Julia Bradbury and The Outdoor Guide’s top 5 tips for looking after the environment

Make litter cleans habitual. Remember to take your litter bags out with you on walks but also schedule these in once a month or so for your local area. Recruit the kids, dog, granny, grandpa, neighbours (basically everyone) and become a #litterhero! If you’re thinking of organising a bigger community event, plan them in advance to give people notice – you’re guaranteed a higher turnout. And it couldn’t be easier to spread the word – create an event on Facebook and get friends to share your litter clean up with their own online following. Remember to tag The Outdoor Guide on your social media posts and we will upload your photos to our Litter Heroes gallery! #LitterHeroes

Be a localtarian/locavore (yes this is a thing). Did that avocado grow in the UK? We didn’t think so. As hard as it is to refuse the delicious, exotic produce that the warmer climates of this world accommodate for, more often than not they have a huge carbon footprint. We advocate eating locally sourced foods, especially meat and dairy which are carbon intensive enough without having been flown half way across the world! When you’re out walking, lots of pubs try and source from as nearby as possible in order to support local farms. For local food, TOG loves The Masons Arms and The Porch House both of which are part of Stay In A Pub who have a huge range of pubs all over the UK, many of which have beautiful menus created with all local and seasonal produce.

Car pool or cycle. Make it known where you’re heading for your next walking venture, who knows, someone might have been planning the same journey. The same can be said for shorter trips to school, the shops and so on – mums and dads out there, car shares will only make your lives easier and you’ll be saving the environment an extra unnecessary blasting of car fumes.

No more new clothes. Recently, some shocking statistics have emerged regarding the huge environmental damage caused by the fashion industry. We don’t need new clothes to look good – extend the life of your garments with these simple tips (besides the obvious donate your clothes to charity shops);

1. 1. If you haven’t already, get yourself some Nikwax. Seriously, this stuff is the bomb. Not only will it extend the life of your clothes, shoes and equipment, but it’s 100% safe for the environment. No nasties here, thank you very much.
   2. Let your friends know when you’re doing a clear out – invite them round to browse through the long-forgotten garments at the back of your wardrobe.
   3. Don’t be gender specific when it comes to sharing clothes and buying from charity shops. Your dad’s jumper looks as good on you as your mum’s jeans look on your brother (maybe).

Food waste. This is a big one… There are many ways to tackle this, but we recommend online grocery shopping as a really simple way to cut down on both waste and costs. An online basket allows you to think about exactly what you are buying and also to see the total cost (before you get a nasty shock at the checkout!). We often impulse buy when we walk down aisles and end up with rogue items in our basket that no one is actually wants to eat (see the rotting, £3.50 box of cut up papaya in the back of the fridge… we’ll stick to our seasonal berries thanks). And although your delivery will arrive in a van, it’s better that 20 people driving 20 cars to the supermarket! Most online supermarkets now deliver without plastic bags but make sure to double check before choosing where to order from. Meanwhile, we’ll be prolonging food life with beeswax food wraps as recommended by &Keep.