10 Eco-Friendly Camping Tips to Help Keep the Earth Green
Camping is a fun and worthwhile outdoor activity. It is a time best spent with family and loved ones to commune and be one with nature. Camping, hopefully, eco-friendly camping, provides a temporary respite from the hectic and busy schedule of our daily lives. It reminds us to take life at a slower pace. That way its easier to appreciate nature and everything it has to offer. Implement these camping tips to help preserve nature and keep a clean environment.
Outdoor activities and spending time with nature have been proven beneficial to our mental health and overall well-being. Nature has a potent formula to relieve us of the stress brought about by our daily hustle and bustle.
There are camping must do preparations that need to be taken care of. That’s including before, during, and after any camping activity. We may be carried away by excitement. However, we should keep in mind to consciously do our part in making this an eco-friendly camping outing. In other words, leave less impact on the environment.
Here are some of the simple things we can adapt to become more responsible and planet-friendly campers. In other words, eco-friendly campers.
Don’t Bring Single-Use Items
When we pack and prepare for the things we need, we should always be mindful not to bring single-use or disposable items. Most of these items are made of plastic. Plastics are the number one pollutants. In other words, eliminate these kinds of plastic items.
Aside from adding to the pollution, single-use items not disposed of properly and left in the wilderness can pose a danger to animals. Birds and wild animals can mistake plastics for food. Eating them can lead to their death. Animals may be poisoned by the chemicals in plastic. They can choke and can also be ensnared. Eco-friendly camping avoids these problems.
Use Natural and Organic Personal Products
When we are camping, we still need to wash, brush our teeth and use body products. Things such as lotion, sunscreen, and even makeup. Using natural and organic products when outdoors is good for our skin and favorable to our ecosystem. Common body and beauty products contain microplastics that are toxic. They are not only harmful to us but also to the environment. Non-biodegradable soap, shampoo, and toothpaste can pollute the water and land resources. That’s because they contain ingredients that are hard to break down.
Rent or Buy Used Camping Gears
One of the lowest impact initiatives, in general, is to reuse available products and materials. This simple act of resourcefulness can also be applied in camping. When camping, we don’t need new camping tents and other camping gear. We can use old equipment and kits or repair broken ones.
We can opt to visit local stores or check available eco-friendly camping essentials for rent online. Another way we can save a lot of money is to rent and reuse our camping gear compared to buying new equipment.
Follow this Camping Tip; the Only Camp in Designated Campsites
Camping in designated areas is one of the simplest ways to make sure that we are responsible campers. Although we may be tempted to camp off-road because it can be more adventurous, this can degrade the environment and can compromise our safety.
Campsites and its surrounding wilderness are fragile and vulnerable ecosystems. Therefore, once these ecosystems have been trampled and disturbed, it will leave irreversible damage to the whole environment.
Designated campsites are preselected. That’s to ensure that campers are safe from floods, wild animals, bugs, and other outdoor dangers. Campsites and campgrounds are designated to areas that are most durable to maintain the lowest level of ecological impact.
Leave No Trace – an Excellent Camping Tip to Follow
“Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures, kill nothing but time” must always be a guiding principle in any outdoor activity. To practice eco-friendly camping, whatever we bring, we should always make sure to take back home. And yes, that includes all our trash.
Do not be tempted to bring souvenirs with you. Some of us take stones, pebbles, twigs, plants, and other stuff we find native to that environment for keepsakes, not fully aware that we are damaging the natural environment.
Choose Campsites Nearest Your Location or Residence
We should explore campsites and campgrounds nearest our homes. Aside from favoring our local attractions, the best thing about choosing to camp in a location nearest us is a great way to minimize our carbon footprints. Therefore, the less we use our cars and vehicles to travel, the less carbon footprint we leave behind.
Practice Fire Safety
Camping is not complete without a campfire, smores, and horror stories. However, fires can be dangerous to us and to the environment if not done correctly. Only light fires in designated fire pits, or if we are camping farther out, ensure that we keep the fire small.
Make sure that bonfires are permitted on our campsite as there are areas where fires are not allowed. Only build a fire in a pit and at a safe distance from the tent and sleeping bags. Prepare a bucket of water nearby in case the fire becomes big and unmanageable. Ensure the fire is totally out before leaving or going to sleep.
Plan Camping Activities Ahead of Time
Planning ahead of time guarantees that we will have an enjoyable and unforgettable eco-friendly camping experience. Besides securing our camping reservations, we can practice planet-conscious initiatives we like to do on our trip when we plan ahead of time.
A Special Camping Tip; Respect All Life in the Wilderness
Respecting wildlife is one of the easiest ways to show our respect for nature. When camping, remember that we are the outsiders. Therefore, it is a privilege to visit their home. Animals should not be bothered in their natural habitat. We can admire their beauty by observing them from afar. Although we may be tempted to, we should never feed wild animals or pick them up or hold them.
Only Bring Eco-friendly Camping Items
Eco-friendly camping gear and other items are now available. Therefore, the more conscientious and planet-conscious campers can find those items easily. From tents, clothes, cookware, and cutleries, these items are specially made for outdoor activities that will not damage our planet. Just do some research online or visit your local outdoor shops, and they will be more than willing to assist you.
Sustainable Camping Tips: Setting Up Camp
by CBC Nova Scotia
Published on Youtube on Jul 4, 2019
Environmentalist and outdoor guide Erinn Drage goes on a wilderness camping adventure with video producers Devon Pennick-Reilly and Claire Fraser. Drage shares tips for protecting the environment while enjoying the outdoors.
Don’t Forget these few Eco-Friendly Camping Tips when you go Camping
The extraordinary combination of fresh air, beautiful scenery, magnificent wildlife, and the company of our loved ones is a gift from nature for us to recharge and recoup.
Now, more than ever, we are called to give back what the planet has been providing us. Therefore, one of the best ways to repay nature is by adapting eco-friendly and planet-conscious initiatives. Those that help preserve the environment. In other words, help ensure the beauty and abundance that we enjoy now will be experienced by generations after us.