Ethics, Solar Panels, B Corp Love.

Why is paying to volunteer all about ethics and how does that relate to a solar company?

Everything you consume, at home and while traveling has a cost. The water from your tap costs money. The food in your breakfast bowl costs money. Your sweatpants and button up shirt- creating the perfect Zoom mullet combo costs money. Your computer costs money. The training you got when you first were hired at your job costs money. The supervision you have at work now (while sometimes annoying) costs money.

So, if we are paying for things when we are home, we *must* pay for things when we travel. Our kind intentions, cultural exchange, volunteer tasks and projects are all valuable in their own way- but they do not pay the bills. They do not offset the cost of what you consume- electricity and water in your host's house, materials and training to make sure you are safe while volunteering, potable water throughout your time away from home... we could go on.

If your volunteer materials, housing, transport, food, insurance, training, water and everything else are free for you, then someone else is paying for them. You are costing the community you came to be of service to. It's no longer a relationship of consent and mutual service and benefit- you bring financial insecurity. What you bring as a volunteer IS valuable but again, it does not pay those bills that *do* need to be paid, so just like at home where you pay for water, electricity, gas, clothing, transport, Wi-Fi, and everything else, you need to pay when you are away.

What on EARTH does this have to do with Solar?!

Well... just like there are ethical ways to travel, there are ethical ways to live at home. You put fair trade, shade grown, women owned, co-op coffee in your cup but have you thought about what goes in to your electricity? Have you thought about who is paying for your energy? Yes, you pay the monetary fee but what about the environmental fee? Does your energy come from gas, coal or hydro? What if it could come from a source that is environmentally friendly? What if it could come from a source that doesn't just care about the environment but also the community and the people who work for the company?

What if you could power your home through solar and that company was a B Corp? A company that was audited every three years to make sure they had the highest standards of company and worker welfare, environmental benefit, community outreach and more? Obviously this isn't just us waxing on poetic. These companies EXIST! We have B Corp buddies all over North America who are helping people divest from environmentally, worker and community unfriendly (or at best, neutral) companies and investing in real and true GOOD for the planet, good for the workers, good for the communities companies. One of them we want to highlight is of course, our besties over at ReVision Energy They helped us realise this reality and we want to shout our love from the rooftops. We aren't from Maine so we can't get be their clients but that doesn't mean our friends from Maine can't. If you want a better way to get your energy, head over to their page, check out their Sunsquatch and give them a call.

Your consumption will cost you money, make sure you put that money into the hands of people doing the *best* they can for you, the community and the environment.

Thanks for coming to our Ted Talk, we will take questions in the lobby.

Wildlife Veterinary Care

Wildlife rehabilitation offers sick, injured, orphaned and rescued wildlife a second chance. This work would not be possible without dedicated wildlife carers, biologists, park rangers, veterinary professionals and volunteers. Animal Experience International supports wildlife centres around the world, in Guatemala, Malawi, Thailand and Australia. I personally have had the honour to work as a wildlife veterinarian for more than 20 years. Not a day goes by that I'm not surprised or amazed by my wild patients. Working with wildlife presents many challenges that are not faced by vets treating domestic animals like dogs, cats and horses.

We don’t know their history.

Our wild patients often come to us with no background information. The animal may have been found lying on a road, been confiscated from a smuggler, or seen not using a leg. But unlike domestic animals, there is no person to share the animal’s history, a tool vets rely on to deduce what is wrong. Wildlife vets must be detectives, a task made even more difficult by the stoic nature of wildlife. In the wild a weak animal is more likely to become another animal’s dinner – wildlife has an amazing ability to hide their illness or injuries, even from veterinarians.

Survival is essential.

Add to that, our wild patients have to be well enough to survive in the wild once released. We cannot ask a patient to return for regular follow-up exams, or to leave with pain medication that they can take indefinitely. The goal of wildlife rehabilitation is to return healthy animals back to the wild. Wild animals must be able to swim, climb, fly, hunt, evade prey, reproduce, interact appropriately, and flourish in the wild. This holds us vets to an exceedingly high standard!

Our care is very stressful.

Wildlife find captivity to be extremely stressful – to a wild animal, humans are seen as predators. This means we must work very hard to keep our patients as comfortable as possible and to minimize stress. Unlike with domestic animals, wildlife is not soothed by touch or reassuring talk. Quite the opposite! Minimizing stress means being quiet around wildlife, staying away from enclosures, and keeping the number of times we examine, treat, weigh, or otherwise disturb our patients to a minimum. Wildlife centres work hard to design enclosures that keep animals safe and comfortable, and to provide enrichment to keep animals occupied while in care. Animals that are less stressed heal and recover more quickly, tend not to further injury themselves and can be released back to the wild sooner.

I love the challenges that come with working with wildlife – the constant problem solving, and creativity required to treat my patients successfully. But for all of us involved in wildlife rehabilitation and rescue, the most satisfying part is when our work in done, and the animal is given a second chance to live its life, free in the wild.
 

~ Dr. Heather Reid is a Wildlife Veterinarian and the Co-founder of AEI ~

Costa Rica Update

Want to help the conservation of endangered animals?

Volunteer in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica is open to *some* travellers and volunteer.

The three pillars in which we built AEI are: safety, ethical practices and authentic conservation activities.
In the last 6 months we have been working hard at making sure none of those pillars crumbles or falls.
This has meant with some countries opening up we have had to make hard decisions. We need to keep local communities and our clients safe- and how do we do that in a pandemic while they desperately need help and donations?
Most of our programs are still closed but we are happy to announce if you are from Canada, some American states or some countries in Europe, you can volunteer in Costa Rica on our sea turtle conservation program!
We will be writing more about this in a newsletter today and of course updating all the details on the website. But if you want to travel to authentically help turtles, we can make sure you do it safely, and of course ethically.

How can you volunteer in Costa Rica?

• Canadian, Australian and European passports are accepted. Sadly, no Americans are allowed just yet- this also includes those who transit through America. 

• You must be able to show a negative Covid 19 test taken within 48 hours of travel

• You must complete an online epidemiological form provided by the Ministry of health.

How can this be safe?

• All volunteers must wear masks while volunteering. Hand sanitizer is provided and social distancing while volunteering is required.

• Social distancing at home and off time is more than possible since you live in your own cabin in a small community with a very low population density. 

• Volunteering activities take place outside and with other participants who have been cleared of risk (through national and regional requirements of testing).

• Our travel insurance partner covers Covid-19 complications. 

If you want to help sea turtles in Costa Rica check out our website or contact us today. We will be more than happy to talk to you about the realities of volunteering in 2020. 

Give travel to your friends, your family and yourself!

Last month we were mentioned in the New York Times article when Airbnb announced they would be helping people experience animals! Working with local animal programs you can go check out sea turtle programs or the day, have tea with ponies and visit with penguins. We LOVE this idea especially because World Animal Protection is behind them making sure all these experiences meet pretty high ethical and humane standards. No swimming with dolphins over here!

We also love this idea because it gives people the opportunity to dip their feet into the water of animal welfare and care so they can sign up for a longer experience with us later. Go visit animal welfare programs and wildlife rescue centres, see if you like them and then come volunteer with AEI! Why not?

Last month when I was in South Africa I tried an Airbnb experience to see how they operated and I was delighted! I went to the Cape of Good Hope with a woman that used to be a park ranger. She knew all the beautiful places to hike and was able to point out loads of animals I wouldn’t have even noticed!

Do yourself a favour, read the article, get better acquainted with animal adventures and then send us a message! Tis the season to give memories instead of things.

Give ethical and safe animal adventures to your friends, your family and yourself!

Family Travel Matters

How can you encourage a heart for empathy and compassion than volunteering with your kids? How can you reconnect with your grown up siblings than travel? How can you make memories that will last a life time with your grandkids? Traveling and volunteering of course?

AEI programs are safe, ethical and authentic. We go to the placements first to make sure! We have you volunteering directly with animals, scientists and experts in the local community so you know you are helping the animals you and your family members love so much. The best news? All your food and accomodation is sorted! That’s right, these are all inclusive trips so you just have to focus on the animals!

Want to learn more? Read our interview with the Family Travel Association and see why family travel matters so much to us!

Namaste Jan

Since May I have been trying to write something proper about Jan Salter MBE, founder of the Kathmandu Animal Treatment Centre and my friend. She died in 2018 and it was clear to me she changed my life and I wanted to tell others how much. Unfortunately, during times like this words often fail us.

I had the wonderful opportunity to write something about my experience in Nepal for Musa Masala. Of course, I knew I couldn’t write about Nepal without writing about Jan. Words continued to fail me but at least I was able to write something. Please accept my humble offering of how Nepal, a country of tremendous beauty, welcoming smiles and impossibly interesting history changed my life by helping my path cross Jan’s.

Nepal: Inspiration for a New Beginning.

Namaste,

Nora

A Podcast Just For You!

What makes AEI different from other social enterprises who are owned by women and have a dozen awards for their benefit to the community and the environment? Well... we are actually the only one! Listen to our story and what our founder has to say about being 'successful'. 

Listen to the newest episode of The School for Humanity Podcast to learn more about AEI and why travelling ethically helps us, you and the planet!

Adventures are in the speed bumps

Imagine you are going on the adventure of a lifetime to volunteer with a sea turtle conservation group in Australia. Everything is in place. Your pick up from the airport is all arranged - you know exactly where and when to meet the shuttle. You have accommodation at a local hostel and they have all your arrival information and are expecting you. The organization where you will volunteer is all set up, and you know exactly where to meet the group on your first day of volunteering and at what time. How exciting! And then at the last minute disaster strikes. One of your many flights has a gate change and you miss your connecting flight! Your new flight has you arriving in Australia a full day after you planned to get there. Your flight is boarding, you're hurrying to get on the plane and you have no time to make any changes to your many arrangements.

What do you do?!

If you have booked your travel adventure through Animal Experience International, you simply relax. A quick email to the AEI Coordinator, and you will know everything will be taken care of for you. Your shuttle will be re-booked. Your hostel will be notified that you will be delayed. The people meeting you from the sea turtle organization will be informed and a new arrangement will be made for you. You can get on your flight and relax, knowing everything has been taken care of for you. Animal Experience International is a registered travel agency. Not only are we animal lovers, we are also travel counselors and travel managers and active members of the Travel Industry Council of Ontario. Booking through AEI gives you peace of mind - knowing that you can sit back and enjoy your trip.

Including all the bumps in the road that make travel an adventure - not an inconvenience!

"Why is that monkey in a cage?"

I was recently talking to someone about our work at Animal Experience International, when she stopped me to ask why the photo I was showing her was of a spider monkey in a cage.

Did AEI support caging wild animals?

This was an important question, and a topic I am also passionate about as a wildlife veterinarian. I do not want to see wildlife kept in captivity if they can be living their lives free in the wild. The spider monkey in the photo was actually being housed at a wildlife rescue centre in Guatemala. This is an amazing organization that works tirelessly to rescue wild animals that have been captured as part of the illegal wildlife trade. When animals are confiscated from smugglers or from people using them to entertain tourists, they need somewhere to recover from their terrible ordeal. Some require medical attention. Others need supportive care. And orphaned babies need to be raised until they are old enough to care for themselves. While at the rescue centre, the animals are housed in enclosures that keep them safe, while protecting the humans that care for them.

So yes, they are in cages - but only temporarily. The goal is always to release them back to the wild. Staff and volunteers work hard to make the animals’ experience at the rescue centre as comfortable as possible. The wildlife are provided with environmental enrichment, places to hide and an enclosure set up that allows them to carry out their natural behaviours. The animals are moved to larger and larger enclosures as they begin to heal, and contact with people becomes less and less. For this spider monkey, he will eventually be housed with other spider monkeys in a large enclosure deep in the forest of the rescue centre and will see people as little as possible to minimize his exposure to humans. One day these spider monkeys will all be released to live their lives free in the jungle.

Gibbon Island in Thailand

AEI also supports several wildlife sanctuaries that provide a safe home for animals that cannot survive in the wild, and therefore cannot be released. Our elephant and wildlife sanctuary in Thailand is an excellent example of an organization working to provide a dignified and comfortable home for rescued, non-releasable animals. Their enclosures help to protect the animals, and are as large and natural as possible to ensure the animals are comfortable. Take for example their gibbons that cannot be released for one reason or another. These amazing primates are given an island to live on, separate from the main centre and are even fed remotely using a pulley system so that they are very rarely in contact with people. They are allowed to live as naturally as possible without human interference.

It is a sad reality that wild animals need to be kept in captivity at times in order to help or protect them. AEI supports organizations that house wildlife on a temporary basis, as part of a rescue and rehabilitation program. If providing long-term sanctuary we ensure that the best possible care is being offered the animals and that their lives are enriched and natural behaviours are encouraged. This is something that is very important to us - because wild animals deserve to be kept wild.

Want to volunteer with us in Guatemala or Thailand? Check out our program pages to volunteer anytime during the year (animals need help all year round and so we send volunteers all year round). Want to volunteer in Guatemala WITH us? Why not sign up for Expedition Guatemala? Take part in the rehabilitation of wildlife with your own two hands and understand the amazing work that is being done, first hand. 10 days volunteering with wildlife in February, sign up today!