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ECOTOURISTS are in awe of the natural world, and regard unique species and ecosystems with great respect. They want to see special places within the natural world, but they don't want their visit to harmfully impact those places.
Ecotourism travelers, providers, hosts, and governments work to achieve authentic, intimate, meaningful and educational encounters between visitors and local natural phenomena.
Ecotourism strives to create a sustainable industry that contributes to the health of local resources and economies for extended periods.
At Wanderlust Tours our ultimate goal is to create awareness of nature using low impact, careful visits into our natural environment. We look forward to sharing the Bend, Oregon area with you.
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We hold great respect for the natural surroundings of our tours and hope to introduce people to delicate ecosystems while maintaining a low impact on the environment.
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We keep our tour groups small to strive for very low impact on the natural areas that we visit and to enhance the experience for each of our guests and their interaction with their guide. Our daily and moonlight tours take an average of 10 guests to any one place at a time.
For larger entities such as corporate groups, family reunions, wedding parties and school groups we get very creative to divide larger groups into smaller groups and alter tour routes and venues to minimize impact on wildlife, plant life, other people, and the overall serenity and quality of the experience.
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Each Wanderlust Tours guide receives roughly 100 hours of intensive training on the natural and cultural history of the region. They are trained to share great respect for the areas that we visit with guests - both locals and visitors.
We hope that by our practices, the areas we visit will remain healthy and intact for generations to come, and that our guests will gain a heightened respect for the environment which we visit and for the communities in which they live .
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We subscribe to the highest level of renewable energy usage possible through Pacific Power's Blue Sky program - generated from geothermal and wind power - including a monthly donation to help rebuild native fish habitat.
We provide transportation for our guests in vans to the sites that we conduct our tours, thereby eliminating the need for individual vehicles to be used.
We use only reusable cups and plates for everything from daily hot chocolate to catered meals - no throwaways.
We use recycled paper for all letterhead, business cards, printer paper, brochures, and we recycle and reuse all materials possible.
We are members of a local recycled paper consortium through which we buy 100% post-consumer waste, recycled, chlorine free copy and printer paper.
We offer a commute incentive program for our staff whereby employees are rewarded with gift certificates from locally owned businesses for biking, walking, running or carpooling to work.
We support local businesses as suppliers to our tours.
We are members of and contribute to many local and national conservation organizations.
We completed ReSource’s WorkSmart program to further increase our sustainability efforts.
We believe that Wanderlust Tours holds as high a standard possible for environmental practices of an outfitter guide service.
Wanderlust Tours supports or holds memberships with the following local and national organizations:
Central Oregon Environmental Center
The Nature Conservancy of Oregon
The High Desert Museum
Deschutes Basin Land Trust
Winter Wildlands Alliance
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