Eco-friendly travel is something many believe to be a myth and yet it can be achieved in a myriad of ways. Travel to me is a chance to see something new and I have always taken a special interest in learning about the daily life of a country’s residents away from tourist attractions. I have been privileged to travel to many different countries and learn all about their customs, which includes their attitude towards climate action. In traveling I make small daily efforts to follow eco-friendly habits like shopping at small local shops, handling waste properly, and not overconsuming. For a few of my trips I was also able to offset the emissions from my flights to minimize my environmental impact. However, I think the greatest thing I have achieved is looking into the climate action sectors in each of the countries and cities that I have traveled to and taking the opportunity to educate myself. I love to learn more about different initiatives that I can take home with me and share with my community. My family always jokes that on our trips there is a “day for Ella” where we tour a marine life rehabilitation facility or spend time learning from environmental engineers at a hydroelectric power plant. They may whine about spending a day at these places but we all leave having learned something new and inspired to take action towards a more eco-friendly lifestyle. One of the most enriching travel experiences was a summer where I took an environmentally focused program at Oxford University and immediately after spent three weeks on a boat partaking in marine conservation work in the British Virgin Islands. This summer solidified that I wanted to pursue a career in environmental policy and protect the beautiful ecosystems I saw living on the boat. Over the course of my study at Oxford I worked with peers from all over the world and was inspired with many new approaches and ideas for climate action. This course provided me with the knowledge and skillset to approach climate change issues and find a solution. That summer showed me that if I wanted to continue to travel and see beautiful new places and learn about different cultures we all have to come together and protect them. Now as I travel I use it as a learning experience to see what people around the world are doing to combat climate change and see how I can get involved. I also use travel as a chance to learn about the people living there and the thriving culture. This keeps me grounded in change that I hope to make and reminds me that if change is to be made it needs to work for everyone and honor all of their needs. It is hard to find common ground but when it comes to preserving our future, that is something with which we can all agree.
