GlobaLinks Learning Abroad Now Official Green Passport Program Sponsor
The Goal: Encourage Those Who Travel, Work and Study Abroad To Minimize Their Environmental And Cultural Impacts
You have your passport to study abroad – but do you have your green passport?
GlobaLinks Learning Abroad, as part of its ongoing green initiatives, is now an official sponsor of the Green Passport Program, an educational initiative to “green the field of international education in the United States” and encourage those who study, travel, work and live abroad to do so in ways that positively rather than negatively impact the environment.
The effort, initially conceived by Rodney Vargas at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was developed in the fall of 2007 with the support of the Abroad View Foundation, Living Routes, Ithaca College Office of International Programs and Middlebury College’s Office of International Programs and Off-Campus Study.
The Green Passport Program is part education, part community as participants are provided with articles, resources, tips and links to explore the social and environmental consequences of studying, living, working, traveling and volunteering abroad.
Green Passport holders then take a pledge to improve these aspects of their international experience by doing their best to:
- minimize their impact on the environment.
- act in culturally respectful ways.
- engage with locals and participate in the local community.
- give back to their host communities.
Green Passport holders, once enrolled, are part of an online community at www.greenpassport.us and can set up profile pages, participate in forums, learn about other sustainability efforts and opportunities and share there own experiences through blog entries, photos and videos.
GlobaLinks Learning Abroad has since 2007 encouraged its AustraLearn / AsiaLearn / EuroLearn participants to enroll in the Green Passport Program.
It also offers students other sustainable practice opportunities, including:
- conservation volunteer weekends for program participants to plant trees, shrubs, remove weeds and trash and assist in other efforts to improve the local environment of their host countries.
- a $40 study abroad carbon offset package, with funds going to support the Colorado Carbon Fund’s renewable energy projects in Colorado and effectively “offset” the environmental impact of the airline miles of the student’s study abroad travel.
- a paperless enrollment process and resources.
- a “travel light departure package,” including going-green tips and educational materials, travel wallet and reusable shopping bag made of recycled plastic.
Related posts:
