ECOCLUB Blogs™

Natur-project had a meeting last week in Tallinn, Estonia. Project is a cooperative effort of partners from Portugal, Turkey, Estonia and the Netherlands. Read more at the website http://www.naturproject.eu/  

Greetings, our 2012 Seminar Calendar is up. We are organizing a range of educational programs focusing on biodiversity, historic food and wine routes and short courses. Details are here Best regards, Nikki Rose

Our new promotional video at Mambo View Point:

  Environmental Management of International Tourism Development class E-118 attracts top authorities.   Registration is continuing for this unique course which provides access on-line to cutting edge speakers in a small class setting.    http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k81368 Houshang Esmaili, Senior Engineer at San Francisco Airport will present on achieving carbon neutrality without off-site offsets. He will discuss the airport's waste and water management protocols, which are the most advanced in the U.S.  Other speakers include; Seleni Matus, Director of Tourism for the country of Belize; Bruce Poon Tip, pioneer entrepreneur and founder of Gap Adventures; and Faith Taylor, Vice President of Sustainability and Innovation for Wyndham Resorts.  See speaker bios here http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k81368

Don't let a lack of time or money stop your summer vacation. You can find lots of great sights by heading for the back roads. I just got back from a great trip in central and southern Alberta and my only regret was that I didn't have more time to see all the unique and wonderful attractions along the way. To check it out for yourself go to http://www.14dd5266c70789bdc806364df4586335-gdprlock/watch?v=nMRvPGuIDN0

New Book by Nikki Rose, Crete: The Roots of the Mediterranean Diet, enjoying the benefits of one of the world’s healthiest cuisines wherever you live. Nikki Rose, a Greek American Professional Chef-Instructor and Writer, has been hosting teachers, students and journalists in Crete for over 14 years through her project Crete’s Culinary Sanctuaries (CCS). Her focus celebrates and helps protect Crete’s cultural and culinary heritage. The concepts of the well-researched and highly regarded Mediterranean Diet originated in Crete. Chef Rose, with her CCS initiatives, demonstrates that Cretan cuisine is not just a diet, but is a way of life that has much to offer our on-going pursuit of healthy and sustainable approaches to eating. In this concise book, Rose shares her knowledge, and passion for her heritage, along with practical strategies for applying the celebrated concepts of Cretan cuisine, wherever we live. Rose has received numerous awards from National Geographic, the United Nations and many other organizations for her success in creating sustainable travel/community-based tourism and culinary projects that bring focus to the expanding inquiry into sustainability. Proceeds from this book benefit ongoing CCS initiatives. Information and chapter preview:  http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2401646

Remembering the way tabloids were treating Athens in the run up to the 2004 Olympics (which always are, like all mega-events, a mega-waste)  a certain schadenfreude could be expected from Athenians, but on the contrary they feel a sense of solidarity with Londoners and the UK tourism sector who seem to be experiencing the same effects of neoliberal globalisation - high youth unemployment, social injustice, racism, police brutality, increased crime, all leading, mathematically, to riots. I have found the reaction of the London Greens (here and here) interesting and measured, while a post in Red Pepper also seems to put the finger in the wounds. Let us hope that neoliberal government policies will be reversed soon, both in UK and in Greece.

  Harvard Extension Environmental Management of International Tourism Development Course Breaks Ground with Student Research and Mapping Tool Sustainable tourism expert, Megan Epler Wood, will again teach the Environmental Management of International Tourism Development as part of Harvard Extension’s Sustainability and Environmental Management program. Now in its second year, the course has received top reviews from students and Epler Wood received a commendation for excellence in teaching from the Dean of Harvard Extension for the 2010 course. This year students will utilize Harvard’s WorldMap digital mapping program to begin to document environmental management issues for tourism worldwide. Epler Wood’s students will be the first to map international tourism impacts on a global scale using the new mapping tool developed by Harvard’s experts at the Center for Geographic Analysis. Special training on using WorldMap will be included in the course curriculum. Available locally in Cambridge, MA and simultaneously as an online distance-learning option, the course attracts students from around the world making it very appropriate for professionals seeking to work on environmental management in their own countries. Registration begins on August 1. Space is limited. This course is the first of its kind and is a means to provide professionals worldwide with the opportunity to join the dialog on improving the...

  Planeterra, an international non-profit organization based in Toronto, Canada is accelerating its capacity to support a growing number of sustainable development projects worldwide, in places where Gap Adventures and its travel industry partners operate adventure and cultural tours. Founded in 2003 by Gap Adventures’ owner and founder, Bruce Poon Tip, Planeterra intends to break new ground by backing long-term solutions in key travel destinations worldwide. By leveraging small-scale businesses, creating ecosystem-wide solutions, and supporting essential human needs, Planeterra puts the people and places travelers visit at the center of its agenda. “Planeterra revised its mission statement, and we’re now moving dynamically to help empower local people in travel destinations, to help develop their communities, preserve their cultures, protect their environment and create a humane and supportive system for their endeavors,” says Megan Epler Wood, the organization’s executive director. Since 2007, Planeterra has facilitated the development of voluntours worldwide, by vetting projects where travelers share their time and skills with local people and community projects in destinations around the world. With a growing team of local Planeterra specialists the organization provides expert guidance and professional advice to the many projects incorporated into these voluntours. Planeterra allows its travel industry partners to manage and operate the...

"Invisible wall" a short documentary about tourists, refugees and immigrants in Agathonissi, Greece, a tiny, formerly sleepy, island close to the Turkish coast.