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Laura Turner Seydel: Why Ecotourism is an Important Educational Tools for Kids
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Laura Turner Seydel
Ecotourism is one of the most engaging ways to teach children about the beauty - and fragility - of Mother Nature. Laura Turner Seydel, a leading voice in the Southeast on the topic of green living, developed a lifelong passion for conversation and preservation in part through travels with her dad, CNN Founder and philanthropist Ted Turner. She and her husband, Rutherford, now share that passion with their children. As a family, they have already traveled to Alaska, the Galapagos Islands, Africa and Hawaii.
"We’re all so interconnected and dependent upon nature. We have to find ways to make people, and especially children, care and understand," says Turner Seydel.
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Galapagos Islands
"Like my dad taught me, we're teaching our three children and they get it. Kids get it. They're more open-minded and optimistic than adults and have a “we can do it” attitude. They understand that when it comes to conserving resources and restoring our environment, we all have to do our part."
Her youngest child, 12-year-old Laura Elizabeth even self published a book (Lulu 2008) entitled Our friends, the frogs. "She’s telling kids about the plight of amphibians and then, armed with this knowledge, maybe they will become advocates too," says Turner Seydel. "2,000 of the 6,000 species of amphibians have either recently gone extinct or are teetering on the edge of extinction and there are a lot of studies that show that toxic chemicals and global warming play a role."
Registered Dietitian and Food Journalist Carolyn O’Neil, the former host of “Travel Now” on CNN said Hawaii is a family favorite when it comes to ecotourism. “The lessons on living in harmony with the natural environment are abundant in Hawaii - from learning about fish ponds created by ancient Hawaiians to farm fish, to tasting poi in the middle of a taro field, to watching hot lava bubble up from the black earth and flow into the sea – to even discovering the power of the ocean during a surfing lesson.”
Ecotourism is now so popular in some regions that access to them may be limited in the near future. Antarctica had a record-breaking 45,000-plus visitors in 2008 (up from 6,700 in 1992), which has raised concerns about risks to the fragile environment; the United States is a catalyst behind policy limiting the number of tourist landings each year. And the United Nations added the Galapagos Islands (located 620 miles off the Ecuadorian coast) to its List of World Heritage in Danger in 2007. A record-breaking 173,000 people visited the islands in 2008.
However, the interest is also creating a new niche in the hotel industry and spotlighting issues that may have otherwise been overlooked. In April, 2008, the Ritz-Carlton Hotels launched a “Give Back Getaways” program, which gives guests the opportunity to work on environmental issues during their hotel stays. Guests can sign up to volunteer half days, doing things like planting endangered Pinsapo fir trees in Marbella, removing invasive plants and grasses in Key Biscayne, Kapaula and Penha Longa, and working to protect the endangered Blue Iguana in Grand Cayman.
"Involvement in our programs deepens the experience of visiting the unique places where our hotels are located," says Sue Stephenson, Vice President of Community Footprints for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. "Guests tell us that participating in a meaningful volunteer experience makes their trip personally enriching and much more memorable."
Excerpted from "Green Matters for Everyday Living: Better Ways to Build, Buy, Travel & Save" (GreenLiving Books, available for presale through Target and Amazon). All rights reserved.
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