Eco Holidays

posted by Catherine on Aug 24

Make Your Eco Holidays More Eco Friendly By Setting Your House To Work

Rather than leaving your home empty while you go off on your eco holidays - make it work for you - and for the environment.  I mean what’s more of an eco waste than an empty house?

Now we have all heard of ‘house swaps’ - but that means that you have to take your holiday in just the one place - and agree on how long for with the other person - but there are a few more options open to you while you are away.

1) Special Events:
If you live near a well-known location or event - why not coincide your trip to allow you to let out your home for a great price!

It’s not just about the ‘really’ famous places these days either as there a local festivals and events popping up all over the place these days.  Especially if you have a property right in the action - or far from it!

Peak season in the Lake District or the South Coast could be a great time to go away yourself.  Your home would be looked after, secure and making you some funds for next years holiday while you are still enjoying this years!

2) Your Front Garden:
Even before you go away, you could be finding a person who needs a parking space right about where you are living!

Thousands of people drive into work every day looking for that elusive safe parking spot where they won’t get a ticket.  What better place than your front garden!

If you can find a ‘tenent’ for your gravel before you head off then there is always someone visiting and leaving your home everyday while you are away - for added security - and you aren’t wasting that patch of land either!

3) Your Back Garden:
If you are lucky enough to have something great in your garden - like a tennis court, pool or riverbank or whatever - then why not consider ‘renting’ it out while you aren’t there?

Of course you could rent it out while you are at home too - but while you are away those resources are going to be wasted.  So share them out - either free or for a small fee if you like!

People also need a place to camp in small villages or remote footpaths - so maybe a small donation for your unused garden wouldn’t be too much trouble for you - maybe give a share to a neighbour who checks up on things too.

Obviously make sure that everything is safe and secure before leaving and that you are covered on any necessary insurance or health and safety things to cover yourself - as you sometimes need to these days!

Otherwise - enjoy your holidays knowing that they are twice as eco friendly as everyone else’s!

posted by Catherine on Aug 12

My Eco Adventures Review:  A Visit To Woods Mill - West Sussex - Summer 2010

Woods Mill is the Head Quarters of the Sussex Wildlife Trust and is based at the foot of the South Downs.  I went for a visit here as I love the Downs and chalkland wildlife - and I am on a mission to learn to identify more local plants and animals. 

And Woods Mill in summer has plenty to offer!

My Walk:
Arriving at the reserve was easy and there was ample parking when I arrived - and clean toilets after a long drive are always a bonus!

The reserve is free to all visitors and entry to the site is over a lovely old bridge with views of the historic water mill that gives the reserve its name.  There are already enough insects here to keep me busy with the ID guide!

There were damselflies and dragonflies everywhere - although I still can’t really tell them apart unless they come close!

A Male Ruddy Darter?

The reserve is criss-crossed with man-made waterways - both wet and dry - where in the past the mill was working and the landowner wanted to make a feature of the land.  There are large concrete areas cutting up the coppiced woodland as well as some delightful ‘ruins’ from a long forgotten folly meant to adorn the site!

There is however, a very well stocked large lake close to the entrance as well as a smaller dipping pond - which is currently filled to the brim with newts!  Both are surrounded by lush vegetation humming with insect life.

Needless to say there were school groups making the most of this varied nature reserve.  The SWT run educational groups from reception through to Adult Education on site.  Whether it’s pond dipping, woodland walks, wildlife surveying courses or photography - it’s all here! 

There aren’t many flowers in the shaded areas on site (apart from the bluebell woods), but the many woodland paths and willow structures certainly add something at every turn.  Rows of tree-trunk seating for story telling, and bug houses and composting too.

Live Willow Building

Coming out the other side there is a large meadow with plant life to suggest a wet past!  There is currently a very small but very deep river gully cutting through it’s centre and a whole host of swallows and swifts feeding high up above.

There is a small secluded bluebell woods to the side - but it is currently ‘out of bounds’ to visitors - however the owl box to the front shows that there is no shortage of wildlife in it!

Across the top is the man-made feeder stream directly to the mill - although it is virtually dried up here due to lack of incoming water from the Downs.  On the other side is a grass meadow, with wildflowers reaching up to knee-height and hedgerows filled with calling birds - including the locally common nightingales!

As we had brought a packed lunch, we found a bench by the lake and enjoyed being in the middle of such a peaceful habitat and surrounded by insects and birds!

I certainly wore out the insect and plant guide books during our 4 hour stay - and the camera didn’t have a quiet day either!

Definitely worth another visit!

Site Name: Woods Mill Nature Reserve - Sussex Wildlife Trust
This reserve is located in West Sussex just to the south of Henfield in Small Dole on the A2037.  It is located at the foot of the South Downs and inside the South Downs National Park boundary and is in the Adur Valley.

It is free entry for everyone, the car park is easy to find and access - and the site has nice clean toilets!

posted by Catherine on Aug 4

You and you kids could help spread the word about green travel by entering these 3 competitions!

The best way to pass on information about something you are passionate about is to put pen to paper, talk to them about them or capture the image - and this is just what these competitions could help you to do.

The first is for under 18 year olds still in education and revolves around the future of forests, the second is for those over 18 about your most memorable travel moment, and the final competition is for you both to show what you see in the environment!

Young Geographer Of The Year 2010:
Have you got something to say about he way we are treating our forests?  About what your local woodland does for your community, your family or the local wildlife? Or just something to say in praise of trees!

Whatever your motivation for entering - it doesn’t matter - it’s what you have to say that counts.

And how you say it is up to you: written, taped, a short documentary or video, photographs - or a combination of whatever media you think will best pass on your meaning to others!

Monkey Running From A Storm

There are 3 different categories depending on your age, and the closing date is October 2010.

PureTravel Writing Competition 2010:
Is there something you want to share with the world that you can tell them in under 500 words?  Something amazing that silenced you?  Something disastrous that made you speak up?

Something with some serious meaning that you think could impress the readers and judges and make a difference to your local area, some distant landscape, an endangered species or a threatened community - or just a funny story that you just can’t forget?

All articles will appear on the PureTravel website and the judges will pick 10 for the public to vote on before choosing a winner!  And your prize could be the inspiration for another great adventure!

WWT Photographic Competition 2010:
Take a moment to visit a wetland centre and try to capture what wildlife means to you today.

Whether it is a close up or a rare animal, a new way of looking at something we think we know so well - or to capture that strange moment in your life that might never be found again!

There are plenty of categories this year - including one that doesn’t have to have been taken in a WWT centre - so there is hope for everyone!  All ages, all themes, all places!

Whichever one you enter - I’m sure you will feel that yours is good enough to be a winner, and why not?  Every experience is real and can make a difference at different levels - whether it’s just in the way we think about things - or whether we manage to change other peoples way of thinking too!

Good Luck!

posted by Catherine on Jul 25

These free events on the very street of your holiday destination couldn’t be more real!

Most families take their kids out all day on vacation to a park or a zoo - then it’s home by 5 and off to bed. But what if the night was better than the day?

There are many local parades and free evening events happening all over the world and at all times of year. Just because it’s winter back home or there are no calender events in your part of the country - it doesn’t mean that there won’t be a great parade or celebration elsewhere!

Why A Parade?
Well, it is well known that many parades are run and organised by local people for the local community - and that’s great for your eco adventures; supporting the very place and people you are visiting!

If you pay to get into a adventure park or zoo and then have to buy all of their food and goodies - it doesn’t necessarily benefit the local schools and stores - but an event on the very streets of the town will go straight into the right pockets!

As you and your family walk through the streets, you will get a real feel of the place and be able to experience far more than during the day. As the event is planned in advance and has appeared in local advertising and other parade schedules - local people and businesses will be making a special effort to impress.

You will find store opening hours extended and new products offered - and maybe even free samples. There will be temporary stalls on street sides and in parks, face painting, local foods, musical entertainment from local artists and so on. You will get to be entertained by real people - not paid staff!

Parade Schedules:
So how do you find out about all these events? Well, there are plenty of websites about parade schedules - filled to the brim with parades all over the world - or closer to home - and you can make sure that you visit one if you are close by.

There are also other things to look for in local parades and that includes the route for forward planning, as well as the best hotels to stay in on the route - as well as the best viewing spots: as you could get an amazing view of it passing by from a few floors up!

Websites these days can tell you all about the event, the history of the event, it’s sponsors, and local supporters - so it is worth reading about the parade as well - so you get the best out of it and know who your donations are going to support and any charities involved.

Planning the whole holiday just for a festival is very common these days if the event is well known, like the Mardi Gras Parades - where you can explore the surrounding areas on the days either side, but the focus is on the evening entertainment!

But there are plenty of people who have planned their vacation already - and then manage to find out about a carnival or other parade while already there.

Either way is fine - and you really should make an effort to get to as many as possible, as they are such lively and interesting events - and each one has it’s own character!

And if you are worried that the kids might not like it - then maybe start with one of the friendly Disney Parades.  Although the eco credentials won’t quite be the same, you will know that the kids are happy and safe and at the same time find out about their likes and dislikes.  What if they don’t like certain fireworks, certain foods or whatever, you can’t know until you go! 

So, just click one of the links in this article to be taken to an information-packed website to get you started on your parade hunt!  And don’t forget your camera for some one-time-only photographs!

posted by Catherine on Jul 11

Just because you can go faster down hills - doesn’t mean you have right of way!

When you are riding your bicycle, you don’t want to keep stopping all the time to wait for a family to move over, or to get through a gate - but do you know you right of way ‘rules’ and when and where you can’t cycle?

There are different rules for different paths and routes - so make sure you plan your route and know your rights!

General:
Obviously, wherever you cycle, make sure that you are courteous at all times.  Don’t barge your way through crowds ringing your bell or shouting.  Sometimes other traffic has the right of way and if some cyclists are always grumpy towards others then it gives a bad name to everyone else on a bike!

You may come up against walkers, other cyclists, horse riders and wheelchair users - so you need to think ahead as to what is suitable behaviour.  And there may be many path users that are hard or hearing or partially sighted - so never assume that people will move out of your way at the last minute, and don’t rely on your bell alone to warn people of your approach.

And - unless it is legally adapted for doing so - you cannot ride with a passenger on your bike!  No ‘backies’ or other seating arrangements are allowed on the UK roads (or pavements).

Footpaths:
You cannot cycle on a Footpath.  Only foot travellers have a ‘right of way’ over the land that makes up most Footpaths - and so cycling on one is against the law.

Footpath Sign

Therefore if you use a Footpath on your bike (or are even pushing your bike - which is still technically illegal) make sure that you are uber courteous to any walkers you meet and make their journey past you as easy as possible by either stopping or waiting to one side!

Bridleways:
These paths are usually wider than Footpaths and allow walkers, cyclist and horse riders to pass along them.  However, a cyclist must give way to the other 2 in all cases.

Pavements:
You cannot cycle on a normal pavement - and you can legally get an on-the-spot fine from an enthusiastic (or particularly picky) police officer.  You can however push your bike along by your side on the pavements and of course can cycle in a specific and well marked cycle lane on a pavement surface - but you must stay within the lines.

Roads:
You are allowed to cycle on all roads except motorways (or any other road that is signed as such) - and you must follow the highway code in terms of road signs, junctions and traffic lights!

At night there are rules about how you light your bicycle and specific colour reflectors on the pedals and the bike itself.  And it is recommended that you should always be wearing a safety helmet for your own safety.

It is also recommended that you make yourself as visible as possible on the roads, whether that is by wearing bright clothes, bright accessories, adding further reflectors to your wheels and accessories.  It’s obvious really, but the easier you are to see, the less likely you are to be hit by a car.

Public Transport:
Don’t always assume that you can get your bike onto a train or a bus either! 

Some trains have ‘bike specific’ times - or only allow those city fold-up bike on board as a space saving initiative.  And many country buses just don’t have the space for a mountain bike as they are fully seated inside.

And even attaching your bicycle to your own car needs to be thought out in advance and you need a specific bike rack to be correctly fitted to a suitable vehicle for driving on the road yourself.  Flailing cables and spinning wheels could draw the attention of a traffic officer!

So take care out there!

posted by Catherine on Jul 8

Is it about getting the great shot - or about the welfare of the animal itself?

There is hot debate at the moment in the world of wildlife photography that some ‘wild’ animals are being farmed in captivity to make for ‘better’ wildlife shots!

It is sadly true that there are cages and cages of foxes, wolves, pumas and lynx all just pacing back and forth waiting for someone to pay to see them ‘running free’ in an enclosure.

The irony of it!

So, are there some wildlife guidelines you can follow to make sure that your are not scaring or stressing the wild animals you are photographing - the most obvious being: Don’t pay an established animal farm to use their wildlife for photography unless you completely approve of their housing and handling!

But if you want to keep it natural out in the field, try a few of these tips:

Treat Them As Wild:
The animals you are trying to get an amazing picture of are wild and are therefore potentially dangerous to humans - especially if they are mating or have young close by.

Therefore the best practice here is to get yourself a very long lens and watch from a distance!  Of course you can stalk out the animals in advance to find out where they will be and when to get yourself in position.

Getting To Close:
Just because an animal is letting you get really close - it doesn’t mean that it wants you there.

A very hungry animal may remain near it’s meal while you creep closer and closer because it has tried to catch a meal for so long.  It won’t give it up easily - but it will eventually if you hound it for long enough!

Same goes for mothers with young or an injured animal - they don’t really want to have to move so will let you get closerthan normal - but they will still be very stressed about the whole thing.

If an animal is staring at you - then you have disturbed it or got too close - either way, it knows you are there.

Any Closer And I Could Spoil The Meal

The Wider Angle:
Don’t forget that animals and birds don’t just live in the one spot you just saw them in - they need the wider environment to be successful.

So, don’t thunder through the woods or fields to get to your ‘best ’spot as you may well have disturbed all your animals prey species out of the area for the rest of the day!  Or scared a predator right into the face of your target species!

Breaking branches, trampling plants and moving things around ‘for a better shot’ can also affect the very animals you have come to see!

The Results:
Well, there are some great cameras out there than can reduce the distance between you and the wildlife to such a great extent that you needn’t disturb wildlife at all.  I know they may cost more than a normal camera but it can be the easiest way of getting a great shot without causing the animal itself any stress.

And by staying away, you can appreciate the wider environment too.  I have found that sitting still is a great way to get animals to come closer to you as you become part of their landscape rather than marching through it.  They will feed and act as normal within feet of you if you were there first!

Great for some perfect wildlife moments!

posted by Catherine on Jun 28

When the little guy took on 1 of the largest petrochemical firms in the States!

I just love a David and Goliath case - it makes you proud to be the little guy!  That is why I wanted to tell you about this amazing film I just watched about just that: A newly qualified young Ecuadorian Lawyer is fighting a case against Texaco (now owned by Chevron - one of the 6 ‘major’ petroleum companies in the world).

Basically, over the past 2 decades petrochemical companies have moved in on the Ecuadorian rainforest to drill for oil and haven’t really paid much attention to the effects on the local people and the local environment.  And although it was only really a short while ago - the people involved didn’t really think it was ‘that much’ of a problem - and so did nothing about it.

But now a local has changed all that.  Sickened by all this pollution, disregard for human life and wanton destruction of such a beautiful and irreplaceable environment - Pablo Fajardo struggled against the odds to get a law degree and is now fighting for the 30,000 indigenous people who have been affected.

The Facts:
In The Ecuadorian Amazon there were many indigenous tribes living a peaceful existence off the land.  The habitat was lush, the wildlife plentiful and the people were healthy.  Then they found the Lago Agrio Oil Field.

Texaco moved in to the area and started setting up drilling and refining factories and littering the rainforest with miles and miles of oil-carrying pipelines.

They took over large areas of the rainforest either for mining or for waste dumps - and in their time they really made an impact - a bad one!

Yes, the Ecuadorian government gave them permission to drill for oil - but I don’t think they were aware that the results would be so damaging to their own country and people.

As a result of their presence here and their bad management and control practices they are quoted as having dumped ‘18 billion gallons of toxic filth into the Amazon’; ‘flooded 17,000 square miles of both rainforest and agricultural land with toxic waste and cancer’ and have spilled so much oil here that they have surpassed the Exxon Valdez disaster by nearly 30 times!

One of Texaco’s responses was that people shouldn’t be living here anyway as it is a working oil field and that ‘it isn’t contamination - it is industrial exploitation permitted by law’!

The Effects:
Amazingly, there is still totally obvious areas of pollution today - literally pits of thick oil waste all over the place! 

They do not need to rely on witnesses from the past - they can simply take people to some of Texaco’s waste pits and see the destruction for themselves - and the new Ecuadorian President did just that in 2007; nearly 20 years after the lawsuit was first filed!  It’s all still there……..

As the local people have no real water system for their homes - they all bath and drink from the rivers and stream where they live - and unfortunately this is where most of the toxic waste has been and still is running into.  There has been an increase in cancer and leukemia across the area as well as many other illnesses that we associate with pollution and petrochemicals.

However, the Texaco Chief Scientist claims that they have tested water across the area ‘all the time’ and that ‘99% of streams sampled meet US EPA and WHO drinking water standards’!  I doubt if a test on US streams would ever be that high!  Anyway - she then goes on to say that all the rashes and skin complaints that babies and children are getting are because they have ‘poor sanitation’ and that ‘their water contains fecal bacteria and sewage’ - so how does THAT pass for ‘drinking water’?

I love it when their own arguments contradict each other!

The Results:
Well, you can still help with this battle and others like it by supporting charities that work in these areas. 

I mean you don’t have to become a human rights attorney to make a difference - although if you did - that would be great! You just need to keep yourself aware of all the injustice in the world, and try to support those charities and groups that are making a difference in the areas you are passionate about.

Charities involved in this area include the Rainforest Foundation Fund, Oxfam America, Amazon Watch, Amazon Defence Front, Rainforest Action Network, Unicef, WWF, Flora & Fauna as well as Pablo himself!  And I’m sure there are many more.

So whether it is just people in general, sick children, the environment, the wildlife, the Amazon itself or the rights of indigenous people - your volunteering or regular donations can all add up to get things put right!

I’m not going to tell you what happened in the film - you will have to go out and watch it yourself and add your support to the cause!

posted by Catherine on Jun 13

That just means taking part in a butterfly counting survey to assess the surrounding environment!

A few months ago there was a nighttime lepidoptera survey taking account of local moths - but now the daytime equivalent is approaching - and a lot more people can join in!

All you have to do is go sit in your garden, a local park, national park or nearby woodland and watch the butterflies passing by!  You can even do this on a walk in the countryside or along a riverbank and count the butterflies that you pass by!  Sir David Attenborough will be taking part too - as will Alan Titchmarsh!

It takes place in the height of summer (24th July - 1st August) as most of the native butterflies are in their adult form at that time - and the bright sunshine is what makes them active!  This gives you plenty of time to learn to id British butterflies before the survey…..

Step 1:
So to get prepared - go to their website and download yourself a butterfly identification sheet to show the most common butterflies that you will encounter on the count.

By learning these few, it will help you to better participate in the count as many butterflies look very similar to others unless they land closeby to you and hold their wings open until you have a good look!

By looking out for these species in advance of the count you will have learnt to identify some of the more common types in advance, so you can focus on learning many more species.  If you just turn up on the day with the id sheet, you won’t be able to give as good results as if you had put in a bit of advance research!

Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly

Step 2:
Read the Butterfly Conservation website for great advice about butterflies, moths and our environment.  They believe that these creatures react very quickly to environmental changes and so can be seen as a great indicator or environmental change - hence the survey.

Butterflies are plant specific in that the adults feed (mainly) on one plant species, and their young will feed (mainly) on another single species - and this is where they lay their eggs.  Therefore if certain plants are becoming rarer or more abundant in response to changing habitats, industrial pollution or the effects of changing climate - these species will have to move from one region to another.

By mapping these movements and general trends over time, they will be able to monitor such national changes and try to see if there are any changes we could make to reverse or encourage such trends.

Step 3:
The count itself takes place between the given dates and you can do as many counts you want in that time and in as many different locations as well. 

This means that you can not only help out with the research by submitting more than 1 set of results, but that you can take your new found identification skills out to new habitats to see - and identify - as many different butterfly species as possible.

For example; sitting in my mum’s garden I mainly see speckled woods, in my sisters garden it is large whites and on the South Downs it is peacocks and small tortoiseshells!  It all depends on the proximity of their food and egg plants in the main - and by finding an established sallow plantation (and a lot of luck I am told) I saw my first purple emperor!

Anyway - record your sightings during just a 15 minute period at any time throughout the survey week following the guidelines on the website, and then you have up until the end of August 2010 to submit your results on the website form online.

Step 4:
Now you know how to identify some common butterfly species - why not take part in other surveys in your area for the Butterfly Conservation Trust or other local or national groups?

Any by finding their associated plants you could then learn more about their habitats and start to become involved at a local nature reserve surveying plants as well.  It take time to get to learn identification skills - so you need to get lots of practice.

And once you have the skills - why not put them to good use?

posted by Catherine on Jun 7

Now is the perfect time of year to grow some summer fruit and vegetables in your greenhouse!

You don’t need a great big 12ft greenhouse to have some success in the vegetable department - you can make do with a small greenhouse in a sunny part of your garden.

Whether it’s for growing strawberries, small vegetables or even some fruit plants, you can get some seeds and small plants on the go inside your mini greenhouse.

How Do Plants Grow Inside?
Why do you need a greenhouse you may be asking - plants grow outside all the time?  Well, many tasty fruits and vegetables grow (successfully) in warmer climates - so we need to mimic these conditions if we want to grow these plants without too many natural fertilisers!

I mean: where do bananas grow? In what countries are they growing blueberries?  It isn’t the UK that’s for sure!  So this is where a small greenhouse can help out.

By increasing the natural warmth of the sun, and trapping it inside a closed greenhouse - your plants can experience the conditions that they are naturally grown in - and will be very successful too!

You need to keep an eye on many potted plants, fruit and vegetables in a greenhouse though, as they can dry out quite quickly unless they are desert plants or plants used to drier conditions.

Huge Number Of Seedlings In A Small Greenhouse

Planning Your Greenhouses:
Why stop at 1 small greenhouse if you have a garden.  Just because you can’t fit - or don’t want to fit a great big greenhouse in your garden - you might still easily be able to cater for 2 smaller ones at various places in your back yard.

You could have a shallow but tall little greenhouse against a sunny wall growing strawberries and blueberries - and a wider and lower greenhouse in a more sheltered location for growing herbs and tomatoes.

Perhaps the herbs are growing close your outdoor furniture so that you can smell them while you sit in the sunshine reading a good book - and maybe your salad plants could be growing near the kitchen so you could nip out while preparing lunch and grad a few leaves!

What’s The Adventure?
The adventure is in 4 parts really! The first is planning what you are going to grow, the second is planting everything up leading to the third: when the first shoots or fruits come out!

The fourth adventure of course is deciding how to eat your yummy new food! Will it be in a cool summer dish on the side of the plate? Will it be roasted as part of a warmer meal or steamed into a stew or soup?

And because small greenhouse are so compact and neat, you don’t even need your own garden - you could ask to put one on a balcony or in a neighbours garden if they allow.  Everything it contained within these neat little structures so you don’t need to worry about getting mud everywhere and loads of wiggly worms!

I know you will enjoy it - I do!

posted by Catherine on Jun 2

If I raise enough money for charity - will it off-set the cost of the flight to get there?

A friend of mine is going to be taking part in a Charity Trek across Patagonia later in the year - but it made me think of the eco side of things - not just the ethical part.

Don’t forget that ethical holidays are all about the people - so raising money for a humanitarian charity and supporting the local population as guides and hosts along the way fit’s the bill perfectly.

But what about the eco friendly side?  Flying a group of up to 70 charity trekkers and all their equipment across the globe to the very south of South America isn’t really carbon-friendly is it?

So, can we justify these as Eco Holidays or Eco Adventures at all? They are for charity - and they all have responsible travel codes of ethics - but the flight is a bit of a sore point.

The Eco Side: 
Well, they certainly offer the particient something to remember - and the experience of another culture and meeting like-minded people in their group.  And no doubt, a large percentage of these people will be taking a holiday anyway - so why not make it count?

Added to this, they will have worked hard to raise the money, sharing experiences with other people and opening other peoples eye’s up to the charity they are raising money for and for the culture and country that they are going to be visiting. 

It’s not like they are going to be a drain on the country either.  There is no chance of my friend just sitting around the pool, eating all inclusive burgers and ice cream!  They will be out taking advantage of the natural world and eating local food cooked by local people - maybe even learning the language too!

Not So Eco:
Firstly, think of a group of up to 70 people all turning up in the same place at the same time.  This is certainly something that is avoided on very ethical tours. And for good reason.

Another friend went to Machu Picchu a few years back with a group of 75 people, and a second group of charity trekkers overlapped them in the same hotel - so that’s over 100 people all blundering around Cuzco at the same time, wanting the same things at the same time! 

All those people booking on to the same plane, creating all that waste - and possibly bringing foreign products into the local stores, just through demand.  And could it create a market for child beggars and child salesmen - taking time off school to make money in the markets?

And - what are you raising the money for in the first place?  If it is for an eco charity like WWF -  should you be using all those resources on your journey - including a flight - to raise money to help reduce the effects of carbon in the atmosphere.  I mean flying to the other side of the world to raise money for a company that is spending their donations on trying to reduce carbon emissions couldn’t be more ironic.

But - I fancy a long horse riding ’holiday’ across the Mongolian plains, living in local homes and eating yak butter - and that would be a great eco holiday if I went there by train.  Now, wouldn’t it be a good idea to raise money for a charity at the same time rather than just save the whole experience all for myself?

What do you think?