From food and drink to hygiene to bedding and beyond, we humans are high-maintenance creatures. That also means we make a big impact wherever we go.
Here are GNR’s tips for minimizing your impact and staying considerate of nature and your fellow campers.
- Leave No Trace
It’s the most important principle to follow for any good camper: Don’t let the next campers know you ever stayed. Of course, we all know we’re not the first to stay at a given campsite, but leaving yours pristine makes things that much easier for park staff and for the next group to stay.
- Be Careful with Fire
Your bonfire poses a huge risk to the nature around you, so it’s important you make, maintain, and extinguish it with the utmost care. When you’re done, take a thorough look around for stray sparks or embers to avoid spot fires.
Using certain woods can throw off the balance in the surrounding ecosystem by attracting different pests, so don’t use just any firewood from home. Don’t cut down any trees, either. Use only branches and kindling you find around the campsite or firewood sold by the park.
- Stay at Developed Campgrounds
To help minimize your impact, camp at developed campgrounds with well-developed trails whenever possible. You’ll avoid doing new damage while still staying close to nature.
- Use Camping Furniture
Not only is camping furniture comfortable and convenient, it’s also light and avoids major disruptions to the environment. Moving logs, rocks, and other natural features around, on the other hand, can leave tiny creatures without a habitat.
- Pick Up Your Pet Waste
What’s biodegradable if not animal waste? It may be “all-natural,” but your furry companion’s droppings are still foreign to the ecosystem you’re camping in, and leaving it on the ground can create a nuisance for other campers. Use biodegradable bags to pick up after your pet and dispose of waste properly.
It’s also best to keep your dog on a leash, both for the environment and for fellow campers — not everyone welcomes a neighbour’s dog roaming around.
- Store Leftover Food Away
We all know what can happen when food is left out while camping. Wild visitors are not only a nuisance, they can also pose a danger to you and other campers, so make sure you’re not leaving leftovers out in the open. If you’re hunting or fishing for food, bury the unusable parts far from camp.
- Think of Your Neighbours
Most RVers are friendly people, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have limits! The best way to stay considerate is the simplest: make sure you’re always thinking of your fellow campers. This can mean putting a good distance between your rig and theirs, walking around and not through their site, keeping the noise down at night, and generally putting yourself in their shoes.
Check out our other blog posts for more RVing tips, and as always, get in touch if you need help or advice. The team here at GNR Camping World wants to make your trip a success.
