Episode 11 - COVID Might Be the Biggest Threat to Mountain Gorillas in Our Lifetime

The life of a travel writer typically means months at a time spent away from home. But both Kathryn and Eric have  found significant others who, far from discouraging us from taking trips, appreciate how our passion for travel drives us and encourage us to see as much of the world as possible.

During normal times, that is. This past year has been completely different. With everyone locked down and working from home, including us, we’ve had to find new ways to relate both to travel and our partners, Keith and Jeff. We thought listeners might enjoy hearing their perspectives on what it’s like being with a person who travels for a living, including how they handle our personal... shall we say, quirks. And how everything has changed lately.

Being grounded for much of the pandemic has had hosts Kathryn Romeyn and Eric Rosen taking a harder look at how our passion for travel is contributing to climate change, and asking if there are ways we can address our environmental impact without simply giving up flying altogether. In today’s episode, Eric interviews three experts on the ways that airlines, airports, and yes, even travelers, can chart a greener course for the future.

First up is  Karel Bockstael, the vice president of sustainability at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, which has recently undertaken research into futuristic aircraft and sustainable aviation fuels, among other measures.

Next is Samantha Bricker, the chief sustainability and revenue management officer for Los Angeles World Airports. During a massive expansion, LAX is fast-tracking green building projects that will cut down on traffic, emissions, energy and water use, and waste.

Finally, we turn to Tim Johnson, the director of the U.K.-based Aviation Environment Federation to examine aviation's climate and community impacts. He also tells us how travelers can make more responsible choices when flying.

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They say the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach, and over years of travel writing, Eric and Kathryn have discovered that adage is true for falling in love with a city, too. As we’ve eaten our way through countless global destinations, in many cases we’ve simultaneously consumed local knowledge, history and context. It turns out food is a delicious gateway to new cultures, especially when you have a local host guiding the experience. 

To explore this concept we looked to a few individuals who have created some of our most positive and illuminating foodie outings. First up is Marwa Preston, a vivacious Egyptian expat living in Barcelona who founded a company called Wanderbeak that curates experiences around the city. 

Kathryn gained far more knowledge than she anticipated during a pho-focused walking tour of Ho Chi Minh City with Saigon Street Eats, founded by a husband-and-wife team comprising Australian Barbara Adam and Vietnamese Vu Vo. 

For some delectable food pics, follow @wanderbeak and @therealsaigonstreeteats. 

Eric traveled to Kenya with Micato Safaris in partnership and the Elewana Collection of lodges in December, reassured by both organizations’ stringent COVID health protocols.

While staying at Elewana Kifaru House in the biodiverse Lewa Wildilfe Conservancy, Eric spoke to the CEO of Lewa, Mike Watson, about how the conservancy is persevering through tough financial times with projects like rhino anti-poaching activities to protect the area’s animals, and micro-lending programs that help local women support their families.

Back in Nairobi, Eric visited Micato Safaris’ philanthropic arm, AmericaShare, which runs a community center in one of the city’s largest slums and underwrites the education of hundreds of students each year. He spoke to AmericaShare’s country director, Albanous Gituru, about all the efforts the organization has been making throughout COVID to ensure that its students remain connected to educational resources during these challenging times.

What is our responsibility as travelers to follow politics, current events, and human rights issues in a destination we are interested in visiting? And should we be avoiding places where we believe the government carries out unethical policies? Travel invites us to explore faraway cultures and environments, yes. But it also invites us to look inside ourselves and examine our personal values. This episode is about just that. 

First we speak with Dr. Anu Taranath, a teaching professor on issues of diversity, racial equality and social change at the University of Washington. Dr. Anu recently wrote an award-winning book called Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World.

We also call up Simon Lynch, director of sales for Luxury Travel Group, the parent company of Scott Dunn, a conscientious bespoke tour operator. Simon  shares Scott Dunn’s efforts to work with locally owned and operated businesses in each of their destinations to ensure tourism dollars directly benefit communities. 

Cut off from mainland Australia by the Bass Strait for more than 12,000 years, Tasmania retains a sense of isolation and mystique. However, as Eric discovered on a two-week road trip, the island is home to some of the country’s most fascinating and sustainability-focused travel experiences.

We begin by interviewing Clyde Mansell, an elder of Tasmania’s Palawa community and founder of an Indigenous-owned and operated multi-day trek through the Bay of Fires along Tasmania’s dramatic northeast coast called wukalina walk.

Next, we check in with Wade Anthony, who founded Devils @ Cradle to help preserve Tasmania’s unique marsupials through focused educational and breeding programs. 

Finally, we called Rodney Dunn, the food writer, chef, and farmer who started The Agrarian Kitchen cooking school back in 2007, just as Tasmania’s burgeoning food scene was starting to take off. 

Many causes of environmental destruction are rooted in human action. But as we find out in this episode, mankind can also be the driving force to revive some of the earth’s most damaged places. There are success stories from around the globe of ways landscapes have been almost completely rehabilitated, from Mozambique to Cambodia. Here, we focus on how two unique ecosystems, one in Rwanda and the other in Australia, have been reinvigorated. 

First up, African Parks’ Jean-Paul Karinganire talks to us about how the nonprofit conservation and management company took a Rwandan wildlife refuge from post-genocide decimation—think few animals, no more carnivores, and an unstable relationship with the surrounding communities—to overwhelming success. Akagera National Park is now also home to Wilderness Safaris’ eco-sensitive yet radiant Magashi Camp, which Kathryn visited in late 2019.  

We also speak with passionate changemaker and conservationist Peter Gash, the self-styled caretaker of Lady Elliot Island. Part of Australia’s southern Great Barrier Reef, the island was was nearly destroyed by guano harvesting in the 19th century. Peter’s relationship with the island—where he runs an incredibly environmentally friendly resort—has spanned 40 years, and he’s been nothing if not persistent in his quest to restore the island’s natural equilibrium.

Listen to the episode for these fascinating stories, including some truly inspiring messages that hit on the importance of engaging community—whether it’s the locals who live nearby, or the travelers who visit and can take lessons home with them—and the power of collaboration to make a real difference. As Peter tells it, our planet has suffered near-death by a thousand cuts, and it’s up to human beings to help reverse the damage with a thousand—or more!—innovative band-aids. Follow @africanparksnetwork, @akagerapark, @wearewilderness, @visitrwanda_now, @ladyelliotislandecoresort and @queensland for gorgeous visuals to bring these tales to life.

The scarcity of potable water across huge swaths of the globe is a daily reality for around two billion people. In this episode, we talk to two people who are working hard to address this issue. 

Jon Rose is a former pro surfer–turned-humanitarian, and founder of Waves For Water. This NGO’s courier program gives travelers a way to be part of the solution in a very tangible way: By bringing portable water filtration systems to communities they seek out while on the road.

Claude Graves, cofounder and managing director of the Sumba Foundation, is our second guest. He shares the story of how he discovered the serious need for potable water sources on Sumba Island as he was building one of the world’s premiere surf resorts, Nihi Sumba. As he’s seen firsthand, clean water is a necessary first step in a chain of events that leads to improved nutrition, health, and even educational opportunities for the island’s people.  

Every great travel writer should start with a mastery of her or his own backyard. During the coronavirus travel lockdowns of the past year, that’s why we were both inspired to explore hidden corners of our hometown, Los Angeles.

We took a (sanctioned and pre-arranged) hike up to the iconic Hollywood Sign to learn more about this landmark’s checkered past, talked to writer and architecture expert Jessica Ritz about some of the city’s underappreciated design gems, and interviewed Amy Luftig-Viste and Jasper Dickson of Angeleno Wine Co. about the city’s past as a wine-producing powerhouse.

Our three conversations all uncovered fascinating facets to Los Angeles that have us viewing our adopted hometown through a whole new lens.

Women’s fair-trade craft cooperatives around the world have changed the game for so many families. As part of our series on changing female roles in tourism, we look at one inspiring version of this concept where Kathryn has spent meaningful time: Ride 4 A Woman, a compelling place on the edge of Uganda’s mountain gorilla territory of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. 

In this episode, we talk to Ride 4 A Woman founder Evelyn Habasa about her mother’s dream to help the women of their community, and how the organization has grown from bicycle tours to sewing and weaving, plus a microfinance program and accommodations for travelers. 

Next, we turn to Susie Crippen, a fashion designer and cofounder of J Brand jeans about how she partnered with Evelyn to launch a dress line called 4, hand-sewn by the ladies of Ride 4 A Woman. Follow them @ride4awoman, @susiecrippen and @thisis4official for more on their work and products.