Environment & Biosecurity
Minimising Impact
As travellers in wild & remote locations we want to ensure they remain as pristine, natural & unspoiled as possible, especially by any effect of our visit there.
- We leave no trace, except maybe some temporary steps in the sand, & take nothing away but memories, photographs (or drawings).
- We aim to disturb wildlife and plants as little as possible, & we don't remove anything like bones, driftwood, dead animals/skeletons, fossils, stones etc.
- We don't leave cairns, fire-pits & fire debris or any other disturbance or evidence of our presence. We aim to remove any evidence of our camp, including any flattening of undergrowth etc...
- We'll leave nothing of ours behind either onshore or in the sea.
- If we can we'll remove garbage found on the shore & clean up evidence of previous visitors.
- We'll avoid landing near houses, existing camps, & other groups unless contact is established and the landing is agreed to or completely unavoidable.
- We'll keep our camps compact & discrete especially where space needs to be shared. We'll usually only stay overnight or maximum two nights in any one spot, unless weather or other issues ground us.
Environmental Biosecurity
We all need to be aware of the effect, intended or not, that we can have on biodiversity or biosecurity of the places we visit. This can be as simple as disturbance, habitat damage or contamination. We also have the potential to be a vector for biological invasion by organisms alien to the region.
This is especially critical due to the growth in numbers and frequency of visitors to areas that were previously much wilder, and the increasing demand to visit ever more undisturbed and remote areas and the inevitable anthropogenic consequences.
This is especially critical due to the growth in numbers and frequency of visitors to areas that were previously much wilder, and the increasing demand to visit ever more undisturbed and remote areas and the inevitable anthropogenic consequences.
- We should not harmfully interfere with or disturb the normal living conditions of native mammals and birds
- We should not introduce any non-indigenous species of plants and animals, and take precautions to prevent the introduction of parasites and diseases
- We should not souvenir any natural material including flowers, stones, fossils etc
- Human fecal and other food waste (e.g. eggs) have the potential to introduce non native micro-organisms, viruses, sprouting seeds / propagules into the environment
- Be careful not to spread disease from any animal mortality event you might encounter
- Make sure clothing & footwear, camera and other bags, boats & personal paddling equipment has been washed to remove seeds, invertebrates, soil and other propagules - check Velcro carefully!
- Check out your camping equipment including tents, pegs etc. It is easy to carry around a few bugs, including ticks with you, if you don't have a good clean up of your ground sheet inside and out ....
Check Clean Dry
The sea is of fundamental ecological and economic significance. Invasive non natural species have the potential to cause substantial damage to fragile ecosystems so it is vital that we all take responsibility for protecting them. While most boat users are vigilant about the risk of spreading non-native species and diseases, there is a real risk that those that aren’t could accidentally spread these organisms, harming the environment and potentially damaging the reputation of sea kayakers in general.
Clean – Equipment should be washed down on site with tap water. Washings should be left at the water body where the equipment was used, or contained and not allowed to enter any other watercourse or drainage system (i.e. do not put them down the drain or sink).
Dry – Thoroughly drying is the best method for disinfecting clothing and equipment. Kit should be hung-up to dry and be thoroughly dry for 48 hours before it is used elsewhere. Some invasive non-native species can survive for as many as 15 days in damp conditions and up to 2 days in dry conditions, so the drying process must be thorough.
- Non-Native species could be spread in any water or material. Boat users should take care to avoid moving these between different water bodies.
- Boat users should make themselves aware of some of the priority non-native species.
- Bio fouling must be thoroughly removed from all hulls and other submerged surfaces before transfer to another site.
- Any site may have invasive non-native species and diseases that can be spread by contaminated clothes and equipment, so good biosecurity is always important. Remember: everyone, every time, everywhere.
- If you are visiting a site where an invasive non-native species is known to be present, you must ensure you don’t spread it. Failure to do so risks prosecution under the Wildlife & Countryside Act, 1981.
- Any water that collects inside kayaks must be completely emptied before leaving the site.
Clean – Equipment should be washed down on site with tap water. Washings should be left at the water body where the equipment was used, or contained and not allowed to enter any other watercourse or drainage system (i.e. do not put them down the drain or sink).
Dry – Thoroughly drying is the best method for disinfecting clothing and equipment. Kit should be hung-up to dry and be thoroughly dry for 48 hours before it is used elsewhere. Some invasive non-native species can survive for as many as 15 days in damp conditions and up to 2 days in dry conditions, so the drying process must be thorough.
Human Health Biosecurity
Food & Water Borne Infection
The principal methods of avoiding or spreading water borne or food based infection are:
If you want to understand the full panoply of potential illnesses from water sports / contaminated water and in outdoor recreation you can find it here and here. These are US documents so not all the diseases are present in the UK.
- All participants must practice good personal hand & toileting hygiene to avoid faecal-oral transmission either to themselves or to others in the group.
- All water used for washing food and utensils, in cooking and for direct consumption should be filtered, boiled or treated if not from a known safe domestic source. You should also scrupulously avoid contaminating water sources with faecal matter or with food waste. Any area where there are livestock, deer, or around bothies or regular wild camping spots etc will have contaminated water sources.
- Avoid sharing eating and drinking containers or implements unless washed beforehand. You may want to use separate washing and rinsing bowls to further avoid cross contamination risks.
- Keep food in secure containers to avoid it being broken into or spoiled by vermin.
- Parasites:
- Giardiarsis - A parasite occurring in cyst form in the majority of wilderness waterways. In the past it used to be accepted that high remote headwaters and streams were safe to drink without treatment - unfortunately this is no longer true. The parasite Giardia Lamblia is ubiquitous, and will give you a very nasty dose of diarrhea seven to ten days after ingestion, and symptoms that can last up to four weeks, with extreme fluid and even weight loss, nausea cramps etc. To manage this in the wild keep your fluid content up. Treatment: visit your GP. A stool test is recommended to get the diagnosis and treatment correct. However, the test may be negative in the case of Giardiasis.
- Cryptosporidiosis - another gastrointestinal disorder this cause by the protozoan parasite cryptosporidium.
- Bacteria:
- E Coli - most likely to be contracted by swallowing water contaminated with sewerage. Symptoms: rapid onset of diarrhoea without blood. Treatment: fast for 24 hours, drink clear fluids, water, tea without milk or commercial rehydration solutions
- Shingella and Salmonella - Symptoms: generally start 24 hours after exposure and may include fever, vomiting and diarrhoea with blood. Treatment: visit your GP. Do not take anti-diarrhetic (for example, Imodium or Kaolin) because these may mask the symptoms.
- Leptospirosis has two forms: Weils Disease (a dangerous condition which results from infection carried in rats’ urine) and the Hardjo form transmitted to humans from cattle. Symptoms: fever and flu-like condition. Treatment: full recovery is probable if a course of penicillin is taken in time but this depends upon immediate treatment. The time factor is crucial. Go straight to your GP, explaining the symptoms and possible source of infection from infected water.
- Viruses:
- Norovirus / Coronavirus / Rotavirus / Hepatitis A / Covid 19 & others
If you want to understand the full panoply of potential illnesses from water sports / contaminated water and in outdoor recreation you can find it here and here. These are US documents so not all the diseases are present in the UK.
Treating Water
In terms of water treatment methods - boiling (for a minute), steripens and some high performance filter systems kill/trap all these nasties, regular pump filters get the parasites and the bacteria (small pore filters only), activated carbon filters also gets most other chemical pollutants (including iodine / chlorine if you've used them as a disinfectant - thus improving taste...) Chlorine / Chlorine dioxide/ Iodine get all the bacteria and viruses, but are not so good against the parasites, and must be left for long periods of time to be effective.
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Ticks
Ticks are a camping hazard anywhere grassy, especially where there are sheep, goats, or deer. They potentially carry several nasty diseases (Lyme disease, encephalitis….). You can find information on ticks from Health Protection Scotland here. It is best to use barrier methods to avoid allowing ticks to bite you, avoid sitting or lying on grass, and check your tent, clothes, and body each evening and morning. If you are bitten, your guides will be carrying tick-removal tools in their medical kits, and you should remove the tick as soon as possible and clean the wound. You may want to photograph the tick and the wound and keep an eye on it to see if you develop a bullseye reaction. If you do, or you develop other cold or fever like symptoms, you need to seek a course of antibiotics or an alternative from your GP as soon as you are home.
Midges
Small and irritating biting female midges can bring discomfort to camping and outdoor activities. They tend to be less numerous early and late in the season (September to May). By the sea we usually have some breeze, which helps. You need to use a repellent (Deet, Skin-so-Soft etc) and a campfire keeps them away, but when they get bad in damp still conditions, physical net barriers are the only way to manage them. Some people find topical or oral antihistamines help with their reaction to bites.
Toilet Arrangements
You can do a lot worse than reading Kathleen Meyer's "How to Shit in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art" to understand the issues. Visitor's shit can seriously contaminate the wild environment - and has done so already - see the notes about Giardia in waterways below for example.
As a group it is often worth having a 'loo & poo' etiquette discussion when you reach camp to decide how things can best be arranged. Whenever in the wild the minimum you should do is bury any solid waste, at least 15 cm de ep and at least 50 metres from any watercourse or camp area. You should only bury waste in places where it will decompose, eg wet soil among undergrowth. All tissues, wipes, sanitary products etc. need to be carried out. In the most sensitive or busy areas solid waste must be carried out too, for this you need a poop tube - look on the internet there are lots of home made solutions and commercial products for this. Sometimes you can use the intertidal zone to bury or dispose of waste, especially if it won't decompose if buried on land (e.g. desert, tundra / ice etc...) 'Poo with a view' can also be a possibility, where you squat poo off a ledge directly into the sea, or use another dispersal method (eg a piece of driftwood) to put waste out to sea after the event. It is also possible to bag waste (biodegradable doggy bags) and dispose further out at sea discreetly as you paddle later in the day. If the weather and sea temperature suits then it is always possible to 'swim & poo' - just be far enough away from others & take a wide berth after the event! |
Foraging Hunting / Fishing
Personal foraging, hunting & fishing are the most natural ways to gain sustenance, having a lighter ecological effects when done sensitively than other commercial, mechanised or cultivation based methods of harvesting food.
When foraging & hunting / fishing we need to consider each species & situation individually, ideally based on an understanding of the biology, ecology & conservation status of the target, but above all with common sense. Some animals and plants in our and other guides are indicated as being extremely rare or threatened from a conservation point of view so shouldn't be taken or touched. Some are just marked as rare, and in these cases harvesting may be acceptable but should be done very lightly (a few leaves or shellfish for example) & shouldn't be done if there is evidence of prior recent harvesting.
A couple of ground rules that may help:
When foraging & hunting / fishing we need to consider each species & situation individually, ideally based on an understanding of the biology, ecology & conservation status of the target, but above all with common sense. Some animals and plants in our and other guides are indicated as being extremely rare or threatened from a conservation point of view so shouldn't be taken or touched. Some are just marked as rare, and in these cases harvesting may be acceptable but should be done very lightly (a few leaves or shellfish for example) & shouldn't be done if there is evidence of prior recent harvesting.
A couple of ground rules that may help:
- Pick only a few leaves from each plant (think grazing...).
- Keep moving around as you collect and don't strip individual areas, whether it is shellfish, berries, mushrooms etc.... A good working rule is to only pick half of what you can find.
- Avoid damaging other plants and species as a side effect.
- If you dig for shellfish, return mud into the holes - don't smother other organisms with it.
- Don't take small young, immature fish / shell fish (Minimum Conservation Reference Size).
- Be aware of legislation that affects what you can and can't take and when you might be trespassing - this varies a bit by location / country and frankly is a bit daunting.....
- There is a common law right in the UK to fish in tidal waters, including gathering shellfish; A lot of shellfish especially bivalves though are in private fisheries or fished only under license in certain locations in the UK so are out of bounds. There are also species specific size and catch restrictions from the shore and from a boat.
- There is a common law right in the UK to collect wild growing fruit, fungi, flowers & foliage (but not seaweed) for private use or consumption only; The CROW act removes this right on CROW land unless you are on a public right of way... Note this does not include uprooting any plants or cutting any branches unless you have the landowner's permission.
- Local byelaws (e.g. on National Trust or RSPB land) and other restrictions (e.g. some organisms are protected by law in various countries, EU, National and regional fishery restrictions on fish & shellfish collection etc.) may apply.
- A lot of coastal areas in the UK are Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI's), and some are even Special Areas of Conservation (SAC's) which enjoy even more protection. They will have specific protection of the organisms that give them their status
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