Collaborating with Parks Canada
Trail of the Great Bear of Alberta says they design
all elements of their tour packages with care and work closely
with Park Canada:
- Participation in park planning and strategy development and
delivery
- Use of park interpretive planning
- Publications and programs carry park messages
- Tour packages based on ecosystem-based experience and interpretation
- Financial contribution to Park interpretation
- Participation and initiation in relevant research
- Provision of qualified interpreters and guides
- Distribution of visitation
Nutti Sami Siida, Jukkasjaärvi-Seppero, Sweden
It has always been natural for us to work with
sustainable development because we are dealing with Sami tourism.
The Sami culture is like that and has always been that you don’t
leave visible tracks in nature. Working with sustainable tourism
and Nature’s Best is only strengthening our work towards
sustainable development. Therefore we chose to work in small groups
– we do not want to put on too much pressure on nature.
STF The Mount Hut of Grovelsjon, Sweden
We started to source-separate waste as early as
1993, a very symbolic action...We were even reported for recycling
too much paper. The fact is that the contractor was paid less
for our garbage. We reduced the costs from 60,000 to 13,000 Swedish
crowns at once. ...Today the contractor is very grateful for the
diligence we showed.
Now he’s taking care of all recycling and
has also improved his work environment. We, on the other hand,
have become experts in recycling and have opened a dialogue with
the community. It has contributed so that the community has become
really good at source-separation.
Pyhän Asteli, Finland
“In food and accommodation, we sort out
the waste: card board, bottles, glass, papers. But it is very
frustrating, when they still end up all in the same place.”
Loch Ossian Youth Hostel
Loch Ossian Youth Hostel is located on the edge
of Loch Ossian in the north part of Rannoch Moor.The hostel generates
all of its own electricity via small 2.2 KW wind turbine. [It]
creates enough energy for the hostel [including] lights, fire
alarm and the two pumps – one for the central heating and
the other for the grey water filtration system. The energy created
by the wind turbine is stored in 12 x 2 volt batteries which stores
a 24 volt charge which will keep the hostel running for seven
to 10 days if there is no wind.
The grey water filtration system works by capturing
all of the water from the wash hand [sic] basins and sinks into
a holding tank which drains through a sieve to separate solids,
such as food scraps, which are cleaned and used in the composting.
From the holding tank the water is pumped up to a fabricated soil
bed through which the water drains through smaller and smaller
particle sizes to filter clean the water. The water trickles through
to the reed bed where it is taken up into the plant roots.
The dry toilet system works through ventilation
which aerates the toilets, providing oxygen to process wastes
which are broken down by biological decomposition which in turn
is facilitated by organic compost. A small photovoltaic panel
position on the side of the toilet building powers the ventilation
fan.
Polar Sea, Pond Inlet, Nunavut, Canada
Buying in bulk minimizes packaging in the first
place. Additionally, we remove as much food packaging as possible
before we leave town. This reduces enormously what we have to
bring back in garbage bags later.
We absolutely rule out styrofoam cups. We use
thermal mugs instead which can be washed and re-used for years.
Alaska Wildland Adventures
[We] approach all wildlife in such a manner
that our presence does not disturb them or change their behavior.
This will sometimes require observing animals from a distance
even though the opportunity exists to get closer. [We] avoid critical
habitat areas, such as nesting areas, that are particularly important
to wildlife survival.
Isle of Mull Wildlife Expeditions, Scotland
[David Woodhouse’s] approach to viewing
animals is low impact. He will alert visitors to particular types
of signals coming from birds or animals which suggest that they
may be distressed by their presence. In such cases they back off
and leave the animals to carry on without disturbance.
Quoted from Greening Scottish Tourism: Ten Best
Practice Case Studies.
Polar Sea, Pond Inlet, Nunavut, Canada
During our spring trips (floe edge) we travel
with our clients on the sea ice. At night, when we set up camp,
we could choose to put our tents up on the land which would be
warmer (or in any case, seem warmer to our clients). Instead we
camp on the ice (and we provide good bedding for our guests).
This means that once the ice melts in the summer there will be
no trace of our ever having been there.
Isle of Mull Wildlife Expeditions, Scotland
When touring visitors, [David Woodhouse] takes
people by Land Rover to well known viewing spots. He does not
drive off-road to prevent impact to the landscape. Some visitors
express an interest in driving off-road but he explains that to
see wildlife it simply isn’t necessary as everything can
be accessed by road.
Quoted from Greening Scottish Tourism: Ten Best
Practice Case Studies.
Kairosmaja, Pyhäa area, Lapland Finland
We do not use any motorized transportation when
moving in nature. When we are in nature, we advise our customers
not to leave any trash behind, but to bring it back with them.
One example is that we use wooden sticks instead of plastic servers
when possible and the guests bring their own dishes (cups) with
them.
Polar Sea, Pond Inlet, Nunavut, Canada
On our floe edge trips I used to ask visitors
if they would like to try driving a snowmobile. Many of our guests
have never had the opportunity to do this. Then I heard that snowmobiles
cause far more pollution than any car does. Since then we have
kept snowmobile use to a minimum and there is no driving around
just for the fun of it.
Ultimate Adventures of Grande Prairie, Canada
Ultimate Adventures of Grande Prairie has demonstrated
leadership in ecotourism by developing comprehensive policies
for all areas of its business. Shutting off the vehicle engines
while waiting, parking only in parking lots and not on vegetation
along roadways, and not using disposable coffee cups while travelling
are examples. These policies are helpful in communicating what
good tourism practices look like to guides and other staff members.
Luostola horsefarm, Finland
“Here in Lapland there are no ‘muddy
seasons’ meaning that you can ride a horse pretty much all
year long, when you choose drier places and do not cause damage.
You can avoid causing a lot of damage by choosing and planning
your routes. When the customers ask, why we use the same routes
or paths, we tell them because it is better for the environment
not to make new routes every time you ride a horse.
Of course, we can have variation by changing the
direction. And people accept this, they are even glad about it.
Sometimes we go to a deep snowdrift. We avoid certain places,
because the horse tramples quite heavily and the erosion happens
during winters also. If we know that there is moss underneath
the snow, we tell that. We also tell about other things in the
nature like ant nests and we take those into account during winters
too.”
Rid I Jorm, Sweden
The company Rid I Jorm arranges tour riding with
Icelandic horses, cave expeditions and mountain hiking with packhorses.
"Our biggest impact on nature is the wearing
from our horses. Currently there is very little knowledge about
wearing of the ground and therefore we put in a lot of work in
learning more about the impacts and sharing our knowledge. We
are studying how clearly you can see the marks made on the ground
and comparing how long it takes before they disappear on different
kinds of vegetation. We then report everything to local authorities
including a plan of action.
Nowadays we think about the nature's restrictions
[capacity] in the areas we are riding in and we ask ourselves
these questions: How much can this ground bear? Is it best to
ride side by side or is it better for the ground to ride in a
row and by that create trails? And in that case, can other people
use the trails? And can the ground recover from that? We know
what vegetation we can ride on and we know which one we can't
ride on because the marks don't go away.
We pass the knowledge to our guests because it's
important to explain what happens when we are riding in the sensitive
mountain area. They are interested and they do care - they enjoy
untouched nature and think it's positive that we care about it."
Snow Games, Finland
We have implemented a Quality, Safety and Environment-
system in our company for 3 years. During that time, all the operative
processes have been documented. Those process descriptions work
as a guideline and are available for all the staff to study. The
staff are also trained to use the operation models in their daily
activities.
Measurements have been made in the consumption
of oil and fuel. Different types of accidents have been monitored
and they have been compared to the figures in the accounting reports.
Previously, if the costs had been lower, the staff were awarded
by giving them a bonus to the salary. Now customer surveys have
been implemented – especially safaris lasting several days
are evaluated. Oral feedback has also helped us to evaluate the
service. If anything out of ordinary happens, for example accidents
among the staff or customers during snowmobile safaris, they will
always be dealt with.
Hotel Pyhätunturi, Finland
“We have manuals for the staff. When we
were involved in the YSMEK project, (a national environment project
for tourism companies), we began the work by mapping out our present
working methods. We bring a strategy to our staff and there are
listed indicators for measuring sustainability. We have had concrete
results from minimizing energy, water consumption and waste. We
purchased new showers, which only let through 8 liters of water
per minute compared to the old ones that let 21 liters. This can
be seen in savings in warm water and it also saves oil that goes
to the heating of the water. We produce district heating ourselves.
With these investments we were able to save 30 % in the costs
and in the water consumed.”
“As a compensation of water intake, we plant
fish in the lake. We have an agreement currently with a fishery
collective on planting fish.”
“Operating in an environmentally friendly
manner, means small things such as using re-chargeable ‘smart’
ski lift tickets. We have been able to reduce ticket waste from
100.000 to 30.000 compared to the old tickets. A lot of the things
we do have become obvious to us although we don’t market
that in the brochures. We print paper on an environmentally friendly
paper, use eco toilet paper, etc.”
“Throwing trash into nature is almost like
committing a crime. Because we have lived for a long time in the
vicinity of the national park, we abide by the rules. We sort
out paper, cardboard, glass and aluminum. During the YSMEK project,
we agreed that the supplier takes all cardboard away. Generally
speaking, waste amounts have reduced quite a lot.
We have eliminated all disposable packages that
we could. Before we make purchases, we already consider what products
we want and what we will sell.”
Arctic Vision (Yukon & Alaska) talks about
fixed-roof facilities:
“During their construction phase, Arctic Vision made every
effort to disturb as little as possible of the natural setting.
Any areas that had to be disturbed were returned to their natural
state. We designed everything to blend with the park.”
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