What you can do to make outdoor adventure more sustainable
Human-powered adventures on the quieter Peak District trails
A couple of things happened recently that heightened my awareness about sustainability in our outdoor adventures. One was an email from an adventure travel company, which talked about slow travel. The other was a conversation over a cuppa with independent travel advisor, Jayne Lomax who has recently been training in sustainable travel.
It left me buzzing with tons of ideas and thoughts. But there must also be something in the July air because, when I typed in my fab heading, I had a sense of deja-vu. I took a look in the archives and realised that 12 months ago, in July 2023, I wrote this post:
How to make outdoor adventure more sustainable
The post shared ways to reduce your environmental impact when adventuring outdoors, but had a strong emphasis on clothing and kit.
The seven topics covered were:
Reusing and recycling clothing and equipment
Checking whether products have been made to last
Looking at whether brands are sustainable
Borrowing, renting, or buying second hand kit
Sharing lifts to outdoor destinations to reduce traffic on our roads
Reducing moorland fires by leaving the BBQ at home
Getting involved in community focused organisations
And here’s the link again if you want to learn more about those seven ideas:
How to make outdoor adventure more sustainable
How to make outdoor adventure more sustainable (Part 2)
Ok, onto the ideas that have been swimming around in my head. This time around, I’ve been thinking more about the areas we travel to than the kit we use.
I’m conscious of how tourism impacts some locations, how that affects the wider environment, and how we can still find connection in a busy world often lived through the tiny squares on Instagram.
I’m not anti-tourism. I realise that when I visit new locations, despite how well connected I may feel, I’m still a tourist. And tourism can be great for local economies. It provides business opportunities, employment, and income sources. But, and it’s a big but, it can also negatively impact the lives of residents, especially in popular tourist areas.
Sustainable travel respects these local communities, and their cultural heritage, whilst also protecting the environment.
For me, sustainability is about leaving the world a better place for the generations to come. It’s about the ecosystems around us, but also the communities living in the places we travel. Our national treasure, Sir David Attenborough, agrees 😉
“Surely we have a responsibility to leave for future generations a planet that is healthy and habitable by all species” Sir David Attenborough
So, read on to find out seven things we can all do to help our outdoor adventures become more sustainable.
Here’s what I’ll be covering.
Exploring closer to home
Being deliberate about where you travel
Having authentic experiences in the places you visit
Reducing single use plastics
Choosing human-powered activities
Connecting with nature
Leaving no trace
1. Exploring closer to home
I love big adventures, travelling to far flung places and experiencing new cultures. But I’ve also had some incredible adventures in the UK - and still have a UK tick list as long as my arm. My adventure bucket list has 20 ideas in the UK but, honestly, even the little adventures like cooking on the camping stove in the garden are good fun.
Exploring closer to home reduces our carbon footprint. It also promotes domestic tourism, and supports local economies. But, one of the biggest reasons for exploring closer to home is because it creates an adventurous mindset - and you never know what’s right on your doorstep.
Want a few ideas?
>>> How to find adventure at home
>>> 28 mini adventures you can do in winter (some can be done in summer too)
2. Being deliberate about where you travel
Popular locations can easily become overcrowded, delivering the exact opposite of the wild adventure we crave. I love the Lake District, and I still want to do so many things there. But I’ve stopped visiting because it’s become too busy. Even if I forget the environmental impact or how it may affect local residents for a moment, it still means difficulty parking or crowded paths.
But we can’t really forget the impact of too many visitors. Blocking single track roads, or access to property is a problem for local residents. The increase in litter and erosion is a big issue in popular areas too. Some erosion is caused by nature, but it’s exacerbated by the millions of feet pounding the same way. Fix the Fells is a charity working in the Lake District to reduce erosion and help protect the ecology of the landscape.
There’s also a train of thought about how getting those insta worthy shots might just be stopping us from connecting with the places with travel. Tourism New Zealand ran a funny campaign a couple of years ago about “travelling under the social influence, and encouraging us to “think outside the square” 👇
3. Having authentic experiences in the places you visit
My favourite travel and adventure memories are those where I’ve had a real connection with a person or place. They’re the stories that will stay with me for life. Like the time a German campsite owner welcomed us back as old friends. It was our third climbing trip there, and he drove us into the next village one evening to join in with the local beer festival.
Many years ago, we took three months away from work to travel round the world. We made a conscious decision to slow things down, visiting less places and leaving popular tourist destinations for another time. But it felt like a richer experience. We stayed a week at a time in some locations, renting a house and exploring local trails. Because we stayed long enough to be recognised, people would recommend the lesser known places to visit.
In Australia’s Blue Mountains, we took a rest day from walking. We headed to the next village and relaxed over coffee and cake. There, we got chatting to an elderly local. He encouraged us to wander along a path from the village, promising us it would be worth the effort. It was, and somewhere we’d never have ventured without that conversation.
I believe that’s what slow travel does. It helps us connect with a place. It gives us the opportunity to spend time with people. And, it means we leave with a better understanding of where we’ve been, and a richer experience that we remember for life.
4. Reducing single use plastics
In 2022, Loughborough and Nottingham Trent Universities published their results from a study looking into litter in the UK. It identified that most of the UK’s litter is made up of plastic, with drinks packaging being the most commonly discarded items.
I wrote about a local litter pick a few years ago. We’re lucky to live in a rural area without a big litter problem, but we still came home with two large bin liners of rubbish - mostly drinks bottles and cans. So what can we do about it?
The annual campaign Plastic Free July encourages and challenges us to reduce single use plastics in our homes and workplaces. Take a look at their July challenge to reduce single use plastics. Easy swaps include reusable water bottles (many places offer free refills) and reusable food containers. If you feel able to pick up litter found in our rural areas, even better.
5. Choosing human-powered activities
Human-powered activities are those using our own energy rather than a vehicle. Good examples include trail running, walking, cycling, stand-up paddle boarding, and kayaking.
They’re a great way to reduce your carbon footprint, and also good for our physical and mental health. Plus, there are some really interesting long-distance adventures which fall into that category.
Want a few ideas?
>>> 20 of the UK’s best long-distance cycling routes for bikepacking
>>> Best multi-day walks in the UK
6. Connecting with nature
Having a strong connection with nature means a closer relationship with our natural surroundings. That can lead to different behaviours towards our green planet. But it’s not just about the environment - it’s also good for our health and wellbeing. I wrote a little about this after spending a week living off-grid in a Scottish eco-hut.
Connecting with nature can also add a sense of adventure to our outdoor activities. Navigating in new places is easy with our mobile devices and apps. But what if we ditched the phone every once in a while and went back to using a map and compass. I promise it will be a different experience - and it’s a good skill to keep topped up.
Learning about the flora and fauna where you’re visiting, or the clouds and climate, can also add a different dimension to your exploration. Plus you can keep the kids entertained by pointing out what they’re seeing.
Another idea is learning about the stars, especially the stories behind the constellations. One of my favourite experiences in New Zealand was when one guy took us for a drive to a remote dark field. It could have been the scene of something sinister, but he set us up with deck chairs, blankets, flasks of hot chocolate, and binoculars. He then proceeded to show us the southern sky and shared the Maori stories behind the constellations.
7. Leaving no trace
John Muir (1838-1914) was a Scottish-born founder of the US conservation movement. He was passionate about wild places and this is one of his famous quotes:
“Take only pictures, leave only footprints, kill only time.”
Leave No Trace is a framework of practices for anyone visiting the outdoors. It has seven principles:
Plan ahead and prepare
Bring bin bags to remove waste, avoid high season where footfall is high, plot walking routes for minimum impact.Travel and camp on durable surfaces
Avoid damage to land, foliage, and waterways when moving through natural areas and choose responsible wild camping spots. To wild camp legally in England, you need the landowner’s permission but wild camping is widely accepted in Scotland following the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.Dispose of waste properly
Pack it in, pack it out - in other words, take rubbish away with you to dispose of at home. There are also guidelines for going to the toilet in the wild.Leave what you find
The rocks, plants, and other natural objects all have a role to play in the ecology or story of the landscape. If everyone took a wild flower or two, there would be none left and it would change the whole ecosystem of the area.Minimise campfire impacts
Wildfires threaten our outdoor spaces and are often caused by humans (especially with disposable BBQ’s). Instead, use a lightweight camping stove for cooking, and enjoy the night sky without a fire. This is the Peak District National Park’s advice for preventing wild moorland fires.Respect wildlife
The great outdoors is the natural habitat for wild animals. Leave No Trace advises observing from a distance and not trying to touch or feed animals. It also talks about keeping pets under control.Be considerate of other visitors
We share our outdoor spaces with others, and being considerate means everyone can enjoy nature. It means respecting people, behaving with courtesy, and being mindful of noise levels.
You may also be interested in reading:
Why spending time in the outdoors can improve your health
Would you want to spend a month without social media?
15 adventures in the UK’s National Parks
ENJOYED THIS POST? HERE’S HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT MORE CONTENT…
I’m an outdoor enthusiast, just like you, looking to read about fun and inspiring adventures. I write from my personal experience and ideally want to keep this website ad-free (who likes annoying pop-up ads getting in the way). But web hosting and creating new content costs money, and means a fair bit of unpaid work.
If you’ve been inspired, grabbed a GPX download, or found something helpful, you can support by buying me a cuppa via my Ko-Fi account. Thank you if you can 🫶
Get new adventures sent directly to your inbox. Emails usually go out every other week.
SIGN UP TO MY NEWSLETTER
Outdoor-Girl is run by Jacquie Budd, an outdoor adventure and marketing content writer for brands that care about their impact on people and the planet.
