This river has been our home for 40 years. The Algonquin people have lived here for millennia. We hold the responsibility to ensure it will continue to thrive for future generations. This watershed is home, our work, our community, and our playground.
FOOD: We take our food and our waste seriously! Food waste is either composted to feed our gardens, or food for our resident ethically and sustainably raised pigs. All our meals, snacks and specialist beverages are served with reusable plates, cups, and cutlery, which are washed with eco-friendly products. At our Café, we do not use disposable “take away” cups. If sipping your beverage on site, you’ll enjoy it in a ceramic mug which we feel also tastes better. And if taking it off-site, and don’t have your own travel mug, we have a great selection of locally designed Ottawa River cups, pottery mugs or thermal tumblers for sale. We strive to source much of our food items from local producers, and bakers. Our kitchen garden provides us with vegetables, herbs and edible flowers that enhances our cuisine.
SHOPPING: We avoid single-use plastics at all costs! We only sell drinks that are packaged in recyclable material. Anything that can be recycled is sorted and taken to a recycling depot once a week. When a product we sell arrives in single-use packaging, we contact our supplier with ideas on how this could be improved. Many of our suppliers are now providing us with reusable containers, that get exchanged on a weekly basis.
WATER: By using low-flow and composting toilets, waterless urinals, and low flow shower heads, we minimize our water consumption… Our water in our guest wash house is also pre heated by solar power.
RIVER CLEAN-UP: After every season, we do a riverside clean-up, removing litter from the shores and eddies along the Ottawa River.
SAVE THE TREES: In our office, both sides of every piece of paper is used – it’s a small thing, and small things count! We have digitalized our waiver system, saving thousands of sheets of paper annually. Reservations are online and computerized, minimizing the paper copies of the past.
ENERGY + CARBON: Coming soon – Electric Vehicle charging stations at our Base. Most of our lights are low wattage LEDs and we are continually working towards all our lights to be low wattage LEDs. Our staff choose to live in completely off-grid accommodations, using zero electricity for the entire summer!
EDUCATION: By bringing more people into the River World, we inspire, deepen and build people’s care and love for our environment. We continue to learn from the River!
NEXT STEPS: We have signed the Sustainable Tourism 2030 Pledge, to demonstrate our commitment to improving the sustainability of our business operations between now and 2030.
