Eco-volunteering is a great way for people to contribute to solutions to the many ways the environment is being threatened. Where you can offer your brains and brawn in efforts to help with habitat restoration and environmental protection. Your reward for your hard work is not just the satisfaction of doing important and necessary environmental works but also by working in a paradise that rewards you with its beauty. The book, Preserving Paradise: Opportunities in Volunteering for Hawaii’s Environment, outlines a number of non-profit environmental volunteer opportunities for the various islands of Hawaii. These projects range from just a few hours up to those that require a commitment of up to three months. There are descriptions of the particular needs, how difficult the work is and what is involved, what the process is to volunteer, the difficulty level of the activities, and how to contact the various groups.

The author Kirsten Whatley states:

“Consider this an invitation, no matter your origin. Consider it a call to arms – and to hands and feet and backs and rakes and hoes and sweat. We all need a paradise to come home to. But we need to consider our impact on this paradise – more importantly, our responsibility to it.”

The opportunities she discusses in this wonderful book are a great starting point. Some of the projects include: the Hawaiian Island Humback Whale Sanctuary, Hawaiian Island National Wildlife Refuges, Reef Check Hawai’i, Sierra Club Hawai’i chapter, Three Ring Ranch Exotic Animal Sanctuary, Native Hawaiian Plant Society, and many, many more.

Even if you are not sure you can commit to volunteering, this book is good for people considering a vacation in Hawai’i as it will help you respect the delicate environmental balance and needs of the Hawai’ian Islands. Here is a link to a site to get more information on eco-touring in Hawai’i. Another site can be found here.

If you’re on St. Lucia, have been working yourself to the bone and need a break from it all, click the link below.

The Balenbouche Estate, a family owned property and St. Lucia Heritage Site, is a former sugar cane plantation. Under the care and management of the Lawaetz family since 1965, it has been constantly developing into a desirable tourism destination for the island.

Through the use of low tech (fans rather than a/c, mosquito nets instead of screens), solar water heating, re-directed rainwater, and conservation a very natural level of comfort is achieved. They have worked to enhance their environmental, conservation, and alternative energy programs with the goal of becoming largely self-sufficient in the near future.

The community involvement and educational projects sponsored and or supported by Balenbouche are a very strong part of what makes this a special place to be (see their “activities” page at link below). They’re working hard for responsible tourism and we give them our green thumbs up!

For Information and Booking, CLICK: http://www.balenbouche.com

A quick tip of our fins to our friends at oceana.org/north-america for all of their hard work.

We at GreatGreenTravel.com are very grateful for their help in making this day a reality.

Now that we’ve spent the weekend cleaning up our respective shorelines, we’ll start visiting some destinations known for extensive coasts. That is to say we’re going island hopping, and we’re starting off today in the United Kingdom.

This is perhaps the first ever “ecolodge.” Bathhurst Inlet Lodge, located on the Central Arctic Coast in Nunavut is the perfect place for greatgreentravelers to immerse themselves in the virtually untouched beauty of our land while supporting the people who live there.

During the brief summer season the area is rich with life. Over 80 species of birds are present, with more migratory sightings. An abundance of mammals like muskox, caribou, and barrenground grizzlies roam. Wildflowers come out by the thousands to celebrate the sun! The arctic land is host to vast geological wonders and awe inspiring views of waterfalls, gorges, canyons, and eskers.

The lodge is co-owned by the Warner family and the Kingaunmuit people, the indigenous Inuit residents of Bathurst Inlet. The history of this lodge is long and exciting, culminating in its present state of partnership. After your long and eventful day on the tundra you’ll be treated to a great meal and to story sharing.

Departures are out of Yellowknife. There are five 1-week programs scheduled beginning June 26-July 02 through July 20-26. Reservations are still being accepted, I just checked.

For reservations and full booking information, CLICK: www.bathurstinletlodge.com/

Greatgreentravel.com is compiling healthy ways to celebrate the beautiful island people of this world and their fragile cultures, wherever they may be.

At the same time we look toward June 8, 2009, formally recognized as World Oceans Day by the United Nations; this just 16 years after it was first proposed during The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro back in 1992 by the Government of Canada. We applaud Canada for the foresight.

Since that time, Oceana, the world’s largest organization focused fully on ocean conservation, joined by hundreds of museums, conservation organizations, agencies, and supporters have worked tirelessly for this day. “Making World Oceans Day official will help us and other ocean groups to engage more people and to increase public support for efforts to reverse the declining health of marine ecosystems.” From a statement by Dan Sharpless, C.E.O. of Oceana. The full statement and more on this article appears at this CLICK: http://oceana.org/north-america