Sustainability
Mariet and I married in the Netherlands in 1979. Mariet grew up in a time when everything was re-used or recycled. We both could see the damage pollution was doing to our environment and adopted a sustainable lifestyle from the time we started living together. We have carried these principals into our business.
Some of the sustainability practices we follow in our business are:
- Minimal impact on the environment – we stick to paths and drive on established roads. Hiking is a low impact activity.
- Respect for wildlife, acknowledge that we are in their space
- Pick up rubbish while we hike. We support ‘Take 3 for the sea’ and encourage our customers to pick up rubbish when they see it.
- Support local businesses, run by locals. This includes accommodations, stores, clubs and restaurants.
- We include side tours with local indigenous tour providers.
- Our guides are trained to include interpretive information to enhance the experience of our customers.
- We check the Alerts page to ensure that we comply with National Parks directions in the National Parks we operate in.
- We offset the emissions from our diesel bus with ‘Greenfleet’
- Marcus is a Volunteer and Treasurer of Port Macquarie Community Garden Inc, “The Lost Plot”
- We are Members of Hastings Landcare
- Marcus is the Organiser of Mid North Coast Hiking Meetup with more than 500 members. Organise at least one free hike per month through this Meetup group.
At home we have the following sustainability measures in place:
- Water – We have 7 rainwater tanks and a dam. We only use ‘town’ water in an emergency
- Power – We have solar power and solar hot water. Any additional power purchased is from green sources
- Waste – Waste water is dealt with on-site. All rubbish is sorted and recycled where possible. Food scraps are composted or added to our worm farm
- Transport – Our car is a small electric vehicle, a Mitsubishi MIEV Minivan. We have had this vehicle for 3 years and travelled 50,000km in that time. We will never buy another ICE vehicle.
- Food – we grow a lot of our own food and also use some of this home grown food on our hiking trips.
- We have started replacing our ICE garden tools with electric as the former wear out. We now have an electric ride-on mower.
- Our property has hundreds of eucalyptus trees. We have lived here 33 years, and never removed any, unless they die or fall over. We are currently planting additional trees and grasses to encourage native birds and habitat.