Being together on the river also means becoming aware of the impact of climate change on the flora and fauna around us. Together, we must adopt sustainable practices both when planning and carrying out an expedition.

To do this, we ask our participants to:

• Prioritize biodegradable personal care and washing products throughout the expedition;
• Promote carpooling to the group meeting point;
• Use reusable water bottles;
• Prioritize borrowing and purchasing used equipment if some is missing for the expedition;
• Respect the natural environment in which we will be conducting our expeditions.

Désir de Découvrir is actively committed to:

• Promoting leave no trace principles to our participants at the start of expeditions and on our social media to raise awareness of sustainable practices in expeditions;
• Offering a shuttle to the river's launch point for our participants for most of our expeditions;
• Doing business with Quebec-based suppliers for over 80% of our equipment;
• Having an inventory containing 60% second-hand material;
• Implementing efficient waste sorting in our workspace and on expeditions (composting, recycling, waste);
• Using reusable mess kits, utensils, and food containers on expeditions;
• Using biodegradable dish soap;
• Lending all specialized equipment necessary for a canoe-camping expedition to our participants;
• Having an inventory of used clothing, shoes, sleeping pads, and sleeping bags to lend to participants in case of shortage or oversight;
• Giving a second life to many objects (e.g., using onion bags to sort recycling, old windshield wiper fluid bottles to create bailers, margarine and peanut butter jars to store food);
• Creating partnerships with local businesses;
• Not giving any non-reusable promotional items to participants;
• Purchasing a portion of expedition food in bulk or in containers that we can reuse;
• Offering vegetarian and vegan alternatives on expeditions.

There is still much to do to adopt increasingly sustainable practices. That is why it is crucial for us to set precise and measurable annual goals. We aim to set three goals per year for the next five years.

For the 2025 season, Désir de Découvrir is committed to:

• Expanding its local food partners by doing business with local farms for a majority of our fresh fruits and vegetables on expeditions;
• Offering only organic teas, herbal teas, and coffees on our expeditions;
• Purchasing materials made from recycled or compostable content: using recycled paper for toilet paper, printing paper, and our envelopes, having vegetable sponges for dishwashing, etc.