Best Ways to Preserve Nature While Hiking
Best Ways to Preserve Nature While Hiking
People that love spending time in nature already knew that being outdoors can make you physically feel better, but now science has proven that outdoor activities like hiking can dramatically improve your physical and mental health. That’s why it’s not too surprising that more then 40 million people go hiking each year, especially now when people are looking for ways to safely go outdoors and be active. However, those millions of hikers can cause massive damage to the natural world. In order to preserve nature every hiker should:
Research the Area Beforehand
Before heading out on your hike, you should always research the area, tail, etc. before getting there. Depending on where you hike, there could be limited access due to COVID-19 restrictions. Make sure you know if where your hiking requires mask use or not. A little research beforehand can go a long way to make sure that your hike is as safe as possible!
Bring A Map
Staying on the trail at all times is the most important thing you can do to protect nature when you’re hiking. Hiking trails are created to help hikers move safely through the natural world without disturbing nature so staying on the trail is the best way to avoid doing damage like trampling on flowers, ripping up plant roots with your feet, or contributing to soil erosion by walking along the path. Use your trail map to make sure you stay on the trail and look for trail markers along the way also.
Use Reusable Containers
Taking snacks and water with you on a hike is recommended, but in order to protect nature use reusable packaging for your snacks and a refillable water bottle. Plastic food wrapping that gets thrown away and single use plastic bottles are bad for nature and expensive for you. Instead buy reusable canvas snack bags and good quality reusable water bottle. You will be able to carry more water in a large refillable bottle and if you switch to canvas snack and sandwich bags you won’t have to worry about plastic packaging blowing around and polluting the environment.
Leave The Animals Alone
If you see deer, rabbits, foxes, or other animals that are out where you are hiking don’t bother them. They’re not going to bother you if you leave them alone. Remember you are hiking where they call home. Don’t leave food out for them or try to lure them with food. They shouldn’t be eating food for humans. It can make them sick. Don’t try to pet or approach the animals. Just leave them alone and enjoy seeing them as they go about their lives. You can take some photos or videos from a distance but don’t get too close.
Don’t Take Anything
When you’re hiking how many times you have grabbed some flowers, or picked up some rocks, or put a few leaves in your pocket because they were really interesting colors? Stop doing that. If everyone took little pieces of nature when they hike soon the entire area would be destroyed. There would be no flowers, no leaves, no rocks. And that would massively upset the ecological balance that keeps nature thriving. Take photos of the things you are interested in but leave the items behind.
Wipe Your Feet
You should get yourself in the habit of wiping off your feet after each hike. Your hiking boots pick up an enormous amount of dirt and debris that can be transferred to other natural sites and disrupt that area by introducing new plants or new bacteria to the area. Take a few minutes to wipe off the bottom of your boots to preserve nature.
This article was provided by www.personalinjury-law.com, an organization dedicated to providing the public with information about personal injury and safety information. Nothing in this article should be construed as legal advice, and it is intended for informational use only.
