Camping is a great way to appreciate nature and have a relaxing vacation without breaking the bank or negatively impacting your carbon footprint. If you follow the basic tenants of sustainable camping, you will help to preserve these gorgeous natural retreats for future camping trips and future generations of campers.
Don’t ue too much water
We take water for granted sometimes. Yes, there might be a seemingly unending supply, but there’s it’s a limited and precious resource. Make a difference by being frugal with the amount of water you use. It might sound like something of an ask, but there are lots of ways you can monitor and be conservative with the levels of H2O you’re using.
- Washing dishes just once a day
- Use dish water to extinguish fires
- Take fewer showers
- Opt for food you can cook directly on the grill rather than using pots
- Use paper towels to wipe dishes clean before washing
We still recommend you drink as much water as you need. Staying hydrated is an essential part of being a happy camper.
Take all your trash with you
You’re naturally going to create some clutter when you camp, but, as long as you take this all with you when you leave, you won’t be doing the environment too much damage. Bring your own trash bags and separate trash from recyclables. Carry it out with you and dispose of it safely.
It might not cross your mind when you do litter, but the reality is your trash takes (literally) years to biodegrade. Eco-friendly Africa Travel break down the numbers; revealing a can of beer can take 80 to 200 years to disappear once it’s been dumped.
Make fires responsibly
- Don’t carry in firewood—you could be bringing in pests and fungi that are foreign and can cause extensive damage. Either buy your firewood locally or use deadfall that you collect from the woods.
- Never damage live trees by breaking branches or pulling off bark.
- Keep your fires small. Sure, we all like a mighty blaze that we can dance around, but save your big bonfires for home.
- Do not burn plastics or polystyrene.
- Always (always!) put your fires out. Wildfires are often caused by careless campers.
- Don’t make fires at all. Vouchercloud offer some handy advice on the matter; “When you camp in the wild, try to arrive late, leave early and avoid lighting open fires. This disturbs as few people as possible and will more than likely result in nobody knowing you were even there in the first place.”
The toilet
Take a small trowel that you use to dig a hole around 6×6 inches at least 200 feet from water sources. You can use toilet paper, but burn it in your campfire or put it in your trash bag and carry it out with you.
Respect the environment
It might, as an example, be tempting to take home a fascinatingly shaped rock as a memento of your trip – but what countless number of ecosystems have you just disturbed by doing that?
Leave things as you find them, and don’t feed animals. They won’t be used to the products you’re putting into their systems, and they might have a negative reaction to the food as a result.
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