Despite the global turbulence and sometimes frosty rhetoric between US and Europe, official anniversaries such as America's 250th are a great opportunity to promote roots and heritage tourism, reinforce old connections and remind us that above all tourism is a peace industry. The Irish Government formally partnered with the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission to launch the America250...Despite the global turbulence and sometimes frosty rhetoric between US and Europe, official anniversaries such as America's 250th are a great opportunity to promote roots and heritage tourism, reinforce old connections and remind us that above all tourism is a peace industry. The Irish Government formally partnered with the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission to launch the America250 Commemorative Programme (www.gov.ie/.../america250-commemorative-programme/ ), running extensively across the island. Scotland's Drams, Drums & Diplomacy: Scotland in America 250: explicitly highlights the deep-seated connections between Scotland and the USA, while other programmes focus on the great role of the Scots-Irish (or Ulster-Scots irishamerica250.org/198-2/ ) Italy’s Italea initiative is part of a broader, massive national strategy, but to align with the anniversary it currently focuses on large Italian-American hubs like Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. The German-American Hall of Fame (GAMHOF) has rolled out the America250 Educational Initiative under the banner “German Roots. American Story.” The campaign is explicitly designed to spark curiosity in the millions of Americans of German descent to track their lineage back to German municipalities, heavily focusing on the pre-1776 waves of German settlers who aided the American revolution. gamhof.org/news/america250-educational-initiative/
If you are interested in Roots Tourism check out this Erasmus+ programme we are currently involved in and whose ultimate aim is to create a suitable roots tourism curriculum for vocational schools in Europe. ecoclub.com/projects/roots-tourism Show more

Here in Greece, we are all too aware and weary of desertification, which results from increasingly frequent dust storms from Northern Africa, continuous tree cover loss due to wildfires, and drought conditions across our largely arid Aegean islands. Could tree planting on a massive scale help? A project worth studying is the Great Green Wall of China, which is ongoing for over five decades and,...Here in Greece, we are all too aware and weary of desertification, which results from increasingly frequent dust storms from Northern Africa, continuous tree cover loss due to wildfires, and drought conditions across our largely arid Aegean islands. Could tree planting on a massive scale help? A project worth studying is the Great Green Wall of China, which is ongoing for over five decades and, after initial mistakes, has succeeded in reducing sand storms in Beijing. Overall experts believe it is a qualified success: reduced dust storms, increased vegetation cover, and emerging carbon‑sink effects. Its weakest points are water use, ecological simplification, and mixed performance in truly halting desertification. Africa has its own Great Green Wall initiative, which ambitiously envisioned a continuous 8,000‑km belt of trees stopping the Sahara’s advance but it is far behind, with poor tree survival rates and, unlike its Chinese sibling, a lack of funding and coordination. www.naturalworldfund.org.uk/chinas-billion-tree-ex… Show more

China’s Great Green Wall: Can Trees Stop Desertification?

China’s Great Green Wall has planted over a billion trees to slow desertification. Has it worked — and what lessons does it offer?

Spirit Airlines demise: a sudden 65% rise in jet fuel prices due to the war on Iran proved the last straw for the troubled US airline, a pioneering ultra-low-cost-carrier (ULCC). As they operate on smaller margins and are prone to shocks, some analysts believe independent ULCCs will ultimately disappear or be absorbed by legacy carriers. Thanks to sophisticated/personalised pricing models, the...Spirit Airlines demise: a sudden 65% rise in jet fuel prices due to the war on Iran proved the last straw for the troubled US airline, a pioneering ultra-low-cost-carrier (ULCC). As they operate on smaller margins and are prone to shocks, some analysts believe independent ULCCs will ultimately disappear or be absorbed by legacy carriers. Thanks to sophisticated/personalised pricing models, the latter can now also offer basic economy fares for a limited number of seats, sometimes through loyalty programmes, without cannibalizing higher-fare capacity. www.spiritrestructuring.com/ Show more

An interesting analysis in the Green European Journal on the rise of (green) "economic populism". One wonders if there could be an equivalent in the tourism sector. A minimum guaranteed/universal free holiday abroad or domestic rather, using public transport, to meet overtourism and climate concerns? www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/polanski-mamdani-and-t…

Polanski, Mamdani, and the Others: Time for Left Economic Populism?

Could the cost-of-living crisis give progressives a window? Public service funding and tax-the-rich sentiments top polls across Europe.

How many travellers try to reconnect with their ancestral homelands in Europe each year and how many succeed in doing so in a fully satisfying way? What are the specific skills that roots tourism professionals should possess and how can they be acquired?

These are some of the questions the ROOTS Tourism - Erasmus+ Project is trying to answer, with the help of as many stakeholders as possible,...How many travellers try to reconnect with their ancestral homelands in Europe each year and how many succeed in doing so in a fully satisfying way? What are the specific skills that roots tourism professionals should possess and how can they be acquired?

These are some of the questions the ROOTS Tourism - Erasmus+ Project is trying to answer, with the help of as many stakeholders as possible, and with the ultimate aim of creating the best possible vocational training framework for future roots tourism professionals.

Roots Tourism is increasingly recognised - officially and in the field - as a strategic driver of sustainable local development, particularly in rural and less-visited regions, supporting off-season travel, revitalizing local economies, and strengthening intercontinental ties.

The project partners, including our company, are currently conducting a Needs Analysis to pinpoint challenges, gaps and opportunities across the participating countries, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, and Portugal.

Invitations to participate by completing a questionnaire have been sent to Civil society organisations, Educators and VET providers, Tourism professionals and destination managers, Cultural and heritage institutions and Diaspora associations and community networks

If you fall under one of those categories and would like to participate please contact us at ecoclub.com/contact

For more details about the project please see ecoclub.com/projects/roots-tourism Show more

Free camping is often considered an obstacle to tourism development and this seems to be the case on Gavdos island, Greece where a free camping collective is being evacuated from a cedar forest by riot police and a pro-development mayor under the pretext of conservation. Read more at ecoclub.com/headlines/monitoring/ad/1l/10762

Happy (?) Earth Day 2026 www.earthday.org/earth-day-2026/

Earth Day 2026 | Theme, Activities, Events & Resources

The theme for Earth Day 2026 is Our Power, Our Planet. Find out how to get involved now and on Earth Day, April 22, 2026.

We are all rightly concerned with the environmental impact of tourism, but if one is looking for the ultimate ecocidal villains, this is surely the Mining sector. Watch the story of Theonila Roka Matbob, one of the six recipients of the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize, and her efforts to obtain justice for the decades-long environmental and social devastation caused by the Panguna mine in...We are all rightly concerned with the environmental impact of tourism, but if one is looking for the ultimate ecocidal villains, this is surely the Mining sector. Watch the story of Theonila Roka Matbob, one of the six recipients of the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize, and her efforts to obtain justice for the decades-long environmental and social devastation caused by the Panguna mine in Bougainville, PNG. Show more - at Panguna, Papua New Guinea

Theonila Roka Matbob, Recipient, 2026 Goldman...

For Protected Area Researchers & Enthusiasts: The National Parks History Collection at the Internet Archive hosts free resources dating back to 1920 related to the creation and maintenance of the United States National Parks Service. archive.org/details/nps-history

Although the world, and most Greens around the world, do not feel very "happy" right now, congratulations are in order for a global political family marking its 25th anniversary and showing promising unity and endurance. It is of course indispensable as a vanguard of the global effort to avert the Climate Catastrophe. globalgreens.org/25-years/

25 years - Global Greens