Tools

Every 18 to 24 months, Patagonia hosts a Tools Conference, inviting our grassroots environmental Grantees to a 3 1/2 day conference in beautiful South Lake Tahoe to provide them with tools to be more effective activists. Patagonia attendees include our Enviro department and the Patagonia employees on the Grants Council which evaluates the grant requests received by Patagonia and determines funding.

Patagonia also provides an opportunity for several 'regular' employees to attend Tools. I was one of 40 people who applied for 4 spots, and luckily, I was chosen to attend!

The conference is held at the Stanford Sierra Camp on Fallen Leaf Lake in South Lake Tahoe, CA at 7,000 feet.Four of us carpooled from Ventura to LAX, flew to Reno, and joined 40 others on a big bus to Camp.We were housed in shared Wooden camp bunkhouses. Mine was a 3-bedroom, one bath. I took the dark, back room so the activists got the big, beautiful rooms that faced the lake. I had my own room for while, but invited a co-worker to sleep in the other twin bed after she was paired with a very heavy snorer (and was awake the whole first night).

Right away, I started meeting wonoderful people. At dinner first night I met Jeremiah from Alaska. He lives in Palmer, works from home and in Anchorage. He knows Scott R, our river guide (and now a friend) in Haines. I met Allison from Madison, Scott from Moab, Tara from Vermont, Mike from Key West....

Meals were fantastic - the flavor, variety and quantity.

The speakers were also amazing and inspirational.

I sat with different people every meal, amazing people who work daily to protect the world. They work for mountains in Montana and West Virginia, rivers in Idaho and Wisconsin, endangered species, biodiversity.... Met Rob from Juneau (he knows Will Wacker from Haines and the crew at Alaska Boat and Kayak - including Debbie).

The tools provided to activists included public speaking, lobbying, organizing, engaging business, running effective meetings, using the internet, how to work with the media. There was so much energy among this group of SMART, dedicated people. And Patagonia's enviro team shone!

We had some free time amongst all the lectures and workshops. I hiked with Allison and Tara. Took walks along the lake after dinner with old and new friends. Kayaked (in a sit-on-top) the chilly lake, fed by snowmelt. A bit windy. Not like my ocean kayak - more like paddling a bathtub...a leaky one.

On the last night after dinner, there was square dancing. OK, I haven't done that since 5th grade - thought it would be kind of hokey. But it was a BLAST! And a workout. There was a live bluegrass band, and an amazing caller. He'd teach us each new dance, which we always started out in a confusing tangle - then we'd get the hang of it. Each new dance lasted about a half hour, and we'd be sweating like crazy by the end! We switched partners constantly, so it wasn't too awkward. There were good dancers and not-so-good. Too bad we had an early checkout and sessions the next day, or the dancing may have gone on until dawn!

There were a few wrapup session the last day, then we piled onto the bus with a bag lunch back to Reno, for a flight back to LA.

I spent the night with friends in LA, then back onto a plane Monday morning for a very different kind of conference - 15,000 business/technology people in suits in Orlando, Fl. Yeesh.