Travelers making the world better one trip at a time

How one couple is traveling around the world to make a difference

Can you continue to travel as a climate activist?

Elliot Mitchell and Alexandra Morgan say yes. In December 2020, they left their jobs to travel the world by volunteering to better our planet. He was an ad Account Manager at Amazon and she helped the government provide interest free loans to the public sector to invest in energy efficient technology.

They wanted to deepen their knowledge about sustainability and decided the only way to do this was by immersing themselves in a true global education.

Follow their adventures on Instagram

How they got started

They began volunteering using Workaway, a website where you can type in keywords, like environment/sustainability to find the perfect fit for you and your family. If they volunteer 5 hours a day for 5 days a week, they earn free food and accommodation.

They began volunteering at home in the UK. Once they felt safe to explore beyond the UK, they came across Rancho Margot, Costa Rica’s first carbon-negative organization. They offer a volunteer exchange program to learn how businesses can operate with a minimal carbon footprint. ⁠”Costa Rica has long been top of our list for places we want to visit as they’re leading the way in sustainability (99% of their electricity was renewable in 2019).” 

Moving forward—slowly

They’re headed back to the UK once their volunteer stint is up and are now planning an overland volunteering journey from the UK to Asia. “We don’t love the fact that we’ve flown to Costa Rica as it goes against what we preach, however we are making an exception as we believe that the knowledge that we acquire from our time in the country will allow us to bring about positive change in the world.⁠ We will however be offsetting the carbon emissions from our flight to minimize our impact,” Elliot said in an email.  

“We are planning to slow travel, spending a few months in each country, rather than weeks, so we can really get to know places and local people. And slow-traveling with a focus on sustainability projects is exciting as it will help provide a sense of purpose, create lots of opportunities, new connections, and possibilities we can explore in the future. Slow traveling means we can travel by public transport, rather than taking planes (Costa Rica is the exception!).”

Using travel for good

“There are so many people out there doing so many amazing things,” Alex said. “Some might be on your doorstep you just don’t realize it. Traveling exposes you to so many new experiences. When we finish traveling we hope to put all our knowledge to use, using it as a force for good. If we can inspire people to live more sustainably or start a business that aims to better the world then this is what really motivates us to share our learnings.” 

This week’s action

With summer upon us, let’s use our travel (and homebound life) for good. Find an organization to volunteer your time with the kids in your life. Think about it like family camp, where you are learning a new experience to bring home and integrate into your life.

And when you do go exploring, reserve at least one day to volunteer in the place you’re visiting with the aim of helping leave the place a little better because of your visit. It’s the least we can do.