Sustainability

Sustainability at Sydney Kayak Experience

At Sydney Kayak Experience, sustainability isn’t just a commitment — it’s at the heart of everything we do. From the way we operate our tours to the partnerships we build, our goal is to protect Sydney Harbour’s natural and cultural heritage for generations to come.

Our Environmental Objectives

We proudly align our operations with the principles of Ecotourism Australia and have developed a comprehensive Environmental Management Plan to guide our practices. Our objectives are to:

• Protect Sydney Harbour – ensuring our tours have no long-term environmental or cultural impacts.
• Support Marine Conservation – partnering with organisations like the Australian Marine Conservation Society through initiatives such as our Paddle & Paint charity sessions.
• Minimise Emissions – operating exclusively with human-powered kayaks and using rechargeable batteries for our LED-lit kayaks.
• Educate & Inspire – raising awareness of local ecosystems, Aboriginal heritage, and low-impact behaviours through guided interpretation.
• Be Prepared for Change – ensuring our operations remain safe and sustainable by monitoring weather conditions, adapting tours when needed, and educating guests about the impacts of climate change on Sydney Harbour.

Respect for Culture & Heritage

Sydney Harbour is more than a waterway — it is the ancestral land and sea of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We acknowledge them as the Traditional Custodians and pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging.

Our tours encourage cultural appreciation and share stories of the harbour’s Indigenous, natural, and maritime heritage.

How We Minimise Our Impact

🚯 Waste & Conservation

• Take 3 for the Sea – We encourage our staff and customers to collect three pieces of rubbish from the foreshore or water whenever it’s safe to do so.
• Eco-Friendly Fetch – During our tours, we often find stray tennis balls and other floating toys. Instead of discarding them, we collect them and place them in a bucket at the Flying Bear Café. Dog owners from Milson Park (a dog-friendly park) can then reuse these balls — a fun, circular way to reduce waste.
• Zero single-use plastics on tours.
• Guides conduct final sweeps of launch sites to ensure no litter is left behind.

🌊 Water

• Freshwater use kept to a minimum (bucket washes only when necessary).
• Collaboration with our partner café to promote proper recycling and waste disposal.