You can watch it here:

Emerging Technology: Geocaching

A collection of geocaching links collected during research for the video.

Richard Louv wrote the book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, which sparked an understanding of the need for kids to get outdoors.  He is hosting a lecture this evening in San Diego at Point Loma Nazarene College (more info located here), highlighting his expertise in the field.  While it is short notice to attend the lecture for most of us, it is never to late to highlight some sources working to reconnect kids with nature.

Richard Louv’s Blog

San Diego Canyonlands

Children and Nature Network

Sierra Club’s San Diego chapter’s Family Section

Sierra Club Inner City Outings

San Diego Natural History Museum’s Canyoneers

I know there are many more,  let everyone know of the resources that you are aware of.

Swell Foop is a little t-shirt company out of Montana, selling a line of sustainable organic cotton t-shirts with nice artwork,  and positive environmental messages that make you go hmm….

Here is what they have to say about their products;

We began with a few shirts on a table at a Farmer’s Market out here in Montana. Thanks to you, we’re now spreading our positive message – and our sustainable products – across the country.

Our newest designs feature species that are particularly important to us in the West: the American bison, the grey wolf, and the grizzly bear. Humans have encroached on their habitat and threatened their survival, but dedicated conservation efforts are helping them recover. You can spot all three of them just an hour and a half from us in Yellowstone National Park.

Sometimes today’s environmental challenges can seem overwhelming. But we think that the difficulties facing us are actually opportunities in disguise. We live on a wonderful, resilient planet, and by adopting renewable energy technologies and adapting our lifestyles then we can lead a global green revolution (and with our shirts, be stylish too!).

Otto was kind enough to send me home with a couple of shirts for my kids,  and the reaction from them was enthusiastic.  They loved the cute animals, and the soft cotton of the t-shirts.  Supporting small local companies that have a stake in making our planet a better place is what it is all about. Swell Foop is one of those companies. So check out their unique gift ideas.

Mr Mammana is based out of Borrego Springs, and is a preeminent  writer, speaker and photographer; focusing his work on the night sky.  He brings a passion to astronomy that is contagious, as I found out one evening after a short lecture he gave at a Sierra Club function in which he dragged out his telescope and pointed out celestial object for us late into the night.

If you ever have the opportunity to hear Dennis Mam

Dennismammana.com

While The Slot is a short hike after a long trip from San Diego, it is just one hike in an interesting area.  While you are in the area, be sure to walk up West Butte to the east, and if you are interested in camping, Hawk Canyon, just a short drive to the east, provides a superb overnight destination.

To get to The Slot, you follow highway 78 to road marker 78.2, which is marked as Buttes Pass Road.  You follow this road north until you come to a dirt parking area, which marks the East end of the slot located directly to the north.  Find a way down into the canyon to the north, and follow it west, and the walls will soon close in around you forming the slot.

The trail begins and ends at the fantastic visitors center (which holds a nice natural history display of the region, and a deck that offers sweeping views of the park) and meanders in and around the San Diego River.  The trail provides natural rest stops under gnarled old oak trees, and stops at a flat rock on a sandy little beach that is riddled with morteros.  The trail is well marked, and has signs explaining the features of the park.  If you have a couple of hours to spend connecting to the outdoors, and would like to learn a little more about our region, the visitors center loop is the place to be.

Mission Trails

Here is a good place to start