Cam Douglas & Yvonne Leicht are teachers & community activists from Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Our daughter Kaia is 13 and son Jake is 12. We are travelling from Sept 2014 to June 2015, in search of sustainability practice, people and places. We hope to visit, learn of, and document innovative or otherwise effective examples of environmental leadership (big or small) through renewable energy & conservation, sustainable urban transportation & design, sustainable food production & water use, biodiversity conservation & protection of indigenous peoples, sustainable (“eco”?) tourism, and less consumer-oriented living.
Our journey is loosely inspired by Chris Turner’s book “The Geography of Hope – A Tour of the of the world we need“. Chris points out in compelling fashion that all the pieces of a sustainable future already exist … just not all in once place. The puzzle needs to be put together.
We plan to share our year’s experiences through writing, photo, video & speaking. This blog represents the “rough cut” of writing & photo. We welcome comments, and especially suggestions re. where we should go and who we should meet with. Our flight itinerary is now set, and is shared in our 1st post.
We are also producing a set of video vignettes focussed on different aspects of sustainabililty. These are being prepared for grade 7 to 9 classrooms and Kaia and Jake are the hosts of the series. Series episodes will include for example sustainable transportaion, ecotourism, biodiversity conservation, water conservation, climate change impacts on coral reefs, and renewable energy.
P.S. – we’re looking for a good tree planting project to try to offset our rather considerable flight carbon. Like maybe most of Borneo? Seriously though … we are open to suggestions!
We are so excited for you all. What an incredibly brave and adventurous undertaking. We will be with you in spirit! Take care of each other.
LikeLike
Enjoy every day of your adventure. Your family will learn and grow thanks to having the world as your classroom and its people as your teachers. Have fun! The Storey Family
LikeLike
You guys are amazing. I’ve put your blog on my home screen so that you will contribute to my iPhone addiction.
Happy travels!
Dave
LikeLike
Dear Cam, Yvonne, Kaia and Jake,
Have a great time! I love the ecological basis for your trip and pray for your safety. I will be following your progress closely and admit I’m more than somewhat envious of the wonderful learning experience you will be having.
LikeLike
Fantastic! Can’t wait to follow your progress and hear the stories. We send our good wishes for this epic journey.
Sam, Dan and Zev
LikeLike
Wow, what an audacious adventure! Will follow youse guyz religiously. Sorry Karen & I were away at the time of your house party — good luck and enjoy!
LikeLike
Bonjour Kaia,
Ce matin, nous avons fait un tour sur votre blog. Nous sommes très excité de voir que tu reviendras le 21 juin ce qui veut dire que tu pourras participer à la graduation. On espère que tu t’amuses et que le début de ton voyage se passe bien. Nous avons hâte de lire plus de détails, ne te gêne pas pour nous envoyer des photos.
à bientôt,
La classe de 8.
LikeLike
Allo tout le monde! Oui, moi aussi j’ai hate a retourner pour la graduation. Je suis tellement excitee que vous vous interesses a mon voyage! Je mettrai des photos sur mon blog ou je les envoierai directement chez vous. Amusez-vous a l’ecole! Adios amigos!
Kaia
LikeLike
Hi Kaia!
I hope you’re having fun on your trip so far! I think we all miss having you around 😦
Well, have a great time!
~ Allison
Ps: Manlady misses you too 😉
LikeLike
Have a safe trip. What a wonderful learning experience for you all!
LikeLike
Hi Douglas family,
Great comments and photos of your bicycle tour of Portland which seems very much like Amsterdam where bicycles rule much like horses in the Old West.
Have fun in Costa Rica!
David F.
LikeLike
Hi there – What an exciting adventure! When I was in NZ I tree-planted with the Manawa Karioi Society, which is dedicated to restoring native forest around the Tapu Te Ranga Marae in Island Bay, Wellington. It was a fantastic experience. If you’d like to know more, go to http://www.mk.org.nz/. Safe travels!
LikeLike
Si, puedes, ayer Jake y yo hablamos en espanol con los estudiantes a la escuela de Zancudo!
Kaia
LikeLike
Bonjour Kaia,
13 élèves croient que les vidéos montrent vraiment le bon sens que l’eau prend dans chacun des hémisphères tandis que deux personnes croient que ce n’est pas vrai. On t’invite à faire un peu de recherche pour nous éclairer sur le sujet. As-tu entendu parler d’Ebola? Quelle est l’opinion des gens du village où tu es à ce propos?
Continue de t’amuser!
à bientôt
(Sébastien Hamel-Racine, et toute la classe, t’aime encore)
La classe de 8e
Hola Kaia,
13 estudiantes creen que los videos realmente muestran la dirección correcta que el agua tiene en cada hemisferio, mientras que dos personas creen que esto no es cierto. Te invitamos a hacer un poco de investigación para arrojar luz sobre el tema. ¿Has oído hablar del Ebola? Cuál es la opinión de la gente en el pueblo donde estés en esto?
Continuar para divertirse!
Hasta pronto
(Sébastien Hamel-Racine, y toda la clase, todavía te amo)
El 8 º grado
😉 google translate on t’aime…
LikeLike
Just wanted to say hello! I’ve been following your blog and it’s amazing. I’m so glad you’re doing well, best of luck with the rest of your trip!
LikeLike
Great to hear from you, Laura. I hope all’s well at Kenner CVI for you. Cam
LikeLike
hi I”m audrey from green school, bali and I would just like to say thank you for your really great talk yesterday and good luck for the rest of your journey!
LikeLike
Thanks! It was such a pleasure to be at Green School and meet some of the students, teachers and parents. We are so inspired by what is going on there.
LikeLike
I saw your 1 year 1 family 1 world scribbled on the fridge in red marker pen, in a lovely wooden hostel the name escapes me near Manuel Antonia.. I praise you for your adventure and you certainly are living the dream xx Good on you xx
LikeLike
Hello! We wrote that back in September 2014 at the very start of our trip! I still remember the name of the hostel: Plinio, near Quepos. Yes, it’s really lovely! So glad you checked our blog.
Kaia
LikeLike
Cam and Yvonne, It has been such a very long time since I saw you!!! I have been following the blog – what a great year you have had – what great energy the family has! It has been very fun following the adventures. I am sure the next few weeks will be bittersweet with the end of such a great year and the excitement of coming home. Enjoy!
LikeLike
Where will the video series be!? It sounds perfect for my class and kids
LikeLike
Did you make it home?
LikeLike
Yes, we did! And the wonderful distractions of home have kept us away from the blog, but we’re determined to complete it, so stay tuned.
LikeLike
Hi Cameron,
My name is Jessica Correa and I have launched an initiative called PTBO Random Acts of Green. The blog you have here is something we would love to share on our page. If you are interested, please check out @ptboraog and PTBO Random Acts of Green on Facebook. I was recommended by Javier Zamacona to take a look at your work. Please also feel free to e-mail me at jessicacorrea@trentu.ca.
LikeLike