Episode 91: Living the Leave No Trace Lifestyle with Jesse Velleu & Elena Miyasato
“Leave No Trace is a spectrum. It’s not a black-and-white science, it’s about doing the best you can with the position you’re in and still enjoying the outdoors as much as we can in a responsible manner.”
In this episode, Jesse Velleu & Elena Miyasato, a Subaru Leave No Trace Team from the Leave No Trace organization with the mission to pioneer science and provide solutions for the protection of the natural world, joins us to share their story of teaching and living the Leave No Trace mission. Jesse and Elena also discuss:
2:10 - What it’s like having such an awesome job
3:10 - What is Leave No Trace and how they are involved
7:15 - Feedback they are getting from the community
9:18 - Examples of how people are receiving what they are doing across the country
15:25 - Where they travel
17:40 - Their background and how this all started for them
18:45 - What caused Elena to become addicted to adventure
20:05 - What caused the spark for Jesse
21:20 - Their early outdoor experiences
23:40 - How they were connected with Leave No Trace
26:40 - Defending his Ph.D. dissertation on top of a mountain
28:30 - Leave No Trace principles
33:30 - We don’t know what we don’t know
35:30 - Practicing the principles in their daily lives
38:15 - Wacky adventures they’ve been on
43:15 - How these experiences have changed them
46:20 - Have they experienced any transformations with others and themselves
48:30 - How can people learn more about Leave No Trace
49:40 - Advice for people inspired from what they’re doing
52:00 - Who would play them in a Hollywood movie
You can learn more about Leave No Trace by visiting their website lnt.org or by following them on Instagram @Leavenotraceorg
See below for photos Jesse and Elena shared from their adventure.
Watch the Full Behind The Scenes Episode
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