Northern Lights photography holiday in Iceland
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
Out in the field:
We encourage you to travel responsibly and to consider the following guidelines to protect the environment:
- When out in wild places we encourage you to keep erosion to a minimum, keep to footpaths and avoid stepping on or picking native flora, Iceland is especially fragile environmentally and the country is currently embarking of many projects such as tree planting to reduce erosion.
- We encourage you to use water sparingly and to avoid buying plastic bottles of water; use your own metal or heavy-duty plastic bottle such as Nalgene to refil with water from a safe source as recommended. In Iceland water should never be bought from a shop as most water sources are exceptionally pure.
- River water could also be drinking water, do not contaminate water supplies by washing in it. Any washing products should be phosphate free.
- Minimize pollution, and carry out all litter. Iceland has one of the lowest levels of environmental pollution in the world and it is good to keep it this way.
Iceland Conservation Volunteers:
We support the Environment Agency of Iceland through passing on information about its policy and encouraging people to join their volunteer scheme. Our company is currently setting up an itinerary for UK schools expeditions to visit Iceland to participate in the project.
- Each summer more than 200 international volunteers take part in the Environment Agency programme. The volunteers now complete over 650 weeks of work around Iceland every year.
- The Environment Agency hosts volunteers from all over the world and works closely with a variety of international organizations. The programme is organized in partnership with the British conservation volunteer organization BTCV.
- The work began over 30 years ago in Jökulsárgljúfur, Vatnajökull National Park, with a team of 15 volunteers. Today, if you visit Iceland’s national parks, there is a very good chance that you will walk on trails built and maintained by Environment Agency volunteers.
- All volunteers live and work in some of the most beautiful parts of Iceland throughout the summer. The teams gain experience of a wide range of practical conservation skills while working closely with local staff and other international volunteers.
- Although work is focused on the improvement and maintenance of hiking trails, volunteers are also involved in wilderness management and heritage management.
- Many volunteers from the scheme worked on cleaning the ash that devastated the rural and farming areas around the erupted volcano, Eyafjalljokull.
We recommend that you visit our links page where you will find comprehensive information on travel, health, environmental concerns, preparing for your holiday, local cultures and how to support local projects. Please enquire for more details.
Wherever possible we work electronically, we are totally web based and our paper use is minimal. We work from a home based office reducing car travel to a minimum.
Community
Iceland has been hit hard by their bankruptcy/crisis of October 2008. More than ever Communities are having to return to their roots and rely on traditional ways of making a living. Tourism, fishing, farming and local crafts such as knitting are seen as a way of restoring economic stability to the country and giving a sense of dignity to Icelanders.
In particular communities in the Myvatn and Reykjahlid area are well away from the central hub Reykjavik where most money is allocated for tourism and these communities rely on visitors to boost their economy. Since way before the current crisis we have been supporting these less visited areas and we are rewarded with a very personal service, quieter locations, fresher home grown produce and insight into the lives and folklore of local people. Now it is cheaper for us to visit Iceland as we get an excellent exchange rate. We always ensure that participants on our holidays get the opportunity to see and purchase local products.
Local providers:
Our transport will be local and wherever possible small family hotels, guesthouses and hostels are used, many of our connections with these local providers of accommodation and transport go back many years. These local providers appreciate our on-going commitment to their livelihoods. For example our long term friend Jon owns Elda which comprises four village houses converted to guest houses. An ex geothermal power station worker, Jon first ran tourist transport and a campsite, he is slowly building his business, although the Summers are busy, the remaining months are relatively quiet and we are trying to bring visitors to the area during these quieter times. Breakfasts in his guest house include bread baked in local lava heated ovens in the ground.
All of our service suppliers are informed of our responsible travel policy which is clearly visible on our website.
We encourage you to travel responsibly and to consider the following guidelines to protect the community:
- Respect local customs religion and traditions.
- Carry out some research about Iceland and being able to speak a few words of Icelandic is always appreciated.
- Don’t take photographs of local people and places of religious significance without permission.
- Keep promises! Send copies of photos to local people if this is what you have said you will do.
- Read the labels and buy local products such as food and souvenirs so that money directly benefits the community.
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