How to Travel Sustainably with DAYMADE

Eco-friendly travel with minimal carbon footprint

by Abbi James

Travelling is without a doubt the best way to gain new perspectives, broaden your horizons and experience new cultures first-hand. Whether you’re motivated by the desire to escape a demanding job or you’re yearning for a cultural crash-course, travel offers us the opportunity to glimpse a different life from the one we’re living. But with 1.4 billion international arrivals per year, travel can come at an environmental and social cost. DAYMADE is all about experiences over money. But we also think travel could be done in a more eco-friendly and sustainable way. Here’s some ways in which DAYMADE attempts to make a difference.

We work closely with Ecologi to ensure we give more back to the planet than we take. Our work with Ecologi funds projects that remove more greenhouse gases than our team’s carbon footprint. These projects range from carbon reduction through solar power generation in India to the planting of forest gardens in Uganda, each one offering vital greenhouse gas emission reduction.

We love sending our winners around the world on life-changing trips and adventures, but we’re also aware of the environmental cost of flights. That’s why we’ve partnered with myclimate to offset the carbon footprint of our flights, minimising our environmental impact. This carbon offsetting comes from a variety of projects promoting quantifiable climate protection and global sustainability. The projects we support vary from transforming waste into biogas in Vietnam to community reforestation in Nicaragua.

We’re proud to offset the carbon footprint of the DAYMADE team and our winners’ flights, but we wanted to go one step further and help to offset our players’ carbon footprint. Dedicated to doing right by our players and our planet, we choose to do our bit by planting a tree for every purchase. So far that’s already 290,000+ trees planted with Eden! These trees are integral in the work to protect and revitalise land, preventing flooding erosion and landslides. They also greatly support biodiversity, not to mention the livelihoods of local farmers and communities for generations to come. Eden plant Forest Gardens, which consist of a variety of plants ranging from trees to shrubs, fruits to vegetables. This diverse array of species allows a farming family to use agroforestry to sustainably build their income, nutrition and way of life for years to come. Afterall, sustainability shouldn’t just be focussed on the fight against climate change – we should work to ensure we maintain our environment and natural habitats in the long-term.

We’re proud to have partnered with the travel agency Much Better Adventures, who aim to create the world’s most positive-impact adventure company. They’re all about providing amazing outdoor experiences across the globe that are sustainable and eco-friendly - a goal we’re 1000% in support of!

Local communities can be greatly affected by tourism, both positively and negatively. It is therefore essential that local communities be sustainably supported and not exploited. Much Better Adventures work with 100% locally-owned independent businesses, with an average of 80% of money spent staying in the local economy. This allows local communities to be empowered through sustainable business practices and work towards local nature conservation efforts. And with their pledge to plant enough native trees to suck twice as much carbon back out of the atmosphere as the amount produced for each trip, it’s easy to see how our partnership together has formed.

We offer a variety of trips with Much Better Adventures as prizes across our £500, £2,500 and £10,000 prize categories. You can read more about these amazing getaways in further detail here.

We’re proud to offer a variety of eco-friendly travel prizes with our partners, so take a look at some of our favourites below.

If exploring unspoilt wilderness by water and on foot makes your heart skip a beat, this one’s for you. Set sail on a 100km-long self-powered adventure through Greenland’s scenic landscapes, as you hike across glaciers, kayak through dramatic fjords and trek along an ancient ice cap. You’ll visit Tasersuatsiaq Lake to gaze upon caribou feeding on salts from the fjord, before kayaking through Ikerssuaq fjord where you might spot Greenlandic seals or whales as you venture onwards. Being self-powered, your adventure within Greenland will have minimum environmental impact by design. We’ll also offset the carbon footprint of your flights to and from Greenland through MyClimate.org! Check out more about how you can win this self-powered 100km adventure in Greenland with Much Better Adventures here.

Not all travel needs to be to far-flung corners of the world. The UK is filled with beautiful places just waiting to be explored, without stepping foot on a plane to get there.

Cornwall is renowned for being home to some of the UK’s best surfing beaches, beautiful coastal walks and stunning views. Our DAYMADE prizes include a variety of different trips to Cornwall, including a £500 getaway with Much Better Adventures which features luxury camping in the woods. You’ll spend your time pushing outside of your comfort zone with wild swims, rocky traverses and cliff jumps with a group of like-minded adventurers. Being accessible via train and with minimal local environmental impact, you can rest easy knowing your getaway isn’t costing the planet. Find out more details on our Cornwall adventure prize here.

Getting away from busy schedules and going off-grid offers a unique experience everyone should try at least once – after all, it’s been quite the last 2 years… We’ve got a luxurious trip for two as part of our ‘staycation’ series that requires minimal travel, being based in the stunning Welsh countryside. Hike through stunning woodland, across streams and along the Welsh Mountains as you immerse yourself in nature once again. You’ll stay in a secluded treehouse built 30 feet off the ground, completely off-grid yet equipped with all the essentials you need to enjoy your home away from home. For the more adventurous, try your hand at horseback riding, stand-up paddle boarding and canoeing, all whilst knowing you’re having minimal environmental impact. Winners all round. Want to win a getaway to the Welsh countryside? Check out more info here.

Fancy yourself an Insta-worthy getaway in the UK? Our next staycation prize with minimal environmental impact takes us to Northern Ireland, where you’ll be staying in a premium bubble dome at the luxurious Finn Lough Resort. You’ll enjoy panoramic views of secluded Irish woodland from the comfort of your own bubble dome, before exploring the biodiversity on offer at the nearby lake, pampering yourself in the on-site spa, or trying your hand at morning yoga. Finn Lough maintain a strong appreciation of and respect for their surroundings. They employ sustainable practices to ensure their local impact is minimal and nature can be freely enjoyed by future generations for years to come. To find out how to win a stay in a bubble dome, read here.

To find out more about eco-travel solutions, you can read about how one of our players offsets her travel in her blog, Bea Adventurous!

Do you have any suggestions for eco-friendly travel? Let us know by emailing team@daymade.co.uk – we’re all ears!

Enter now for your chance to win an eco-friendly travel prize:

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