Whether you're a hopeless romantic or prefer to keep your own company, no matter what your relationship status is this Valentine's day we can all agree that we should strive to love ourselves and our planet.
Camping is great for the soul, but what about giving back to the earth? We've put together three areas you can look at to spread some positivity and start helping the environment this year.
Direct Financial Action
Plant Trees - The rapid loss of our worlds natural forests is something we should all be concerned about. These spaces provide valuable habitats for numerous species, a defense against global warming and greenhouse gasses, as well as the clean fresh air we all need to survive!
Luckily you can help, by planting trees from just $/£/€1 you can start to turn back the clock on the damage we as a species has done. We work with dedicated Tree Planting Partners to ensure that money raised towards tree planting is being used effectively and reforesting areas in desperate need. You can find out more about our tree planting and partners here.
Donate to Causes – If your financially able to there are some brilliant causes that could use financial aid to keep doing good work. It’s always best to do your research into how your money is spent, but there are also some great dedicated blog posts covering some of the best charities you can give to for maximum impact. We’d recommend looking at a range of local, national and global charities so you can make sure that a project you care about is being funded!
Political & Social
Voting in the booth - No matter how quiet you feel, your vote is important. Voting for a candidate with a greener view of the future is always a good place to start, on both local and national levels. Everything from emissions pledges to how your waste management is dealt with has an impact on our planet, and every vote counts so make sure you have your say when given the chance.
Petitions are also a great way to have your voice heard. Demanding a more eco-friendly future may seem like a long shot, but the more it comes up the more governments are going to have to shape their policies around it, after all they need us as the voters to put them there! Live elections, you can find petitions that focus on both local issues as well as national and global ones, so keep your eye out for the things you care for.
Voting with your $$$ - While we think of voting as a purely political exercise, in reality you vote every time you spend money. Opting to buy products from eco-friendly companies, and refusing to spend with brands and companies actively harming our planet will make a difference, after all if we all refused to buy something, the brand would have to make a few changes!
Make a Lifestyle Change
Diet - The biggest things you can do to help the planet starts at home. Changes in your diet like reducing the amount of meat in your diet or swapping to a vegetarian diet, can have a huge impact on the environment. You don’t have to go full on vegan, but maybe consider a ‘meatless Monday’ approach, or swapping half your mince for veg next time you make a chili con carne, the small increments all add up!
Additionally, buying local and seasonal produce, has a huge impact on the carbon footprint of your dinner plate, while buying food from responsible sources is an important way to make sure ethical and sustainable systems become the norm going forward.
The 3 ‘Rs’ - Finally, REDUCING, REUSING, and RECYCLING other products and packaging is one of the most important things we can do. This simple step helps to cut down on waste, and the energy required to process and manage waste. Just imagine if the entire country used one less plastic bottle how much plastic would be saved, and if they all recycled their next plastic bottle how much landfill would be reduced!
These areas can be the hardest change as it directly effects your day to day life, but for a brighter future we here at Tentsile thinks it's worth it!
