OUR FOUNDATION
Every booking protects wild places.
We started Much Better Adventures to build the world’s most positive impact travel company and we're proud to support one of the leaders in wildlife conservation as a core part of achieving that mission.
We partner with World Land Trust to ensure our trips achieve Net-Zero emissions.
We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local partners and their communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity, ensuring the protection of the reserve and its wildlife.
"World Land Trust has more effect on the wild world than almost anything I can think of"
Sir David Attenborough, WLT Patron
How does the partnership work?
Every time you book a trip with us, we donate 5% of the revenue of that trip - not profit - to the Much Better Foundation.
This contribution helps to protect wild places in two ways:
We support WLT's portfolio of REDD+ Carbon Balanced projects, currently in Ecuador, Mexico and Vietnam (set up by World Land Trust) that ensure native forests are protected and restored. So all the carbon emitted from your trip is mitigated which means that your trip achieves Net-Zero emissions.
And…
We also use this pot to contribute towards World Land Trust’s (WLT) ‘Buy an Acre’ programme, helping local communities and their partners to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity, ensuring the protection of the reserve and its wildlife.
Wait. Who are World Land Trust?
World Land Trust (WLT) is an international conservation charity that protects some of the most biologically significant and threatened habitats on Earth. Working with a network of partner NGO’s around the world, WLT funds conservation actions that benefit wildlife and local communities while also combatting climate change. These include the creation of protected areas and the restoration of degraded habitats.
So, how do they work?
Important to their mission is that WLT doesn’t own or manage any of the overseas land that is saved by their fundraising. Their local NGO partners instead protect the land in concert with communities, whose engagement and expertise are always sought in every project funded by WLT.
So really the local people are running their own conservation projects?
Exactly! We believe that land should be owned by local people, who know the land, the threats and the wildlife best.
WLT’s partners are experts in land conservation in their respective countries and work with local communities, employing local people.
Many of the WLT partners have outreach programmes to increase sustainable development around the reserves.
By placing the land in the ownership of local partners, they are also taking on the responsibility of ensuring the protection of the reserve and its wildlife.
Sounds cool. Where about’s do they work?
World Land Trust work with partners around the world. Previous ‘Buy An Acre’ projects have included the saving of cloud forests in Mexico, tropical rainforests in Ecuador, and flooded savanna in Bolivia.
Current projects include the protection of Kenya’s Dakatcha Woodland, the saving of the Renosterveld habitat in South Africa and the creation of a protected area in Argentinian Patagonia.
By protecting land, acre by acre, WLT are taking the best action to ensure a future for wildlife.
World Land Trust has funded the protection of nearly 3 million acres of land to date.
So how much land have our adventures protected so far?
Well we’re just getting started really - as of March 2024 we have protected 1,200 acres.
For context, 1,000 acres is twice the size of the Olympic Park in London, and bigger than the area used by the Glastonbury Festival in the UK.
1,500 acres is eight times the size of Battersea Park, London and just under the size of Gibraltar.
So you’re saying I can adventure with net-zero emissions, protect some land *and* benefit local economies?
Precisely! Every time you book a trip, the world’s wild places are protected by the local community and the carbon from your trip is balanced - and you of course get a great holiday that supports local economies through tourism employment also.
Win-win-win!
From time to time we also lean on our Foundation for other important causes. Recent examples include;
The Family Relief Fund: We launched our Family Relief Fund campaign during Covid-19 when local guides, hosts, porters and their families in some of the most remote corners of the world saw their livelihoods obliterated as a result of the pandemic. Over £20k was raised with our community of adventurers.
The High Atlas Relief Fund: We launched the High Altas Relief Fund campaign following the magnitude 6.8 earthquake that hit the Atlas Mountains in Morocco in September 2023. We supported the High Atlas Foundation who played a crucial role in delivering aid to the remote villages in the affected area, sourcing and dispersing vital provisions, including non-perishable food, water, and blankets. Over £10k was raised with our community of adventurers.
Do you run or know of a project that should be considered for our support?
We love to support;
- Conservation and re-wilding
- Local and community owned adventure tourism initiatives
- Campaigning and lobbying
- Awareness raising and inspirational story telling
- Technological innovation
- Projects that enable access to the great outdoors for those that otherwise may not have the opportunity
Each idea will be judged on their likely ability to deliver meaningful and worthwhile solutions to local environmental and social challenges.
Get in touch: [email protected]
