I failed to mention last post that AORE stands for the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education. Today was the official kick off day for the main conference and it has been tremendous to see the attendance, quality of workshops, and overall organization of the conference this year. Way to go AORE board! Student attendance is very high which has always been a nice feature of this conference. Currently, I am sitting in on a session on "Greening Your Program." Talk about an idea whose time has come. There are actually 8-10 sessions at this conference focused on "green issues" whether that be creating international adventure programs with an emphasis in sustainability, to environmental ethics in outdoor education, to carbon credits and travel. It is great to see the industry taking a lead here on this issue. The conference itself has also been very intentional. Recycled conference brochures. A carbon off-set station for travel. No paper waste with meals. Presentations with minimal to no handouts but links to electronic media. The list goes on. Is it perfect? No. But, we make the trail by walking it. And it is very impressive to see the work that has gone in to making this conference as green as possible. The other great thing? This initiative and energy seems to be coming from the undergraduate students. We often complain about "the younger generation," but here we see an example of young people showing leadership and initiative. I certainly hope the other conferences are thinking along similar lines. That's it for now. Time for dinner and a little socializing in the beautiful city of downtown Asheville. We'll see what tomorrow brings...