WildHearts Outdoors: Climate Action & Environmental Commitment

At WildHearts Outdoors, we believe caring for the natural environment should be part of everything we do. Our approach focuses on reducing our environmental impact, protecting biodiversity and restoring the land around us, while demonstrating that outdoor education can operate in harmony with nature.

Plant-based food and the Plant Based Treaty

We are proud to support the Plant Based Treaty, reflecting our commitment to encouraging more sustainable, plant-based food choices and reducing the environmental impact associated with food production.

As part of this commitment, we have stopped serving dairy milk at WildHearts Outdoors. Instead, we serve Plenish enriched oat milk as our plant-based alternative.

We also only cook plant-based food options on our open fire. This brings our commitment to plant-based eating into our outdoor experiences and demonstrates that delicious food can be prepared without animal products.

Off-grid and responsible water use

WildHearts Outdoors operates off-grid, allowing us to take a thoughtful and responsible approach to the resources we use.

Fresh tap water is available, however, we also actively harvest and conserve rainwater. We currently collect rainwater in two giant IBC containers, each holding 1,000 litres, which are positioned around the site. This gives us a total rainwater storage capacity of 2,000 litres.

As part of our ongoing environmental plan, this year we are working to double our rainwater storage capacity to 4,000 litres. This has become increasingly important following the last two very hot and dry summers. With more frequent periods of drought and prolonged dry weather, we need to capture and store more water during wetter periods so that we can use it responsibly when it is needed most.

A key reason for increasing our storage capacity is to ensure we have enough water available to keep our newly planted native trees alive during periods of drought. Our rainwater harvesting is therefore not simply about reducing mains water use; it is an important part of protecting the woodland we are creating.

This is an ongoing project, and we will continue to review and increase our rainwater harvesting capacity as our trees grow and the effects of changing weather patterns become increasingly apparent.

Our grey water is also reused on our trees and vegetation rather than being returned to the water system. This enables us to make further use of the water we bring onto the land while supporting the establishment of our growing woodland.

Compost toilets and natural waste management

We use Tree bog compost toilets, reducing the amount of water required for sanitation and avoiding the need for conventional flushing toilets. The trees and planting around the toilets purify the fluids and convert the human waste into biomass and rich soil for nearby non food trees.

Native tree planting and biodiversity

Since purchasing our land in 2023, we have planted more than 300 native trees.

This is a long-term commitment to restoring and enriching the landscape. Native trees provide food and habitat for wildlife, support biodiversity, improve soil health and contribute to carbon storage as they grow. We want the land to become increasingly diverse, healthy and resilient over time.

Our investment in rainwater harvesting is closely connected to this work. As our woodland develops, ensuring that young trees have access to water during prolonged dry periods will be essential to their survival.

Low-impact heating

Our cabin is heated using a log burner, forming part of our wider off-grid approach and our efforts to keep our infrastructure as simple and low-impact as possible.

Reducing paper and single-use plastics

We actively work to prevent waste rather than simply dealing with it after it has been created.

Wherever possible, we have stopped printing on paper, choosing digital alternatives instead to reduce unnecessary paper consumption and wastage.

We also do not use single-use plastics at all at WildHearts Outdoors. We believe the best waste is waste that never needs to be created in the first place.

We actively encourage the families who visit us to adopt the same approach. For example, we discourage single-use items such as individual yoghurt pots in children's lunch boxes and instead encourage families to bring waste-free lunches using reusable containers.

Giving toys and resources a second life

We believe sustainability should also extend to the resources and equipment we use.

Where possible, we buy recycled, pre-loved or second-hand toys and resources, giving items that might otherwise end up in landfill a second life. This reduces the demand for new products and helps us demonstrate to children and families that things do not need to be new to be valuable, useful or fun.

We encourage our parents and families to do the same. In particular, we encourage families to consider buying warm-weather clothing and outdoor gear from charity shops or platforms such as Vinted, rather than purchasing new items that may only be used for a short period of time.

Children grow quickly, and outdoor clothing can have a short useful life within one family. Buying pre-loved helps keep good-quality clothing in circulation and discourages unnecessary waste and the growth of landfill.

Leave nothing but footprints

Our Stay and Play group follows a simple motto:

“Leave nothing but footprints.”

We want children and families to develop a positive relationship with the natural world and understand that enjoying it also means looking after it.

Our approach is guided by a simple principle:

If we can't reuse it, recycle it, refill it or compost it, then we won't have anything to do with it.

This philosophy influences the resources we provide, the food and drink we serve, the products we purchase and the way we encourage our families to think about consumption and waste.

Our ongoing commitment

Climate action at WildHearts Outdoors is about making practical choices every day: choosing plant-based food, reducing waste, harvesting and reusing water, operating off-grid, using natural sanitation, reducing paper, eliminating single-use plastics, giving pre-loved items a second life and actively restoring the land through native tree planting.

Since buying the land in 2023, we have planted more than 300 native trees, and we see this as just the beginning. Our plan to increase rainwater storage from 2,000 to 4,000 litres is another step in ensuring those trees can survive increasingly hot and dry summers.

We recognise that environmental action is an ongoing process. As our site develops and the climate changes, we will continue to review what we do, identify where we can improve and find practical ways to reduce our environmental footprint and increase biodiversity.

Our aim is not simply to minimise our impact, but to leave the land, and the people who experience it, better than we found them.