Leave no trace
Respecting the forest, plants and animals is part of the ethic of the bushcrafter. The art of bushcraft is directly inspired from the way of living of indigenous tribes. They knew how to use all resources that the nature has to offer. They knew that these resources are limited, and that the balance of the ecosystem is fragile.
How to limit our impact on Nature?
Here are some tips to leave no trace and respect the environment.
1 – Leave no garbage
This seems like the most obvious rule for anyone that respects the environment. But still many people don’t respect it. I cannot count how many times I came across a can of beer or a piece of plastic in the middle of nowhere.
Apart from always taking all your garbage home after a few days in the woods, try also to contribute to cleaning the place! I usually always bring with me a bin bag to collect any kind of trash left by unethical people.
2 – Use dead wood
The forest provides us with enough dead wood, either fallen on the ground or from dead standing trees. Because it is dry, dead wood is perfect for the fire. It will be largely good enough to build shelters, and not only for a few days. I’ve come across a month-old shelter made from dry dead wood that was still standing after heavy snow.
Check out How to recognise dead wood standing
3 – Choose a safe fire site
Firstly, beware that most wild forests and national parks, especially in UK, do not allow fire lighting. Be especially careful in summer, when the grass, trees and bushes are very dry as fire can become out-of-control very quickly.
Always start your fire near a source of water, on sand or gravels. Always find an area free of duff (the organic layer of the soil). Some roots, even under several duff layers, may catch fire and remain undetected underground for years before starting a wild fire. This is also true in winter!
Beware that placing stones in a circle around a fire, although it is a common practice, does not improve the safety of the fireplace at all. In fact, the origin of a lot of wild fires was attributed to these stone circles. It is longer to cool down, and the stones can hide some hot ashes. And if the rocks are not scattered after use, the trace of a campfire will remain permanently…
4 – Finally… Don’t overdo it!
Several myths exist about the ‘leave no trace’ lifestyle, and contribute to discredit its principles. For example, the misconception that peeing over a tree will leave salt and attract deer that will destroy the bark and kill the tree… Or the belief that a rope tied to a tree will cut into it…
A simple way to know if you can or cannot do something is to ask yourself: “if I would be forced to live around here for a while, would I do this?”
I hope you enjoyed reading and if you have other rules to suggest, leave a comment below!
Matt
Picture credits:
Water Pollution with Trash Disposal of Waste at the Garbage Beach by epSos.de under Creative Commons License. No changes made.
Road Runner by Keoni Cabral under Creative Commons License. No changes made.
Firecamp by Sahil Ahuja under Creative Commons License. No changes made.
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