Exploring Nature and Leaving It Be: a Guide
Here are tips for getting out into nature responsibly:
We can’t get out into nature without making a few tracks with our feet or wheels, but this is the gold standard tip for an outdoor adventure. Leave nothing behind. Pack out what you pack in. Bring your own snacks and hold onto your disposable items until you reach a trash or recycling can. Reusable water bottles are a must.
Leave everything as you found it. Except memories. Take as many as you can carry.
Streams, creeks, rivers, and waterfalls are natural marvels. Do your part to keep them clean, pristine, and healthy—for us and for wildlife—by keeping the bad stuff out of them (see #1!). Use other water sources and facilities for cleaning up (dishes and bodies) or relieving yourself. If nature calls and you need to go, try to be more than 200 feet—nearly as tall as a redwood tree—away from a waterway.
We know...there’s something down that hill and off into the thicket that you really want to go check out. But you mustn't! Foot, and wheel, traffic off trails can cause damage to habitats, squash rare plants, and erode trails into waterways (see #3!). Widening trails, or creating new ones, take away management resources, putting parks in a pinch. So, please don’t cut your hike or the park short by taking shortcuts on those hairpin trail turns since that causes erosion too.
Wildlife thriving in our forests is a great thing for the environment and for healthy ecosystems. Fortunately, wildlife prefer to avoid people! Sightings are exciting, and if we keep it that way, we all remain healthy and safe. So grab a photo if you can, but please, stick to the trails (see #4!).
See something amiss? Sometimes park signs and trail supports get damaged. Sometimes we see plants that look out of place. Sometimes we see other people who didn’t bring this guide along (see #1-5!). Snap a pic, take a note, and let park staff know.
From land trusts (like ours!) to public parks and policies that will slow climate change, protect land, water, and wildlife, nature needs our everlasting support and commitment. Support your local land trusts and stay active with policies that improve nature.