Eco Friendly Camping

The Official newsletter

from www.family-fun-camping.com

Issue # 10

October/November 2008

In this issue

Introduction
Section: 1Going Green with your camping gear
Section: 2 Choosing the right equipment
Section: 3 Putting it all together
BonusCoupons and sakes links

Camping is quickly becoming a very popular vacation idea for many families, with the increase of people comes a risk to the very environment they seek to enjoy. We all must become more aware how our presence is affecting nature, that is why I decided to explore with you how to camp in an eco friendly way. There are various ways the average family can be more Eco friendly and some will even save you some of the green everyone loves money!
The whole point of camping is to enjoy nature and relax if we are not careful we could end up ruining our parks and forests, more and more new campers arrive at camp grounds and are either unaware or simply do not care about some the most important rules of camping, hiking, canoeing or back packing. The following is an unofficial list of dos and don’ts every one should follow when enjoying nature.

Rules for nature

List of do’s

Leave nothing but foot prints
Use only wood already on the ground
Observe quite time Rules
Leave the campsite cleaner than you found it
Pitch your tent only in an cleared area
Kids always travel in pairs

List of do not’s

Never leave a fire unattended
Always dispose of trash in approved dumpers/barrels
Never cut down a tree for fire wood
Cut your our trail into the woods
Use soap near a lake or river
Flick lit cigarette Butts into the woods

I thought that giving some clear examples of both helpful and damaging practices would set a good tone for people unfamiliar with the outdoors, Now lets jump into section one where we will look at some Eco friendly ways to equip your family for your next trip into the great outdoors. Please keep in mind how much your family changes starts with the you, a family meeting on how to go greener is a great way to start your family off with eco friendly camping.

Section I: Going Green with camping Gear

There many ways that you can lessen your family’s impact on the environment with smart choices for camping gear, for ease of use this section will be built around several list(s) of ideas. The biggest mistake you can make is taking the lazy way out and buying disposable every thing such as paper plates, cheap plastic cups, flimsy table cloths and so on try to invest in durable items that can used for many years to come. First let’s explore your camping kitchen and unearth some ways to be a little greener.

Invest in quality plastics plates, cups, forks and knives
Cast iron cookware when maintained last almost a lifetime
Clean your dishes after every meal (stops stains, discoloration, and weird tastes)
always Dry your gear before storage
Unwrap and store food in sealable containers (keeps food longer)

That was just an introduction to get you thinking, when we camp my family practices some easy to follow guidelines that I am sure will help your family as well. When we cook the dishes are cleaned right after the meal is over, this makes clean up easier and prevents attracting animals. I now would like to share how we wash dishes, this way will help you save water, save time and even have a little fun with the kids. First you will need the following:

One pan
(2) Plastics washing pans
A stove or grill
Clean table or flat surface
Several clean and dry wash cloths
Quality sponge
(3) Gallons of clean water
Eco friendly Dish soap
Volunteers from the audience (your kids work great for this)

Boil (1) gallon in a Pan
Mix the hot water with the second gallon in the wash pan
Clean your dishes normally with the soap and sponge
Pour the last gallon of water into the second wash pan
Have the kids rinse the dishes in the second pan
Have the kids dry and stack the dishes on the table
important notedispose of your water only in an approved drain
Dry the pan, wash pans and store your gear

I know this may seem like a very simple process and I am sure you already were thinking that you could cut a step or two, just consider this by using quality plates, utensils and such your not wasting paper or plastic. Your conserving water (some people wash dishes under a water faucet) and your not contaminating the soil or water with soap.
One great way to be a little greener is to prepare your meals at home and either vacuum seal or freeze them for use when camping, doing this allows you to waste less packaging, avoid spending too much Green on food and lets you plan healthy meals for your troops. Believe it or not even your tent can be greener; taking measures to prolong the life of your tent or gear un general saves materials. when you invest in the right gear you’re really helping mother nature in a way since you won't be adding trash to the dumps and wasting more raw materials to buy more gear.

Section II: Choosing the right Equipment

Lets face there is many choices to make when you buy new gear factors like

Price
Durability
Brand name
Functionality
Color,size and features

Now that you’re considering greener gear even simple items like plates, forks, spoons, table cloths Ect can be switched to more earth friendly materials and products. One recommendation I can offer you is read the package carefully some products try to look like they are the greatest idea and the perfect choice for people trying to be "green" how ever pay close attention to details like how much post consumer waste is used into the product, are alternative materials being used, how much in a percentage of these materials are present? it’s great to want to save our resources but we need to support the right product and be on the watch for people that are just trying to cash in on being environmentally friendly.

No matter the activity you can find replacement products that will help protect our natural resources, the great thing is you can convert your gear piece by piece. I think some people think this is a all or nothing situation, you set the pace and depending on the condition of your gear this may not be the right time to start replacing anything. I would like to make a cool point here; by keeping your current gear you are making a difference simply by not wasting material for more stuff you really do not need. Gear should be replaced either when it’s worn out or has outgrown its usefulness. I am not saying that you can't add some extra gear just think things through and make a smart decision and not a hastily or rash one.

One piece of gear that I plan on purchasing for or next camping trip is a self powered radio , these are truly a great invention you need only to crank the handle to power your tunes and most of them feature weather stations so you never have to guess what mother nature has in store for you. Think of all the batteries and money you can save by using a self powered device. Do you really want to step it up? I have seen solar powered radios like this that have a crank for back up power when the sun is not enough. The overall point I really am trying to make here is there are many alternatives to the traditional gear we all own and use, a little open mindedness can help save time, money and our natural resources.

Section III: Puting it all together

We have looked at greener ways to camp, eco friendly gear and even some changes to our camping routines to help prserve nature, this newsletter is all and well how ever the real change only happens when we all start doing the right thing and protect our planet. All I am asking is when you camp "leave nothing but foot prints" , as simple as this sounds its huge! My family always polices our campsite before we leave and trust me its cleaner than we got it. A little common courtesy goes a long way for everyone, how many times have you had to clean up after thought less people? I am sure if you have been camoing even for several years this has already happened, really this is the only negitive I can think of about camping. I camp at state parks often enough to really see how bad some people are with dumping trash,general litter,cutting down tress and so many other thoughless things that I really wonder why these people camp at all. My suggestion is if you have the opportunity voulenteer to help clean a park or campground in your area, I know cleaning up after other people really stinks how ever some one has to keep our parks,forest and campgrounds clean.

"Waste no ,want not" this old saying is a great way for me to sum up how to be a more responsiable camper, be switching to reuseable plastic storage, qaulity gear, limiting gear, using gear made from recycled materials and so on we all can make a difference one family at a time. I a,m learning more about this subject to help my family do its part and I plan on sharing it on the website.
I have already added a page on www.Family-fun-camping..com for Eco friendly camping. I plan on digging deeper into this subject there for some time to come, if you have any tips or suggestins please feel free to contact via the form located on the about us page. Well thats it for this issue, I planon having the next issue ready for the last weekend of January 2009.

Thanks for visiting

Scott

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Bonus: Coupons and sales links

I know times are tight so I thught I would spread some holiday cheer around and provide you
with some ways to save on new gear for your favorite camper(s) this season.

Sierra Trading Post

Camping World blow out sale

Save up to 70% at the Year End Inventory Reduction Sale at Camping World. Shop Now!

Shutterfly.com

Free shipping on orders of $25+! Offer valid 11.25 through 12.3.

Good Will Too

Save 40% on Selected T-Shirts at Goodwill Too!

Amazon store

National Parks

Website hosting - Site build it!

Allow me to introduce some new pages

Our new GPS page
Avoid timely short cuts get a GPS

Eco Friendly camping
Ecp friendly camping rocks!

A final Word

My hope is that people take something away from reading this news letter so please contact me if you have questions or suggestions.

Scott Back Issues if Around the campfire

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