A cornerstone of our commitment as a sustainable travel company is our Conservation Contribution Scheme – a scheme designed to help conserve and enhance those natural assets which are vital to our environmental, community and economic wellbeing. At the end of 2017 we signed a new partnership with the John Muir Trust to become a Peak Partner of their organisation. The essence of the partnership is that Wilderness Scotland would make a £5,000 minimum donation to the trust per year, and in return for providing this minimum amount we work with the trust to decide which projects our funds would support. We decided upon this approach based upon customer feedback, specifically it would be better if those funds raised through the Conservation Contribution Scheme could be associated with identified projects rather than the general work of the charity.

The funds to support this partnership come from our Conservation Contribution Scheme – an optional payment that is made directly to us by our clients as part of their booking. Since the launch of the scheme we, together with you as our valued clients, have raised over £50,000 for the John Muir Trust and other conservation organisations.

Our most recent project work with the John Muir Trust has been on the Isle of Skye, where funds have supported upland footpath restoration. You can read more about the mission and work of the John Muir Trust here.

While we are committed to giving at least £5,000 of the annual funds raised to the JMT, any amount over this figure can go toward other worthwhile environmental causes. Our ambition within the Wilderness Sustainability Team is to be able to able to put funds toward other projects. In recent years this has included native habitat restoration with the charity Trees for Life and the funding for  installation of a “Seabin” on the West Coast of Scotland as an effective method of capturing plastic ocean waste.

This commitment to local communities and economies provides valuable employment and income to communities that are often remote. The profit we retain and reinvest strengthens our own business and helps to ensure that the benefits of it can continue in the long term.

Through our volunteering programme we dedicate a significant number of hours toward good causes, both at a local level and in donating expertise to engage with and influence our industry as a whole:

• Social-Environmental Projects: The Family Travel Association, The Cairngorm Ski Club, Kingussie Bikeathon
• Wider Industry Activities: ATTA Guide Standards, ISKGA, Balkans Regional Tourism Development and the World Guide Awards