Eco-Friendly

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 life.

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. (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).

And, we are carbon neutral.

Design & Development
We used responsible local contractors who would understand the need to be kind to the land and vegetation within their own community. And, even though we are in the midst of a 2nd-growth residential forest of 100 ft trees, we were able to situate the cabins and dig deep enough – below the root balls of the trees - for all the various infrastructure pipes, that we only had to remove two living trees during the entire development.

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.

One thing that also stands out here is the nature of the aesthetic. Many eco-facilities are rustic. Not here. We tried to create very luxurious environment that is also eco-responsible… and largely the result of recycling. All of the wood furniture in the cabins are vintage and antique pieces we rescued from garage sales and restored, as are most of the lighting fixtures and decorative pieces.

Operations
All our appliances are low energy and low-flow, and we use low-watt and energy-efficient lights and CFL bulbs inside whenever possible. The cabin lighting is low and atmospheric, guests are given individual reading lights in the cabins and good LED flashlights for outside. 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 (on at deep dusk and off at 11pm).

We have reduced our energy footprint as much as possible and offset the remaining carbon emissions to achieve a zero footprint. We also offer an easy way for our guests to offset their trip.

Our landscaping is designed to depend on natural rainfall. What little landscape watering we need in the sunny area overlooking the ocean during extended dry summertime comes from a well so that what comes from the ground goes back to the ground. We also have containers that hold fresh water around the property for the animals that share our forest, and have planted greenery that is a natural source of food for the animals.

All our stationery and promotional materials use recycled paper. We use e-communication modes whenever possible.

This area does little to pick up any range of recycled materials, so we store them ourselves and take them where appropriate. We take all 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.

We ask our guests to either leave any empty water bottles in the cabins or drop them off in the recycling bin in the Guest Hall so we can ensure they are recycled and don't wind up in some landfill somewhere. The cabin water glasses are also recyclable and we take care of those.

Our bodycare products are 100% natural, the bottles recyclable and we take care of those as well. The cellophane envelopes we use for our chocolates are compostable.

We use nontoxic, pH-neutral, scent-free cleaning and laundry products. We use rags and minimize any non-reusable materials.

We buy local and organic produce and flowers whenever possible.

We donate unused food to a local individual who distributes it.

We are working to solve composting without attracting wild animals, a challenge in this area, and are trying to find affordable bird-friendly wind power to reduce our use of electricity even further.

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, 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 $7,000 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 have developed WinterGreen, a program where small, independently owned inns and B&Bs donate a portion of thier lodging from Jan to March to a national eco-organization. The beta test of this will take place Jan - march 2010, and the details will be public shortly.

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.

WildSpring has partnered with TerraPass to offset our carbon emissions for a zero carbon footprint, and to support programs helping other organizations do the same.

Click here if you'd like to offset your traveling plans.