As travel lovers, we’re all too familiar with the rush that comes along with exploring new destinations, yet we’re also well aware that these experiences come at a cost to the environment. The impact that our travels have on the planet, specifically the carbon dioxide emitted as we fly and road trip to new places, weighs heavily on our minds. So it’s been important for us to find a way to explore our planet while at the same time upholding our commitment to being good stewards of the environment.
Enter: carbon offsetting, a way to compensate for the carbon emitted through our travels. Below we’re sharing how we’ve made our travels a bit more planet-friendly through offsetting our travel footprint and diving into how we chose a reputable organization to support.
What Exactly is Carbon Offsetting?
A carbon offset is an action or activity that compensates for/neutralizes the emission of carbon dioxide or other heat-trapping greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. There are a ton of different programs through which you can offset your emissions. For example, opting to pay an additional fee to fund the planting of trees when you book a flight is one popular way to carbon offset on the individual level. Other activities that offset carbon include funding renewable energy projects like solar, hydro, and wind farms, promoting energy efficiency in developing countries, and supporting biosequestration aka forest protection/reforestation programs.
How Did You Choose a Program?
The actual impact of some of these programs, though, isn’t always easy to measure. So when deciding how to offset our travels, we chose to support Engage Globally’s environmental conservation program. Engage Globally is a nonprofit organization that supports education, job training, small business creation, and sustainable development in rural Northern Ghana. They collaborate with local partners to expand opportunities in communities where most families rely on subsistence farming and live below the global poverty line. Their conservation program not only involves planting native trees, but also incorporates place-based environmental education in communities that are disproportionately impacted by biodiversity loss and climate change (as pictured above).
Through our long involvement with Engage Globally, we have witnessed firsthand the transformational nature of their projects, so for us, offsetting with Engage felt like a no-brainer.
What Sets Engage Globally’s Conservation Program Apart?
As a part of Engage Globally’s Environmental Education and Conservation program, students plant native trees and fruit trees around their early childhood learning centers and in their communities each year. Planting trees helps students learn about environmental conservation while studying basic skills through outdoor education.
Trees planted include mangos, the tree of life, a native tree known for its medicinal purposes, and the Dawadawa tree, a native tree that is known for providing shade and food. Acacia, Moringa, Mahogany, and Umbrella were also among the native trees planted that provide shade, fruit to improve nutrition, and help to reduce soil erosion.
Beyond planting native trees and incorporating environmental education, Engage Globally’s program focuses on tree survival, rather than just total numbers of trees planted. Trees are purchased locally, and students create a handmade fence to put around each tree to protect them from goats and accidental damage. A graduate of Engage Globally’s scholarship program has also been hired to be a tree caretaker and to provide daily water to the trees using the community’s rainwater catchment system. So, not only do these trees improve soil quality, provide shade and learning opportunities, but they also provide employment in our partner communities where the vast majority of adults are subsistence farming, earning less than $2/day.
A friend of ours, who recently visited Engage Globally’s partner communities in Northern Ghana, shared her account of the program with us:
“The impact of tree planting in rural Northern Ghana is really apparent and the excitement and enthusiasm of our partner communities is palpable! Perhaps the most joyful experience was planting trees at Tahama with our littlest learners. Students learned how to plant and care for them and why trees are important. They already know a little bit about this, since a beautiful leafy tree provides shade for their outdoor classroom environment, where they read and learn with their headmistress, Madam Salma.” ~ Jessica Mardo, Engage Globally Board Member
How Exactly Are Donations Used?
In 2023, our $500 contribution was used to launch a pilot partnership with a small, community-based organization in Bolga, Ghana. Teepalig Reforestation grows native trees and sells them at low cost to local schools and communities. The organization was founded by Issac (pictured above), a local entrepreneur, who cares deeply about trees and the environment. Isaac finished high school in 2013 and has been growing trees at a small farm ever since. His goal is to help plant 15,000 trees by 2030.
The trees purchased with our donation were planted at the Tahama Learning Center with help from the kindergarten students, and the entire effort was very positively received by local teachers and community leaders. Some of the students are pictured above with their Headmaster, Madam Salma.
In the future, Engage Globally hopes to fund the expansion of this planting effort. Their goal is to raise $5,000 to fund the planting and care taking of 50 trees and to support improvements at Isaac’s nursery so that he can expand the land he has available for growing native trees. This project would also include hiring of another local tree care taker and installation of another rainwater catchment system and water storage tank.
Count Me In… But How Do I Calculate My Travel Footprint & Know How Much to Donate?
The easiest way to calculate the carbon footprint left from your travels is by using an emissions calculator. This one calculates carbon emissions by trip, and allows you to specify whether you traveled by car (and what type of car), plane, or even boat. According to this calculator, a trip from Washington DC (DCA) to San Francisco, CA (SFO) costs just over $17 to offset and a road trip to and from Shenandoah National Park from Washington, DC (~150 miles roundtrip) costs less than $1.
Through Engage Globally, just $20 funds the purchase, planting, and care for one tree in rural, Northern Ghana. You can donate to offset your travels per trip or monthly here. Alternatively, if your business or organization is looking for a charitable partner or a way to offset business travel emissions, you can learn more here.
As travelers, we hold the power to make a difference in the world through our choices, and in taking eco-conscious actions, like offsetting our travel footprints, we can mitigate the environmental impact of our journeys and do our part to contribute to a more sustainable future. By offsetting with Engage Globally, you can rest assured that you’re not only helping to protect our planet, but also empowering communities that are disproportionately impacted by biodiversity loss and climate change.
