Video presentation to the BC Association of Travel Writers April 18, 2015

WildSpring is fortunate to be located in an astonishingly beautiful part of our planet. We try to keep it that way. Everything we do here has been designed to have a minimum impact on the environment, and all our choices were made with three questions in mind: Will it be beautiful in a natural way? Will it help protect the environment? Will it make guests feel cared for? (Read about our practices to ensure guest comfort and well being.) WildSpring is a remarkable place with an incredibly serene energy that creates a sense of connection to the land and to those who have shared it through the years. There is a sense of timeless reverence here, and it’s easy to lie in one of the hammocks looking up at the treetops swaying in the wind and imagine a different, better life. "Rewilding" We hope if our guests are given the chance to be surrounded by this much natural beauty, they will understand on a deep level how special this kind of environment is and be moved to protect it when they return home. This effort to reconnect people with nature is being called "rewilding." (Note: Interestingly enough, a Boston 2007 meeting of the American Psychological Association reviewed findings that when people walk outside rather than inside, even for just 15 minutes, they tend to feel happier, more energetic and more protective of the environment....what we felt intuitively when planning WildSpring. In Japan, they call it "forest bathing," based on research that shows time spent in nature lowers stress levels and increases the emotional and physical ability to heal. Click on the box to the right for more information.) And, we are carbon neutral.

In Japan, they call it "forest bathing." (click to find out more) TripAdvisor sent an email to all its members May 9, 2014 putting us on a list of ten "gorgeous eco hotels" (woo hoo!)

Design & Development
We planned every aspect of WildSpring to be eco-sensititve from the very beginning. We used responsible local contractors who would understand the need to be kind to the land within their own community. And, even though we’re in the midst of a 2nd-growth forest of 100 ft trees, we were able to place the cabins and dig deep enough for the infrastructure that we only had to remove two living trees during the entire development.

We used local, sustainable materials whenever code allowed, VOC-free paints, no carpeting, heated wood floors.

Our design concept intended that everything guests see or touch be made of natural materials. We wanted to create an environment that felt organic, but luxurious. We paid attention to every detail and, rather than compromise development by having to make cheaper decisions, we stopped work until we had the money to proceed correctly. All our vegetation is native to this area or suitable to its natural cycles, including a spectacular collection of rhododendrons, sea grasses, ground covers, trees, heritage bushes, junipers and wild irises. The grounds are kept kempt and parklike, but not groomed like a garden, allowing the natural environment to express itself.

Unlike many eco-facilities, WildSpring is not rustic. We wanted to offer comfortable luxury in a natural environment in an eco-responsibly way. Recycling helped. All of the wood furniture in the cabins are vintage and antique pieces we rescued from garage sales in the Hollywood Hills and restored or repurposed, as are most of the lighting fixtures and decorative pieces.

Operations
Of course, our daily operations had to protect the natural beauty and guest comfort here.

Perched on the edge of the 48 states overlooking the Pacific, our air is amazingly clean and fresh. We didn’t want to interfere with that in any way.

All our cleaning products are nontoxic, pH-neutral and scent-free. Our bodycare products are 100% natural, with the lightest of natural scents. We provide scent-free soy candles.

All our appliances are low energy and low-flow, and we use low-watt and energy-efficients and CFL bulbs inside whenever possible. The Guest Hall is lit by skylights during daylight. Our landscape lighting is a 12v system, directed to the ground to protect the starry nights (Port Orford is a Dark Skies Initiative city), and on a timer.

We have reduced our energy footprint as much as possible and offset the remaining carbon emissions to achieve a zero footprint.

We keep our grounds parklike, allowing the natural environment to express itself. All plantings are native to the area or suitable to its natural cycles and rainfall. We make sure there are containers to collect water and we planted greenery that is a natural source of food for the gentle wildlife that shares the land with us.

All our stationery and promotional materials use recycled paper.

This area does little to pick up any range of recycled materials, so we store them ourselves and take them where appropriate. We take shipping materials such as popcorn, bubble wrap and boxes to our local myrtlewood gift manufacturer so they can be reused when they ship their items.

The cellophane bags for the chocolate truffles, cabin water glasses and all trashcan liners are compostable.

We buy local and organic produce and flowers whenever possible.

Because of the wildlife around us, we are not able to compost here, so we give all our food waste to a local farm for animal feed and composting. We are also trying to find affordable bird-friendly wind power to reduce our use of electricity even further.

We participate in the Clean the World program, collecting all our slightly used bar soaps from our cabins and sending them to Clean the World Foundation. They are a non-profit organization who collects soaps from over 150,000 hotels rooms that would ordinarily be thrown away, sanitizes and sends them to local homeless shelters and impoverished children. This recycles nearly 69 million pounds of soap and plastic bottles that would normally wind up in landfills, provides green jobs for people who need work to collect, recycle and pack the soaps, and helps improve hygiene and combats deaths due to diseased that washing with soap can prevent.

Guest Participation
We invite our guests to participate in water and energy-saving measures with us:

“We kindly ask you to participate in our conservation program by using your towels and sheets more than once. Hang up towels if you want to participate; if not, simply leave them on the floor and we will replace them with freshly laundered ones. As far as sheets, we will change them after three days for extended stays, unless you let us know you'd like them changed that day by putting the special card from your nightstand on the pillow. In addition to decreasing water and energy consumption, you help reduce the amount of detergent waste water that must be recycled within our community. We also ask that you turn lights off in the cabins when you leave the cabins.”

Outreach
We donate funds and provide free stays for fundraising auctions to a number of environmental and humanist organizations, including Southern Oregon Land Conservancy, Habitat for Humanity, World Pulse, Columbia Land Conservancy, Bioneers, Kalmiopsis Audubon Society, Rotary Club, Public Counsel in Los Angeles. We support organizations like these who share our goals to protect the land and help the disenfranchised. Currently we have over $6,000 in free stays outstanding for this and for our local community support as well.

We have donated pro bono marketing support to the Conservation Leaders Network, an organization that promotes conservation at the county level across the nation and to our city, Port Orford, to help residents keep informed of the latest developments in government and city services, including our water initiatives, and to help visitors understand the remarkable natural resources in our area, encouraging them to enjoy them and treat them with respect.

Industry Recognition And, our efforts have earned a great deal of industry recognition. By showing that we measure up to the 37 Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria, our sustainable and environmentally responsible policies and operations have earned us the highest Gold Level in Oregon's Sustainable Travel program. We also participated in the Oregon Travel Philanthropy Fund for the seven years it was in existance. It was a program supporting sustainable tourism development. We invited our guests to donate to this fund, and - outside the parameters of the program - we donate a dollar for every stay ourselves. Over the years, it accomplished a great deal on behalf of our beautiful state and we were proud to be founding members. The highest level in the Oregon Bed & Breakfast Guild Green Inspection Program. The highest Platinum Level in TripAdvisor’s GreenLeaders program. Green Pearls’ first U.S. member. They are an international organization, based in Germany, that promotes sustainable destinations, hotels and restaurants worldwide. And, we won the 2013 Sustainable Tourism Leadership Award at the Governor's Conference April 27, 2014 (woo hoo!)

Certified Wildlife Habitat We are an official birding site on the Oregon Coast Birding Trail, and we are a National Wildlife Federation certified habitat for wild animals. Visit their website for more information about this program. And if you'd like information on creating a wildlife habitat in your own backyard, visit this website.