Go Green and Go RVing!

RVing vacations are a greener way to vacation! A recent study released by PKF Consulting shows that the carbon footprint from an RV vacation is roughly 50% of the footprint from an air/car/hotel vacation. Not only is RVing fun but it is better for our environment than other forms of vacationing.

Just as important as green vacations, is being more earth & energy friendly in general, and that is the responsibility of everyone. Here is a list of the things campers and RVers can do to “go green” while camping, but they also apply for everyone, everywhere.

Celebrate Green Week With Your Children or Grandchildren! Schools, local parks and campgrounds will be celebrating green week. Get involved! Celebrate Earth Day April 22 or Arbor Day April 24 this year with your children! Volunteer to help do clean-up or litter pick up at your favorite local park or playground, campground, or even along your own street! Organize a community clean up or volunteer to help with the green week celebrations at their school. Donate and plant a tree in your local park, campground, or plant one in your own yard! Visit a state park or go camping at a campground that is celebrating green week! Most importantly, talk to your children about being good stewards of the earth. If you don’t recycle at home, start a program and involve the kids! If you already recycle, expand your efforts and do even more! It’ll make them feel good to help the earth, and you can remind them of that good feeling while they are helping you do the recycling. Doing the right thing doesn’t always mean doing the easiest thing. Taking care of the earth provides great life lessons too.

Teach children not to litter & set a good example yourself. Animals suffer when we litter. Ducks, turtles and other wildlife get caught in plastic 6 pack plastic connectors, discarded fishing line, and plastic bags. Other animals try to eat foam products (which don’t easily break down) and empty food containers, and the list goes on and on. Litter draws wildlife to yards and campgrounds that are looking for an easy meal. It’s not just bad for animals; it’s unsightly & unhealthy for people too. Parks and campgrounds spend a lot of time and resources picking up litter to protect wildlife, and those resources would be saved too!

Go smaller! The smaller the RV, the less fuel you consume, the greener you’re being. So, when you’re buying that next RV, take your fuel mileage and consumption into consideration!

Go closer to home and stay longer. Instead of camping 3 weekends in June, you camped for a week, you saved the travel time and fuel for two of those trips. The longer you park the RV in one place, the less your carbon footprint. So, park it at a local campground or RV Park for the summer, or take fewer, but longer trips. It not only makes sense for the environment, but for your wallet too. Most campgrounds provide significant discounts for longer stays!

Leave one vehicle at home. It’s amazing how many people still drive two or three vehicles to campgrounds and other family activities. Even though family schedules are hectic, just this one item would reduce emissions and fuel usage. If everyone in the country would car pool more and drive less, the overall usage would fall enough that prices would fall as well. The money saved would definitely buy enough fuel to take you camping and depending on how much you conserve, may well pay for another whole outing for your family!

Keep your RV or Tow Vehicle in good running condition. Keeping your tow vehicle or motor home in good running condition, not only makes your travel safer, it reduces emissions and fuel consumption, which reduces the carbon foot print. So, get a tune-up and keep those tires inflated to the correct pressures to increase your mileage, and reduce your emissions!

Hike and bike more. Ride a bike or walk to the camp store instead of driving your car or tow vehicle. Again it’s a fuel saver, but more importantly it’s just plain fun to walk or bike. Say hello to your camping neighbors, meet new people and socialize a little, or just enjoy the outdoors! Take a hike with the kids and enjoy the trees, birds, and wild flowers. Take a bike ride with the family but don’t forget to pack your helmets! Biking is a fun, family activity, but teaching safe biking is important. Wearing helmets saves lives and teach the rules of the road by demonstrating them yourself. Not only do you get quality time with your spouse and children, you’re teaching them an appreciation for the outdoors, good hiking or biking safety practices, and everyone is getting exercise!

Reduce energy usage. Even while camping and RVing, we’re prone to light up our environment which wastes energy. When you extinguish your campfire for the night, turn off your outdoor lights for the night too. It’ll save energy and you won’t disturb your RVing & camping neighbors with the lights. Fewer lights at campgrounds create a better environment for stargazing, which is another fun and educational night time activity! Turn out lights when you leave a room (including the campground bath house!) and please teach your kids to do it too! Use energy efficient light bulbs in your home and RV! Avoid using air conditioners by parking on shady sites, opening windows and using the breeze, or go outdoors and enjoy a shade tree and a cold beverage instead. Using a lantern, campfire light, & flashlights not only reduces energy consumption, but also makes your camping experience more enjoyable. So go retro and burn less electricity!

Conserve water! Shut off the faucet while brushing your teeth. Shorten your showers. Supervise and shorten your children’s showers. Take the kids to the pool instead of allowing them to play with the water hose. Many campgrounds are on wells, which have to serve many camping families. One family wasting water can run a well dry so the others have no water at all. That is not a fun camping or RVing experience. This is why washing your personal vehicle or your RV (unless you’re a seasonal camper) is against the rules at most campgrounds. Do wash your vehicles at a carwash that recycles and reuses the water. Make sure your approved drinking water hose is properly attached, has a good working rubber gasket and no leaks. A leaking water hose can lose hundreds of gallons of water a day, and can easily run a well dry. If you see a problem at a campground; a toilet sticking or a possible water line break, please report it immediately!

Use environmentally friendly chemicals in your sewer tank. Most campgrounds sell environmentally friendly chemicals. Make sure as the consumer, that you buy the best ones for the environment too. Using non-formaldehyde treatments for waste tanks is a huge positive impact on the environment. Formaldehyde, once in water, never leaves the water. And the water on our planet is recycled over and over again. So the water that you don’t contaminate today is the same water that you’ll be drinking in the future! In addition, many of the newer chemicals help to break down waste and keep sewage systems & tank electronics functioning well by using live bacteria. Make sure you’re using one of these products. Not only will it help the campground owner, but also it’ll help your RV to stay working well. In addition to this, sewer systems can’t handle large quantities of bleach. Chlorine kills off the bacteria that digest waste. Never dump large quantities of bleach or any chemical into a campground waste system. Only a quarter of a cup of bleach or so is recommended for each 15 gals of water needed to disinfect your RV water system. You can find directions at: http://www.rvuniversity.com/article.php/20070402101517867

Reduce Waste! Our landfills are filling up faster than we can find places to build new ones. So, reducing waste by buying silverware, plastic plates, and cups and washing the dishes reduces the amount of waste going to landfills, it reduces the amount of trees we need to cut to make more, and plastic and foam plates not only take longer to break down, but are oil-based products, as are the trash bags needed to dispose of the refuse. So the more we conserve by washing dishes, the smaller carbon footprint we leave behind.

Recycle, recycle, and recycle! Please participate in campground and RV park recycling programs. Recycling reduces the amount of garbage in our landfills & dumpsters. And while we’re on the subject of dumpsters, don’t ever place items in the campground dumpster that is prohibited (no batteries, paint cans, etc.). They are usually listed on the waste container! Not only are they prohibited in the landfills because they contaminate the earth and ground water; they can cause the campground owner to be fined for illegal items being dumped. And it is ultimately you, the consumer, who winds up paying those fines as they become part of the business operating expenses. In addition, recycling reduces disposal fees, helping to keep costs under control. So it’s not only good for the earth, it’s good for our bottom lines, too.

Clean up after your pets. Believe it or not, campgrounds and RV parks have hundreds of four-legged visitors each year. The bacteria in animal feces can contaminate campground wells. It’s really that simple. The water we don’t contaminate today is the same water we’ll be drinking tomorrow! And if that isn’t reason enough, having a child (or adult for that matter) step in doggie doo-doo and track it into a vehicle, camper or RV is a very nasty experience. So, make sure that you (and the kids if they walk the pet) carry their baggie with them and use it 100% of the time! If you walk your pet at night, carry a flashlight powered by rechargeable batteries. They save on the environment too.

Implementing even just a few of these items will help keep our campgrounds and parks greener. If everyone would do all of them, just think of the impact that we’d have on the environment. Our whole world would be greener. Isn’t it great that the very people who love and enjoy the outdoors are the same ones leading the charge to protect and sustain it?

Go camping! It’s fun, affordable, and green!

By Robyn Chilson
Robyn & her husband Tim, Own and operate Brookdale Family Campground in Meadville, PA. She can be reached at robyn@brookdalecampground.com or at 814-789-3251