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How Campspace hosts practice sustainability

How Campspace hosts practice sustainability

Get to know how two Campspace hosts, Tamara and Samantha, are practicing sustainability at their campsites.

Recycling, using less plastic, and eating more plant-based meals are a few of the many things people are doing to practice sustainability. As more individuals become aware of their habits and try to improve, learning more about what others are doing to be sustainable can help!

One thing is for certain, all our hosts are practicing sustainability as they choose to welcome travelers to enjoy their green spaces! However, there are so many more ways of being a sustainable Campspace host as it is their lifestyle. We are happy to introduce you to Tamara and Samantha, and how these two hosts are practicing sustainability. If you would like more inspiration, we have gathered a list of tips on how to be a sustainable host!

Fruitful Food Forests

Located in two different areas of North Brabant are Tamara’s campspace in Budel and Samantha’s campspace in Teteringen. Tamara and Samantha both have over 20,000 square meters of land (equal to about 3 football fields) dedicated to giving back to nature, animals, and their local community. In addition to the 2,000 trees that they both own and continue planting, are the food forests they grow and take care of annually. 

Tamara in particular has planted around 2500 trees and bushes this year alone and plans to plant more. From strawberries and raspberries to plums and apples, their food forests feed themselves, Campspace guests, and the animals natural to that location. 

Tamara and Samantha work with their husbands and devote their attention, time, and energy in making sure their fruitful forests grow to their best potential. The food forests in these camp spaces are a unique experience for travelers to spend a few nights in.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle 

The six “R’s” of sustainability are; rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and repair! These are the pillars of a sustainable lifestyle and our hosts include these sustainable pillars and improve on them every day.

buy second hand1. Buying second-hand items 

Working towards a circular economy is something Tamara and her husband have been doing for 6 years and want to continue with. They genuinely enjoy and try to only buy new items unless completely necessary and reusing materials or buying second-hand. They like reclaimed items like fences, and even got a picnic bench for Campspace guests to use! 

2. Recycling waste

Samantha and Tamara actively recycle waste with their husbands and have been doing it for years. For example, compost, plastic, and paper are divided, and some are picked up by the municipality, while other resources are reused for gardening. 

3. Using less plastic

Using less plastic is something we encourage everyone to do. Our hosts are trying to use less plastic as there are lots of great alternative items and materials that can be used. 

4. Buying local

Our hosts live near farms and so they purchase their food from local farmers and stores. This sustainable act continues to support and build the community! 

5. Firewood from their own forest

For Tamara and her husband, firewood from the trees that were no longer contributing to the existing ecosystem when they first moved in 3 years ago, is now used to heat up their house. They continue to plant trees and create a more diverse forest. 

Similarly, Samantha and her husband have owned their forest for 3 years and noticed a large portion of trees were dying, taking up space, overshadowing the ground, and preventing growth. They also decided to make something out of the chopped wood as Samantha’s husband built a porch and other parts of their house with wood from their forest. Furthermore, after removing all the dead trees they chopped them into firewood and now they heat their home with it!

6. Wood-pellet litter for their cats

If you have a cat, ditch the clay or sand litter by switching to wood pellets! That is exactly what Tamara did as she owns four cats and they used to use clay litter for them. Now the wood pellets are used for compost instead of being thrown out.

7. Collecting rainwater

Another neat and sustainable practice is collecting rainwater. Tamara and her husband collected an impressive 8000 liters of water this year which they use to water their trees and plants. This is done with a large water tank kept in their garden.

8. Side-business

Another great aspect of Tamara and Samantha’s busy lives is working on their own businesses aside from Campspace land growth, land maintenance, and resource collecting. Samantha for instance uses the harvested American Oakwood from her forest to create wooden coasters and different prints!

Sticking to a Sustainability Lifestyle

Just like any new habit, we try to incorporate in our lives, maintaining sustainability is the best habit you can choose. Our hosts are not only practicing sustainability, but they are living a sustainable lifestyle, sticking to it, and improving in small ways. This shows how incredible their commitments and results are. 

Samantha shared that sustainability means “living in harmony with nature”. To be present in her forest alone, practicing mindfulness, and forest bathing are reasons to keep living a sustainable lifestyle. Samantha’s way of improving her lifestyle outdoors is by making sure she maintains her sustainable habits. 

By simply living a sustainable life, in itself is their favorite sustainable activity.

Tamara in particular mentioned that to her, sustainability means “working with nature”.  

That is instead of killing it with pesticides or disturbing it in other ways. By living a life surrounded by nature and working together with her husband, it keeps her busy and content. Tamara enjoys planting trees, however, seeing and experiencing the results of her hard work in the spring and summer is her favorite sustainable activity. Her way of improving her sustainable lifestyle is by taking small steps. 

It is no question that these two hosts work hard and inspire others, including guests. Being present in green spaces does wonders to one’s physical and mental health. And you can very much be part of it, even meet Tamara and Samantha, and experience their rich food forest. You can start small and expand your options of sustainable activities by visiting one of our campspaces.

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