Five Ways to Make Your Camping Trip More Earth Friendly

Everyone loves the great outdoors. Camping is a relaxing pastime, but modern conveniences can make it difficult to minimize your impact on the environment. Here are five tips to help you lower your impact on Mother Nature:

Bring Reusable Dishes

While plastic utensils and paper plates may be handy for camping, most of this disposable dining ware winds up in a landfill after. To keep your campsite green, pack reusable dishes. All you need to wash them is a collapsible dish rack, a small wash basin and some biodegradable soap. Boil some water at your campsite, and add it to your basin with enough cool water to make the temperature bearable for washing. In a second basin, you can use cool water to rinse the dishes. Place the dishes in a collapsible dish rack and they will dry in no time.

Ecofriendly Toiletries Are a Must

If you're planning on bathing off the beaten path, make sure you pack biodegradable toiletries. These soaps are specially made for camping. A soap is considered biodegradable if it can be safely broken down by bacteria within six months. However, biodegradable soaps require soil to break down, so you can't just throw them from your wash basin into a lake or stream. Throw them and any soapy water into the dirt when you're done.

Keep Invasive Species Out

While camping it's possible to transfer potentially invasive species from your campsite to your home. Invasive species can be damaging to local ecosystems and can compete with local plants and animals. You can do your part to keep them out by thoroughly washing any vehicles you've taken camping and making sure you don't bring back any firewood from your campsite.

Burn Safely

Everyone loves a good campfire, so you should know how to construct one safely. First, you have to make sure there are no bans on burning. If it's been especially hot and dry outside, it's more likely there are burning restrictions in place. Next, if there isn't a fire pit close to your campsite, make sure to keep your fire contained by building a ring of stones. Be careful to make your fire far away from trees, as fire can travel through tree root systems. When building your fire, keep it small, and when you put it out, pour water on it and stir the ash thoroughly.

Take Advantage Of Solar

Gas generators can be a loud way to power your campsite, and many national parks don't allow them. Solar lanterns are readily available and easy to use to light up your campsite. If you want to bring your gadgets with you, there are many solar powered chargers available as well. Contact campsites like Windemere Cove for more information.