Climate change is a major threat to our planet and the future of snowboarding- so what should we do? At Protect Our Winters we are taking a variety of creative steps to reverse the trends of global warming. On April 11, 2009 POW rented a bus and headed for the Sierras with a bunch of anxious 4th and 5th graders from Oakland, California to visit the snow for their very first time. The kids stood in front of their school at 7am on a Saturday wide awake, bundled up, and ready to go. “I’m so excited I couldn’t sleep last night. I woke up three different times wondering when it would be time to get up”, said Juliana. Juliana is one of the 18 kids, 5 parents, and 7 undergraduate students that POW took up to Donner State Memorial Park for an introductory experience in the snow.

Snow, mountains, forests, and wildlife are all concepts that are far removed from these youngsters everyday environment. At Manzanita Elementary School, the kids play, run, and jump on asphalt fields and plastic play structures. There opportunities to connect with “green stuff” are limited. The only presence of nature is a small garden in the back of the school that has been converted from an old parking space. Earlier this year when Krista Fuentes, a volunteer of POW and organizer of the fieldtrip, dressed up as a skier for Halloween many of the kids didn’t know what her costume was. “Are you an alien?” one of them asked. Perhaps that was a subtle hint that she needs to either update her winter wardrobe, or it was an indicator that the kids here did not know what someone wears when going to the mountains because they had never been before.

This experience raises an important question to those involved in movements against global warming: “How are we supposed to save the planet if our children, especially those in low-income areas, don’t feel connected to it?” Research has shown that children who are active and enlightened in the outdoors grow up healthier and wiser, are self-aware and excited about nature. As adults they are more likely to act as responsible stewards of the earth rather than wasteful consumers; and yet the opportunities for kids to be in nature seem to be decreasing rather than increasing. Conscious of the powerful rewards of outdoor education, POW committed itself to taking the kids from the Manzanita after-school program up to the mountains for one fun-filled day at the snow.

After a three hour bus ride and a zillion “are we there yets” the kids finally arrived. The first task of the trip was “SNOWBALL FIIIIGHT!!” they screamed as they ran over to the nearest patch of snow. For a bunch of kids who had never seen snow before they sure knew how to chuck a snowball. The rest of the afternoon involved a nature hike (we tried to keep it quiet- mission failed), a snowman contest, and even a visit to the Emigrant Trail Museum. At the museum the kids learned more about the park’s history and discovered that it was named after the famous Donner Party who had gotten stuck there in a severe snow storm in 1846 while traveling west. That winter it started snowing as early as October! It’s a shame the settlers didn’t bring any snowboards with them to shred the gnar. Throughout the trip the importance of winter ecology, climate change, and their own role in saving the planet was stressed. When we returned back at the school the following week, the kids did activities where they learned more about greenhouse gases, overconsumption, and ways that waste can be converted into reusable items like home-made toys. Our commitment with these kids and increasing their planetary consciousness is far from over, but contact has now been made and the seed has been planted.