In 2015, CONAF – the Chilean agency entrusted to manage Torres del Paine National Park – asked ConservationVIP® about the viability of converting a horse trail in the park into a hiking trail. A new trail would relieve severe overcrowding on a section of the hiking trail known as “the W”. We responded that it…
![Travel, Turtles, Time Well Spent](https://conservationvip.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Impact-with-sea-turtles-300x106.jpg)
I have traveled to San Jose, Costa Rica many times to support a children’s home, but I wanted to see more of the country. I found ConservationVIP’s Costa Rican volunteer trip a way to “Travel with Purpose,” expand my interest, and to be a great opportunity to experience and serve those in remote communities. The…
![Traveling, it leaves you speechless and then turns you into a storyteller.](https://conservationvip.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Shelley-at-Sacsayhuaman-300x106.jpg)
“Traveling, it leaves you speechless and then turns you into a storyteller.” ~ Ibn Battuta This quote by Ibn Battuta is intensely the experience that I have on each trip with ConservationVIP. I wish I had enough page to tell you all of the speechless moments that I’ve had while traveling with ConservationVIP. The intense…
![What is Sustainable Travel?](https://conservationvip.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/removing-invasive-species-at-Machu-Picchu-300x106.jpg)
Sustainable travel is currently a hot topic in the travel industry. As CEO of Conservation Volunteers International Program, I have been thinking a lot about the sustainable travel discussions, because our conservation volunteer projects are entwined with the travel industry. ConservationVIP® organizes volunteer trips to some of the world’s greatest landscapes and cultural heritage sites…
![Labor of Love for Scotland](https://conservationvip.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Bridge-A-1-300x106.jpg)
Vacation [def]: An extended period of leisure and recreation, especially when spent away from home or traveling. You can probably picture the perfect vacation lying on a warm sunny beach gazing at the turquoise blue water watching dolphins frolicking in the ocean waves. You’re relaxed and peaceful without a care in the world. For me…
![Rewilding the Scottish Highlands](https://conservationvip.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Peters-Scotland-blog-300x106.jpg)
My first impression was the variegated greens of the trees…and the thought that this is what the forest looked like in Roman times. And just beyond the treetops, in the distance, I could see the barren hilltops. And that’s when it hit me. Here we were doing our bit to help bring the lush Caledonian…