For nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts, a vacation spent camping in the wilderness is the ultimate experience in relaxation. It’s one of those holidays you don’t need a vacation to recover from. The peace and solitude of the great outdoors rejuvenates the body and recharges the soul.
It also may be the greenest vacation possible. Attempting zero carbon footprint travel is becoming a popular goal among many green-minded people. After all, vacations are not an area of necessity, (though some may feel they won’t survive without one) so we can’t blame our emissions on survival.
Choosing to vacation in a national or provincial park has a lot more ‘green’ going for it than just the surroundings. You won’t need to take long overseas flights, or even stay at an electricity consuming hotel. Your mode of transportation when camping, such as hiking, canoeing, or kayaking, uses only power from your own body. And simple, tasty meals can be cooked by campfire or even energy efficient campstoves.
A word of caution though: avoid the option of going glamping, or ‘glamor’ camping. Trying to take all your modern household conveniences with you, and power them, really defeats the purpose of going camping and doesn’t aid in reducing your carbon footprint.
For the duration of your stay in the wilderness, try to really enjoy what it has to offer. A little forethought and a few tips can really help to make sure your camping trip is fun as well as eco-friendly.
- To get to your preferred camping destination, think about taking a train! You can even take your canoe and gear with you on the train. VIA Rail or Algoma Central Railway are perfect ways to get to a wilderness retreat. If you do drive, carpool with friends. And consider renting equipment, such as a canoe, closer to the park you will be visiting, instead of lugging it from home, to save on gas emissions.
- Take locally grown foods for your meals or stop at a farmer’s market and stock up. For the food you do bring from home, try to use less packaging or use reusable containers.
- As always, be careful not to pollute the land or water with garbage such as plastics. If there are no garbage disposal stations, carry your waste out with you!
- If you are using some equipment that requires power, such as a flashlight, use rechargeable batteries.
- Use non-toxic, biodegradable, phosphate free soap to wash up any dishes as well as yourself.
- Don’t be reckless or wasteful with surrounding vegetation. Stay on designated hiking trails and respect the habitat of the wildlife in the area.
Common sense and respect for the environment will no doubt guide you through many of your decisions on what could be the greenest vacation you’ll ever take… and remember, take time to enjoy the smells, sights and sounds of the great outdoors around you. This will give you even more motivation to do what you can to preserve it.
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You have to help conserve and preserve the environment by being responsible enough in disposing your waste properly.