Throughout this site, you will find regular references to Leave No Trace, but what does it actually mean? Is it simply about picking up your litter, or is there more to it?
Actions have consequences
In South Africa, there’s an area known as Namaqualand. It’s barren desert most of the time, but when it does occasionally rain, something extraordinary happens, and the barren desert is transformed into a paradise of wildflowers. Around a century ago, there was some mining activities in the area, and the mining trucks left tracks. To this day, no wildflowers grow in those tracks, despite the tracks having been disused for a very long time.
Not all habitats are quite as fragile as that of Namaqualand, but that doesn’t mean we’re absolved of responsibility for our own actions. On Dartmoor, heavy foot traffic is causing erosion to paths, and that could often be relatively easily avoided, if only walkers spread out.
Bicycle tyres can cause even more erosion, and fragile landscapes are not places to showcase your gnarly bike riding skills. At times, the kindest thing you can do to the environment is to dismount and walk your bike through obviously fragile parts. Yes, even, or perhaps especially if you have the skills to ride such challenging terrain.
On Dartmoor, preventing erosion has additional benefits: under a relatively thin layer of topsoil, much of Dartmoor is covered in peat. Peat, in case you didn’t know, sequesters enormous amounts of CO2, and once exposed, the peat starts leaching CO2 into the atmosphere. This is made far worse when the peat dries out, or is burned.
More than litter
Leave No Trace means much more than simply taking your litter home with you. In fact, it starts when selecting what to buy to take with you. Eliminating litter becomes easier when the goods you buy aren’t overpackaged. For example, why buy bananas in a plastic bag, when bananas already come in their own, natural protective packaging?
Leave No Trace means not harming the landscape, or at very least, trying to vastly reduce the harm that you do. That absolutely means not breaking branches, or even picking flowers. It’s a holistic approach, impacting on everything that you do. From the routes that you choose, to where you pitch your tent, to how you cook food, to how you get there, and back, it all matters hugely.
To NOT conquer
We live in a society where language like “conquering a mountain” is normal, and used without a second thought. But nature is to be enjoyed, and not conquered.
Do yourself the favour and set aside thoughts of conquest. Believe me when I say that, while on local level you can cause extreme harm, nothing that humans ever built can conquer nature. Conquest implies war, and why on earth would you want to wage war against nature?
Instead, your life will be immensely enriched if you rather chose to explore nature, to learn from it, and most importantly, to reconnect with it. That requires a change of mindset, which at first might be quite uncomfortable. Stick with it, though, as you will reap the rewards.
Forage, don’t plunder
Foraging is great, and an immensely good way to reconnect with nature. Most of us live in urban environments and we’re very disconnected from nature. There’s overwhelming research showing that adventures (even just an overnighter) in nature has lasting impacts on our mental health.
When in nature, and you encounter edible plants (and there are far more of those than you realise!) take only what you need, and no more. Do not display the greed associated with hedge fund owners. Do consider booking yourself onto a foraging experience, such as those run by Jules, from Tangled Bank Foraging. You will thank me after.
Find a campsite
When camping, you should never make a campsite. Instead, you should find one. In simple terms, this means do not in any way disturb the landscape just to pitch your tent. It’s far better to find a suitable spot that doesn’t require you to make any changes.
When pitching your tent out in the wild, be mindful of vegetation. Aside from obvious risks, like puncturing your sleeping mat, you also don’t want to destroy vegetation. Grass tends to be most resilient. After a single night’s camping, the grass should have fully recovered within a day or three.
No fire!
Yes, camp fires are romantic, but they absolutely do not fit in with Leave No Trace!. People making campfires often break branches, or burn wood lying on the ground. That wood often forms an entire mini ecosystem, and also, as the wood perishes, it forms food for a myriad of other creatures and organisms.
Fires risk spreading. The UK is plagued every summer by wildfires started by irresponsible campers, or picnickers. Do you really want to be responsible for a wildfire? Camp fires leave ugly black scars on the environment that can last for many years, and they usually leave persistent black charcoal. That is absolutely against the principle of Leave No Trace.
A far better, and more responsible way of cooking your meals is to use a camping stove of some sort. As for the romance of sitting around a camp fire, get a set of battery-powered fairy lights, ball them up, and use that as an alternative to a camp fire.
We are part of nature, but most of us forgot that
Go reconnect with nature, in a responsible way. You will feel happier, and more confident as a result. There’s compelling evidence that green exercise is also healthier than the same exercise in urban environments, so you have lots to gain.
Just remember, whatever you do, Leave. No. Trace.