know the tricks to get your child going and they don’t come with the baggage that a family relationship brings to learning.

This year, Cora, had the privilege of taking three classes with AVSC (Aspen Valley Ski Council) at Snowmass and, thanks to the guidance of her two wonderful instructors, Lindsey and Christine, she is now able to ski unassisted.  They took the time to teach her some skills that, as parents, we wouldn’t have thought were crucial at the beginning.  Now, Cora is ready to go skiing with her parents.

It is possible that she might have learned this quickly with her dad, but this way we know that she can have fun with us on the slope and not worry about us wanting to always ‘teach’ her something.

Heidi Ahrens

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