Reduce your environmental impact at home as you would on your travels

All Out Afica — Fri, 03 Jul 2020 13:52:13 +0000

Now that many of us are on a travel break or have had our travel plans postponed there’s no reason why we can’t apply the steps we normally take as a traveller to mitigate our environmental impact at home. Here are some ideas of to apply those principles to your home lives and settings:

Plastic pollution.

- Refillable water bottles – avoid buying small plastic bottles and keep a refillable bottle on your desk and in your car
- The need of a favourite latte or cappuccino is strong after lockdown. Use an affordable refillable cup – some places offer a discount so it’s a double win.

Reduce your carbon footprint

- Travel with someone in your family, friend or Covid19 bubble to reduce the number of vehicles emitting fumes
- Plant an indigenous tree. If you aren’t sure where or how contact local forestry, garden centres and environmental NGOs
- Use local transport rather than self-driving. Perhaps set this as a future goal if you aren’t comfortable right now.

Buy local through supporting markets and local artisans rather than big chain stores.

- Stop at local markets and farms
- Support your local independent businesses when buying birthday, wedding and baby gifts, as well as treats and special items

Reduce waste food.

- As a tourist you tend to buy what you need so instead of the big weekly shop only buy what you need, and avoid the bulk buy offers on fresh items.
- Many councils / town boards collect food waste. If not find a local farmer or smallholding where food waste is a delicious meal for hungry pigs!

Please do your bit to reduce your environmental impact at home as you would when you come to visit us in the beautiful Eswatini.

Written by Jackie Wall, Tours Director

Science Is Awesome

All Out Afica — Tue, 05 Feb 2019 10:10:57 +0000

A day in the life of World Challenge 2018 – Tofo, Mozambique:
Science on land – Beach plastic analysis (and clean up)

There are very few places in the world that plastic does not affect negatively. Along the shores of Tofo and Tofino (a nearby beach) students go out and collect plastics off the beach in sectioned areas and analyze it. As well as clean up the beach that is not being sampled. Each sample area of the beach chosen and the time of day can show which tides and currents bring in the most plastics, what array of types of plastics (or non-organic material) is wasting up and potentially more.

Students this past 2018 also collected small plastics and made eco bricks with them. By stuffing tightly as many tiny plastic bits (found during the plastics data gathering/ beach clean up) as possible into 1L plastic water bottles. These filled bottles are eco bricks and together with cement can be used to make walls for a local stainable straw making factory. Or at least that’s the idea.

In the photos, you can see students in their sample sights looking for plastics.

Written by Kimberly Wood