Business Spotlight

Spirit Walker Expeditions is a local, guide-owned and operated business based in Gustavus, the gateway to Glacier Bay. For the last 24 years, they have taken the leading role in offering sustainable guided sea kayaking expeditions throughout Southeast Alaska.

Having been built upon the ethic of offering premium trips with a thoughtful approach, Spirit Walker continues to make environmental stewardship and respectful wildlife viewing top priorities while being a positive and contributing member of Gustavus and the surrounding communities. Their trips take a natural approach – from the locally sourced food served on trips to selecting hardened tent-sites and hiking routes – and are designed to offer visitors a chance to make a lasting connection with their surroundings in the most organic way possible. Local trips - such as their Wilderness Isles adventure - are designed to provide an entirely human-powered experience by paddling to a nearby Wilderness area, hiking through 10,000 year old forests, and returning by kayak.

The key to doing this successfully is their staff. Each guide participates in annual natural history, safety, and wilderness medicine training with local experts, and is encouraged to use the company's bikes, wall-tent housing, and of course kayaks! Many of their guides have been leading trips and exploring the area for several years - 4, 8, 10, 20, 24 years - and many are owners of the company!

Find out more about Spirit Walker’s environmental stewardship and approach to offering sustainable wilderness trips!

 

Resources

Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism Association (AWRTA) is a member-driven trade association formed to be a collective voice for wilderness-dependent businesses. They advocate for the sustainability of Alaska's natural and cultural resources, responsible tourism and tourism planning for communities.

Green Star is a non-profit organization, based in Anchorage, Alaska, that encourages businesses to practice waste reduction, energy conservation and pollution prevention through education, technical assistance, and an award-winning voluntary "green business" certification program.

NativeEnergy is a committed team of people like you - environmentalists, dreamers, entrepreneurs, activists, believers - working hard to provide you with simple and effective ways to help fight global warming. Take action and offset your carbon footprint today!

Sustainable Tourism International promotes responsible travel and ecotourism, supports sustainable development, and helps travelers and travel providers protect the cultures and environments they visit. www.sustainabletourisminternational.org

Adventure Green Alaska Application Resources

The following resources have been provided to assist in filling out the Adventure Green Alaska application.  They are to be used as examples of the types of documents that will fulfill the application requirements, and have been provided by businesses and organizations as guidelines for documentation.

Climate Change Audit Example
Sustainability Vision Example
Leave No Trace Principles
Risk Management Plan Example coming soon!
Guidelines for Responsibly Viewing Wildlife
Kodiak Trek's Guidelines for Avoiding Adverse Impact on Plant and Animal Species