Partnership Highlight: Wilderness Scotland

Since its beginnings, Wilderness Scotland has demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainable tourism. Their mission is to provide inspiring, memorable and high quality adventure travel experiences which benefit the local environments and communities in which they visit.

Wilderness Scotland is a registered partner of the Leave No Trace Centre, and their Director of Training Myles Farnbank, is a graduate of the Master Educator course (one of only 2 people in Scotland). The philosophy of Leave No Trace is at the core of their guiding principles - belief that education is the best means to protect the natural world from recreational impacts while helping maintain access for recreation and enjoyment. Through subtle education their clients learn about the need to minimize their impact, dispose of waste properly, and respect the wildlife among other things. Wilderness Scotland hopes that these principles will make a lasting impression on their clients, who will hopefully pass on what they have learnt to others.

Wild Orchids

Every effort is made to ensure that each trip is as sustainable as it can be, their trip operations are specifically designed to minimise the environmental impact: group size is limited to a maximum of 8, trips start & finish near train stations, they offset carbon emissions by 110%, and they use local suppliers and source local food where possible. They are all about experiencing the wilderness using human power, be that on foot or by bike, kayak, canoe and sail boat.

Over the years they have won several awards which are a testament to their green credentials, they are the only adventure travel company in Scotland to hold the Green Tourism Gold Award. In 2009, they were awarded 5 Star Responsible Tourism status, which is the highest level by Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO).

www.wildernessscotland.com 0131 625 6635

-- Polly McClure, Wilderness Scotland