Ready for a vacation? Might I suggest a green solution? Take an eco-trip. You will see beauty, have an
adventure, and learn about our world.
My family and I took the eco-journey of a lifetime in 2009 into the
jungles, caves, and ocean of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Above you see me
getting ready to zipline across a jungle - note the giant grin - it was a blast!
I wrote and posted a blog every day for fourteen days about our journey
using greening and eco-nature information as a tool to educate readers about
environmental concerns in the world.
(Photos below show some of the exciting eco-fun we had on this trip to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico - ziplining, snorkeling, spelunking, and jungle adventure. To continue with this post on the possibilities of what your children might learn an eco-vacation, click continue below...)
Understanding the fact that we impact all of the world, not just our little
corner is so important. For example, areas of coral are dying out in the Yucatan
from our fertilizer run-off. If the chemicals do not go down into our water
aquifer, they are whooshed out through the storm water system. All those
chemicals then react with ocean life - ultimately causing green blooms and death
where ever the chemicals settle. This is disastrous for coral.
Who taught me that? An amazing man in Akumal, Mexico named Paul Sanchez-
Navarro who is the Director of Centro Ecological Akumal (Photo to the right). He explained
how nearly one quarter of all marine species are believed to depend on coral at
some stage of their development. Many fish live their entire lives on reefs,
while others use them as nurseries; if the coral dies out it is assumed the fish
will too. The economic impact of losing coral is also significant - in the
billions of dollars worldwide.
There were so many questions I wanted answered when I returned from the trip.
What will happen if we are unable to provide fish for the world to eat? Will
people starve? Without the coral and fish, millions of people will lose their
jobs and be unable to support themselves. Without smaller fish which inhabit the
coral reefs will all the larger fish die such as tuna and shark - the very same
fish we use to feed our nation?
We went to jungles, beaches, caves, and protected eco-parks throughout the
Yucatan Peninsula area and experienced some incredible things in nature, but one
of the most powerful messages I saw everywhere we went is that you have an
impact on planet earth. What we do here in the U.S. directly touches the rest of
the world - the water supply issue is just the beginning.
Make a difference for planet earth - start paying attention to
the chemicals, fertilizers, and products you use at home that might be making a
difference half-way around the world.
Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The
Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com,
or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com
Filed under: Eco-Travel, Green Family, Save Water
Tags: Akumal, coral, eco-travel, fertilizer, gardening nude, lawn chemicals, Mexico, Playa Del Carmen, Punto Venado, Rio Secreto, run-off, Selvatica, travel, Xel-Ha, zipline
