"When you love a place as much as we love the San Juan Islands, you do everything you can to protect it.
- Tom Murphy, Owner, Outdoor Odysseys
What stewardship means to us
At Outdoor Odysseys, we pledge to do everything we can to preserve and protect our environment. Our minimal impact, eco-friendly philosophy includes:
- Self-grown produce – We are the only kayak tour company that grows a portion of our organic produce.
- Support of on-island farming – When possible, we purchase local San Juan grown produce ensuring the freshest ingredients possible and supporting on-island farmers.
- Organic foods – When available, we buy organic ingredients over conventional.
- Coffee – Our fair-trade, organic, shade-grown coffee is produced locally by San Juan Coffee Roasting Co.
- Composting – All our fruit and vegetable waste from trips is composted and then worked into our garden.
- Low-impact transportation – We encourage and reward all employees who ride a bike, paddle or walk to work.
- Leave no trace – Our guides are committed to the Leave No Trace principles. We try and minimize our impact and leave both land and ocean cleaner than we found it.
K.E.L.P.– Respecting our wild neighbors
Outdoor Odysseys strives to provide an educational and enjoyable kayaking experience while adhering to laws pertaining to the Southern Resident Killer Whales. In an effort to maintain respectful and responsible use of the waters of the San Juan Islands, we uphold the K.E.L.P. (Kayak Education Leadership Program) pledge to do their part to minimize disturbance to marine wildlife in the San Juan Marine Stewardship Area.
For more information on K.E.L.P. and efforts to protect marine wildlife in the San Juan Islands, visit the Whale Museum and learn what you can do to be a responsible kayaker.
Contributing to Conservation
As part of our commitment to environmental conservation, Outdoor Odysseys contributes a portion of every guest fee to organizations that protect the wildlife and habitat in our region. Those organizations include The Center for Whale Research, a non-profit organization dedicated to the study and conservation of the Southern Resident Killer Whale (Orca) population in the Pacific Northwest.
Green is Good
We’re always looking for ways to be better citizens and stewards of our environment.
We made a conscious decision to focus on human powered trips (no motorized whale watch boats, no motor vessel support on tours). We’re not anti-boat, rather, we offer the kinds of trips we ourselves would love to take.