What a wonderful day!

We are off the ground and running with our MY WOODS program! I had a wonderful time yesterday hanging out with all of the Adventure Club kids and our wonderful program staff. Staff from the Adventure Club, United States Forest Service, and Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute taught the kids about Leave No Trace ethics, water bugs, and native plants of the Clearwater Mountains. Staff from the Moscow-Pullman Daily News came to cover the event, and helped with the trail maintenance and hike. We went on a fantastic hike, and shared lots of laughs and smiles as we hiked to the Upper Falls and maintained the trail all along. The weather couldn't have possible been any better.

For pictures from the trip, please visit the Adventure Club website and select the Elk Creek Falls trip!

I can't wait to see everyone again - our next trip is set for July 10 at the beautiful Christiansen Meadows outside of Elk River. We will be helping to restore a stream that got messed up by years of abuse. I'm pleased that our young people will be able to help out.

To learn more about the USFS More Kids in the Woods program, which has provided generous funding for these trips, go to the USFS site.

To the parents and staff out there - a big push from this program came from Richard Louv's book, "Last Child in the Woods." It is a delightful book that talks about the need to get kids off of those Playstations and out from in front of the TV into the woods and fields where they can reconnect with the Earth! Talk to Bob down at BookPeople of Moscow to get a copy, or order it online here: www.amazon.com

Have a great week, and get those kids outdoors!

Jake

Elk Creek Falls hike tomorrow!

Dear MY WOODS family,

Our first trip, to Elk River Falls, is tomorrow! We will be exploring the life in the stream, hiking to the falls, and learning about the plants of the area. Additionally, we will have a chance to help maintain the trail to the falls and to learn about "Leave No Trace" ethics. I can't wait to see you all there!

Jake
Co-Founder, MY WOODS program

Introduction to MY WOODS

Hello, Friends of MY WOODS.

My name is Jake Smulkowski and I am one of the co-founders of the MY WOODS (Moscow Youth Working Outdoors Offering Direct Service) program. Thanks to the generous funding of the United States Forest Service, we will be leading Moscow School District Adventure Club students on four exciting field trips a year in each of the next two summers.

I work for the Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute (PCEI), and will be working to coordinate the MY WOODS program. My outdoor interests include hiking, backpacking, swimming with my dog (Duff), and fly fishing. I hope you are as excited as I am to spend some time in the woods hiking, fishing, learning about our local environment, and completing some fun service projects.