Green Policy & Invitation Challenge

Litterpicking on the Dart
Litterpicking on the Dart

A Responsible Boaters Charter

Canoe Adventures is fully committed to operating sustainably and we constantly strive to improve and convey our green profile to guest-crew, and to minimise any adverse effects on the natural environment that is our micro-wilderness workplace.  It is both privelege and responsibility to work where we do in the way that we do.
 

We opened in 1999 and joined the Green Tourism Business Scheme in 2003.
 

  • Our aim was and is to foster canoeing – and its eco-friendly, fun and healthy nature.  Whatever one's age or ability it is an excellent way to become acquainted with the natural environment of the Dart Estuary, and many another watery place.

 

  • Our canoes are carbon-neutral – they use no fossil fuels and create no pollution.

 

  • Canoe Adventures has produced and uses the ‘Hotsam’, a small, flatpacking brazier lit using flint and steel (great for kids) for no-trace campfires and barbecues, so demonstrating no-trace practice to each guest-crew.

 

  • We have a zero-tolerance litter policy and run volunteer biennial litter-picking events on the Dart Estuary. (Originally seeded via Devon Wildlife Trust.)

 

  • We recycle, re-use or compost all the waste we can, using washable beakers and picnic-boxes, compostable bags and refillable water bottles. All operational batteries are rechargeables.

 

  • Canoe Adventures’ latest canoe, the 9 metre 12-seater Voyager Longbow was designed and built by local craftsmen. It is booked to show at the British Outdoor Show, Royal Windsor Racecourse 19-21 March 2010. We are replacing our original paddles imported from Canada with Dartmoor ash paddles, locally grown and locally crafted.

 

  • The silent canoes get close to the abundant and diverse birdlife, and seals are frequently sighted. Our steersmen/guides are always glad to share their knowledge of the estuarine wildlife and we have ‘spotters information sheets’ available too. We run bird-watching trips in early Spring, and Nature at Sundown outings in Autumn. Canoe Adventures has sited a floating moorhen house nearby our launch point; it was used successfully to raise 2 broods in 2009.

 

  • We are proud to hold a Green Business award and to support other local green businesses. We have given several presentations aimed to assist other local businesses to ‘go green’.

 Going Green Invitation Challenge

Canoe Adventures believed it had a headstart at going green when it opened in 1999 because the main operation was about taking people on pollution-free guided trips in hand-propelled boats. How green can you get ? This one year 2009 for instance, aboard the canoes you see on this website, we estimate having done around 18,000 green passenger miles.

But in joining the Green Business Scheme we soon learned that there are myriad further green initiatives available, and that to gain any award required their adoption maintenance and development.

We took on the challenge reckoning there’s millions of people who are recognising the predictions about on-coming climate change, ice melt and peak oil and who want to try do something possible and practical to meet it. It is a tiny start but carried forward it may increase. It has increased. You maybe wish to know more and maybe lend a hand.

Conserve Energy

Switch off unused electrics. Cancel standby. Make it a habit. Get longlife bulbs. Use LEDs. Efficient refrigerator.  Miser washing machine.  Think longterm.

Park The Car

Calculate alternatives. Take a day-off driver. Drive softer. Maybe walk. Is there a bus. Share maybe. Borrow a bike. Carpool.

Shop Greener 

Where possible. Buy local. Buy fresh. Buy tasty. Own a shopping bag. Go markets. Beware no-brainers saving you more to spend everyday. Avoid packaging. Buy genuine.  Grow some of your own.

Reduce Re-use Recycle

Email saves paper. Sort rubbish. Bin on the go. Crush plastics. Compost. Make it possible. Binmen are worth it.

Water 

Treat with care. Water meter good. Check for leaks.  Close tap while brushing teeth. Dual flush loos. Harvest rain for dry gardens.  Solar hot water. Cost it.

Respect

Nature thrives in diversity. Human nature is diverse. Take litter away. Leave gates as they were. Think longterm. Make it a habit.  Check out Peak Oil.

Contacts

www.transitiontowntotnes.org

For business info please click the GTBS logo.