As we all hunker down and wait out coronavirus, there's one small bright spot to consider–pollution levels across the world have drastically decreased. In the immediate weeks after lockdowns and travel restrictions were issued, satellite images from NASA and the European Space Agency revealed significant reduction in pollution over China, Italy and the United States. In San Francisco, pollution levels were down by 38 percent compared to the same week in the previous year.
Of course, the human and economical effect of coronavirus have far outweighed this bright spot, but it's a small reminder that we can fight climate change.
When social and travel restrictions are lifted, there's hope that everyone will be more mindful of how we treat the earth moving forward. Sustainable travel has always been a tough concept to defend because how could traveling across the world be sustainable, especially in mass numbers? It's an issue we've grappled with personally for many years. But traveling to and staying at establishments that work to conserve their immediate surroundings is a choice you can make for your next family vacation.
Here are three places that do conservation and tourism right:
Located in central Highlands in the northern part of Scotland, Alladale is a 23,000 acre plot of open land where guests can spend the night in a 19th century Victorian-style lodge or within a few private cottages dotted throughout the property. While guests can hike, fish, bike and relax amidst the jaw-dropping and unspoiled Scottish, scenery with three meals served daily, Alladale is hard at work at re-wilding much of the environment. These efforts include planting more than 900,000 trees, reviving the red squirrel population, restoring peatlands, protecting the salmon in the rivers, and prohibiting hunting. Alladale is also hard at work at restoring the wolf population to Scotland. Read more about what Alladale is doing with this article on Thrillist.
The luxury Singita lodges in Africa (14 in total) have about 500,000 acres of African wilderness and game reserves under their supervision. The company was only started 25 years ago but their mission is ruled by a 100-year-long vision to preserve and protect Africa's wilderness. Low-volume tourism helps fund their efforts which include community partnerships, initiatives to stop poaching and research on wildlife. A posh safari experience is a top travel fantasy but at Singita, you know your presence at the lodge will utimately help, not hurt, the environment.
Situated just outside national parks around the United States, Under Canvas offers a variety of safari-style camping tents from larger “suites” with small bathrooms to cozy canopies for couples, all with stunning views of the parks. We gave you a tour of a deluxe tent at Under Canvas at Zion National Park but what you don't see going on behind-the-scenes is that each Under Canvas location is on track to be a zero-waste camp by 2021. Awesome.
Have questions about visiting these places? Send 'em to us as we'd love to help you.
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What It's Like Glamping at Under Canvas at Zion National Park
