Nature’s Day in Court: Ireland’s Green Revolution

Ireland may become the first European country to constitutionally recognize that ecosystems possess legal rights.

Seascape in Ireland. Giuseppe Milo. CC BY 2.0 DEED

Ireland, a nation renowned for breathtaking landscapes, may become the first European country to enshrine the rights of its nature into the national constitution. In December, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action called on the government to begin steps towards a referendum. The referendum, if successful, would recognize that ecosystems possess legal rights comparable to those of humans and corporations.

In December, the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action proposed a series of administrative measures for drafting constitutional amendments to the Irish government. The amendments would bestow nature with inherent rights to existence, perpetuation and restoration. Elements of nature would be seen as having the rights to flourish and be respected. The amendment would additionally recognize that humans have a right to a clean environment and protect the right of any person or organization to defend or enforce those rights on the behalf of nature.

The movement to legislate the rights of nature has grown in recent years. In Ireland, the proposition to amend the constitution emanated from the loss of biodiversity within the country as of 2023. The Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss addressed the unprecedented rate at which human activity has driven the mass extinction of plants and animals, with over 1 million more at risk of the same. The danger to Ireland's native species has been attributed to the overall change in its climate.

Similar to Ireland, the ecosystems of other countries have equally felt the effects of climate change. In the Andean plain of Bolivia, reduced precipitation and increased temperatures have facilitated rapid desertification. In Uganda, the pace of species extinctions has accelerated as a result of prolonged periods of drought and erratic rainfall due to deforestation. These countries, among others including Ecuador, New Zealand, and Spain, have a form of national law to recognize the rights of nature, or legal personhood for ecosystems. These laws typically provide a higher level of protection to ecosystems than environmental protection laws alone, although not all are constitutionally bound. Some countries that have written the Rights of Nature include Ecuador, New Zealand, India and Mexico.

Policymakers around the world have begun to embrace a changing idea of how nature itself is treated under law. Several governments have legally bound the ‘rights of nature’ to protect certain land and water from human development. In Bangladesh, all rivers are now under legal protection. In Colombia, the Supreme Court recognized the rights of the Amazon River. Ecuador, the first country in the world to recognize the rights of nature, gives “Mother Earth” legal standing in its constitution. This jurisprudence has prompted a massive shift away from the view of nature as a ‘thing’ that humans have a right to use and eventually destroy. Dr Peter Doran of the School of Law at Queen's University Belfast argued to the Joint Committee in Ireland that granting constitutional protection to nature would not only save species and habitats but also reorient human priorities, which would have much more long term positive consequences.

Despite the good intentions behind giving nature constitutional rights, some have called the law ‘anti-human,’ claiming that it will stop extractive projects such as mining or that the rights for nature are unlikely to provide a plausible solution to the issues environmentalists aim to resolve. Proponents respond that the laws aim to protect the integrity of nature so that it may persist in the future, not abolish the rights that humans have to, among other things, private property.

The Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights appeared before Ireland’s Joint Committee to testify for why the rights of nature should be constitutionally recognized. This next step for Ireland is now in the hands of the government and the Oireachtas (parliament). For legal effect, the amendments must be approved by both houses of the Oireachtas, Dail Eireann and the Seanad, and win a majority of the popular vote in a national referendum.

TO GET INVOLVED:

The Nature Conservancy is an organization focused on creating solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss. By tackling these issues with projects involving clean energy policies, carbon storage and agricultural innovation, there is no shortage of opportunities for the public to help. The organization lists ways to get involved on their website that range from volunteering to taking a pledge to donating.

Global Alliance for Rights of Nature is a global network of organizations made up of people from all walks of life who are committed to the recognition of the Rights of Nature. The group aims to honor the relationship between humans and nature, additionally pursuing the creation of a system that treats nature as a rights-bearing entity, not a resource to be exploited at will. To better emphasize the interconnectedness of humans and their environment, the group offers the opportunity to get involved as a member, donate, or even participate in internships.

Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund aims to build sustainable communities that assist people in asserting their right to local self-governance and the rights of nature. The group assists indigenous peoples, civil societies and communities in advancing laws for the protection of nature that involves providing legislative and policy drafting, legal research, and public engagement and education. With this, the public is able to join the movement, which offers many opportunities to volunteer in a community or help to organize a campaign.

EarthJustice is a nonprofit public interest environmental law organization that is founded on the belief that everyone has the right to a healthy environment. Through projects focusing on defending a right to clean air, clean water and wild places, the group believes that a better future can be built. With 15 offices and 200 lawyers, as well as an impressive total of 500 legal cases it has represented free of charge, there is no shortage of opportunities for the public to participate, whether through signing petitions or donating.

Mira White

Mira is a student at Brown University studying international and public affairs. Passionate about travel and language learning, she is eager to visit each continent to better understand the world and the people across it. In her free time she perfects her French, hoping to someday live in France working as a freelance journalist or in international affairs.

The Peace Walls in Belfast and the Politics of Separation

Today, there are efforts to take down the walls that have separated the loyalist and nationalist neighborhoods in Belfast for over fifty years. 

Murals along the Falls Road side of Belfast’s Peace Walls. Megan Coughlin. CC BY-ND 2.0

The Walls are not only a reminder of a violent history, but a medium for artistic expression and international solidarity.

The origin of the partition that defines Ireland today can be traced back to the early 1920’s, when a successful Irish rebellion from British rule led the island to be broken up into two countries. The Irish Free State gained independence from the United Kingdom, while Northern Ireland remained part of the British state. Irish Nationalists, who generally support an island-wide Irish republic, are predominantly Catholic, while British Loyalists/Unionists are mostly Protestants.

The 1960s saw the beginning of ‘the Troubles’ in Northern Ireland. The Troubles refer to the period of violence, riots, and unconventional warfare between the British state and Loyalists paramilitaries, who believed Northern Ireland should remain part of the United Kingdom, and Irish Nationalist paramilitaries, who wanted Northern Ireland to join the rest of the island as a United Ireland. 

It was within the context of the Troubles that the first Northern Ireland peace walls were built in 1969, after days of intense rioting in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry. Originally constructed as a temporary structure to ensure peace between the two sides, the walls have hardened into semi-permanent lines that continue to divide the cities today. 

The signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, marked the end of the Troubles. The agreement set up an autonomous legislature and government that could legally only be governed by a coalition of  Unionist and Nationalist political parties. Furthermore, while still recognizing Northern Ireland as a part of the U.K., the agreement also acknowledged the possibility for the area to one day unite with the rest of Ireland should a majority vote to do so.

The Good Friday Agreement was a pivotal marker of peace and cooperation between the two sides. However today, some 25 years after its signing, peace walls continue to divide Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods in Belfast. 

One of the largest of these peace walls runs along the Falls and Shankill Roads in West Belfast and divides two major Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods. The wall is interrupted by stretches of metal gates, several of which still maintain a curfew, including the Townsend Street gates which closes every weekday night and throughout the weekend. The enduring curfew speaks to the continued tensions between Belfast’s Catholic and Protestant communities, which have been reinforced by the 2016 Brexit referendum. 

But today, the walls are not just borders of separation. They’re also a canvas of artistic expression. 

The Shankill and Loyalist side of the divide depicts memorializations of those killed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and tributes to the Ulster Defense Association, a Loyalist paramilitary organization founded in 1971. A portrait of King WIlliam, known as William of Orange, looks out upon the neighborhood where Union Jacks decorate the streets.

In contrast, the Falls Road and Irish nationalist side of the divide touts the orange and green Irish tricolor. Here, murals celebrate national pride with depictions of Gaelic sports and memorializations to national heroes, including a large portrait painted on the side of Sinn Fein Political Party Press Office of Bobby Sands, a popular IRA leader and elected MP who died of hunger strike while imprisoned. 

It is also on the Falls side that one can see the famous International Wall, depicting images of global civil rights leaders the likes of which include Fredrick Douglass, Nelson Mandela, Harriet Tubaman, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and Bob Marley. In this neighborhood, it is common to Palestinian flags hanging in people’s windows, aligning a mission to free Irish land from British rule with that of occupied territory in Palestine. A mural on the International Wall depicts hands clasped between prison bars, one of which is draped in an Irish national flag, the other in a Palestinian flag. 

Murals along the peace wall that runs through Shankill and Falls Road. Mike McBride. CC BY-NC 2.0

In 2013, a project called Together: Building a United Community was launched by the Northern Ireland Executive. The project called for the removal of all walls in Northern Ireland by 2023, but progress has been slow and in January of 2023, about 60 walls still remain. In a 2015 survey by Ulster University on public attitudes towards the peace walls, about 35% of respondents wanted the peace walls  ‘come down some time in the future’ with 40% of Catholics and 25% of Protestants surveyed sharing this position, while 44% of Protestants and 23% of Catholics ‘would like things left the way they are now’.

While the future of the peace walls remains uncertain, their presence serves as a striking visual reminder of division within a city that is increasingly embracing a global economy and multiculturalism, the very extent of which is exemplified by the international calls for peace and solidarity in the artwork that lines the divided city. 

To Get Involved

The Social Change Initiative (SCI) is working to support peacebuilding and dialogue between Nationalists and Unionists. Based in Northern Ireland, SCI partners with local activists and publishes articles and reports that detail the strategies and reflections of those working directly within divided communities. SCI also connects local leaders to a global community of human rights activists through fellowships and mentoring programs, in an effort to create an international network through which individuals can share communication and advocacy tactics as well as strategies for peacebuilding and conflict disruption.

How To Visit

One of the most popular ways for travelers’ to experience and learn about Belfast’s peace walls is through Black Taxi Cab tours. 

The tours began in the 1970s and are recognized for their effort to provide a balanced and unbiased history of Belfast. The black taxis were first employed as a kind of bus service in the midst of the Troubles in order to transport working class people from their neighborhoods to the city center. The tours are notably co-run by Catholics and Protestants, allowing visitors to hear perspectives from both communities as they travel across the Falls and Shankill roads.

Jessica Blatt

Jessica Blatt graduated from Barnard College with a degree in English. Along with journalism, she is passionate about creative writing and storytelling that inspires readers to engage with the world around them. She hopes to share her love for travel and learning about new cultures through her work.

Efforts to Preserve the Irish Language

After years of decline, the Irish language has seen a recent resurgence.

County Donegal in Ireland, home of one of the largest concentrations of Irish speakers on the island. Giuseppe Milo (www.pixael.com). CC BY 2.0.

Before the 1800s, the Irish language dominated Ireland. Irish, or Irish Gaelic, is in the Celtic language group, related to Scottish Gaelic and Breton, and is one of the oldest languages still in existence today. However, as England gradually conquered Ireland over many centuries, the Irish language began to diminish. Under the dominion of the British crown until 1922, English was the language of the imperial administration. When the Republic of Ireland was founded, only a scattering of people in rural areas of the island could speak Irish. 

Today, the Irish language has seen a reversal of fortune. It is now spoken by 1.2 million people, with 98% of them located within the Republic of Ireland. 42% of the Irish population reported to be able to speak Irish in the 2006 census. There is even a part of Ireland called the Gaeltacht where Irish is the primary language in use. How did this resurgence occur?

The interest in the Irish language re-emerged in the late 19th century as Ireland was struggling for independence. Irish nationalists wanted to use the Irish language as a means to differentiate themselves from the English. To “de-anglicize” Ireland, the Gaelic League was founded in 1893 to promote the Irish language. During this Gaelic Revival, as it was soon called, writers started to produce literature in the Irish language while others such as W.B. Yeats produced literature in English but in a distinctively Irish style.

By the mid 20th century, the Irish government, now fully independent from Britain, took on the mantle of the preserver of the Irish language. The government made the Irish language a compulsory subject in school and attitudes toward the language changed.  No longer was it seen as a backwards language; the Irish population began to take pride in their language. There are even some schools where Irish is the primary language of instruction.

A sign in both Irish and English representing Irish pride. jodimarr. CC BY-NC 2.0.

Irish was declared an official language of Ireland, requiring the government to provide services and resources in the language. In 2007, it was declared a working language of the European Union. Having official status in Ireland, most public signs are now written in both English and Irish.

But, it is not all good news. While much of the resurgence of the Irish language is occurring largely in urban areas, the Gaeltacht, the area designated by the Irish government as areas where the Irish language predominates, is diminishing. Always having been a rural area with small populations, Gaeltacht, and the youth in the area, is preferring to use English as their primary language rather than Irish. 

Irish is now a language of the urban elite, and its turnaround is a linguistic revival unparalleled in modern times except for the case of modern Hebrew, according to Reg Hindley. Visitors to Ireland can tune in to the radio station Raidió na Gaeltachta to hear traditional Irish tunes and watch TG4, the Irish language television station. While there is still work to be done to revive the language even further, the Irish language has grown considerably since Irish independence.

Bryan Fok

Bryan is currently a History and Global Affairs major at the University of Notre Dame. He aims to apply the notion of Integral Human Development as a framework for analyzing global issues. He enjoys hiking and visiting national parks.

Crazy Rock Formations, Lofty Cliffs and Sea Views: 5 Sites to Visit in Ireland

Ireland has an endless array of once-in-a-lifetime natural sites to visit, and here are the top five to add to your list. 

Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland. Sean MacEntee. CC BY 2.0. 

Ireland has several natural sites that beautifully reflect almost unbelievable geographical occurrences from hundreds to thousands of years ago. Some of these sites include towering cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and rock formations created by causes ranging from volcanic activity to major storms on the sea. Below are five of the most stunning natural sites that Ireland has to offer, and the unique features of each one. 

1. Giant’s Causeway

Giant’s Causeway. Sean MacEntee. CC BY 2.0.

Giant’s Causeway is the only UNESCO World Heritage site in Northern Ireland, boasting a cliff made up of around 40,000 basalt columns overlooking the sea. These columns are believed to have been formed 50-60 million years ago as the result of volcanic activity. The columns are especially impressive, as in certain places they line up almost perfectly to create the appearance of a flat pavement. While scientists know the true story of how Giant’s Causeway was formed, a famous legend attributes the columns to a feud between an Irish and Scottish giant. The legend states that the Scottish giant created a stone pathway to cross the sea to Scotland, and the Irish giant destroyed the pathway, creating Giant’s Causeway. In terms of accessibility to travelers, Giant’s Causeway is a good destination because it is free to hike, unless one wants to use certain visitor’s services such as parking. 

2. The Cliffs of Moher

Cliffs of Moher. Martin Abegglen. CC BY-SA 2.0. 

The Cliffs of Moher, spanning a massive 14 kilometers, are famous for their abrupt edge, which falls vertically into the Atlantic Ocean. The Cliffs of Moher offer many beautiful views and experiences such as stunning sunsets, a look-out tower from the 1800s and walking trails throughout. Some even recommend viewing the cliffs from below, by boat. Unlike Giant’s Causeway, the Cliffs of Moher are not free to enter, but only cost eight euros for adults. A fun fact about the Cliffs of Moher is that a scene in the sixth Harry Potter movie was shot there, which emphasizes how striking and magical these cliffs are.  

3. Sliabh Liag

Sliabh Liag. Greg Clarke. CC BY 2.0. 

Sliabh Liag (pronounced “sleeve league”) is another set of cliffs in Ireland overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The Sliabh Liag cliffs are less famous than the Cliffs of Moher, but they are just as stunning. In fact, they are Ireland’s highest cliffs overlooking the sea — almost three times as tall as the Cliffs of Moher — despite being less well-known. The cliffs have both driving and hiking routes and are free to visitors. 

4. Carrauntoohil

Carrauntoohil. Tom Fahy. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. 

Carrauntoohil is Ireland’s highest mountain, standing at 1038 meters (3,407 feet). Carrauntoohil is a popular destination for hikers and rock climbers, with several different trails of differing difficulty to choose from. Like Sliabh Liag, it is also a free destination. There are four main trails: Brother O’Shea’s Gully Trail, Devil’s Ladder Trail, the Caher Trail and Coomloughra Horseshoe Loop. These trails have combinations of climbing and hiking, and on average take between four and eight hours to complete. While Carrauntoohil is a popular destination, it is considered difficult to complete one of the trails, and hiking experience is recommended. Travelers are also advised to plan well for their hike, bringing ample food and water, checking the weather and going with a tour group or guide if they are inexperienced. 

5. Dun Briste

Dun Briste. Diego Sideburns. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. 

Dun Briste is an incredible naturally occurring rock formation that stands straight up out of the sea. It is commonly referred to as a “sea stack” due to its unusual shape and is thought to have been formed in 1393, which is extremely recent for a rock formation to have been formed. It is believed that there was an archway connecting Dun Briste to land which collapsed. The rock formation is a one-of-a-kind naturally occurring site and is also a haven for birds, as animals that don’t fly aren’t able to reach it. Thus, birdwatching is one of the most popular activities for travelers viewing Dun Briste.

Calliana Leff

Calliana is currently an undergraduate student at Boston University majoring in English and minoring in psychology. She is passionate about sustainability and traveling in an ethical and respectful way. She hopes to continue her writing career and see more of the world after she graduates. 

Barack Obama Plaza: Ireland’s Gas Station Tribute to the 44th President

Learn about the gas station that doubles as a museum to the 44th president of the United States.

Land of a thousand welcomes. O’Dea. CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the M7 motorway between Dublin and Limerick, Ireland, a tired and hungry traveler can find just the service station they need. It provides a gas station, fast food outlets, and a convenience store. If the traveler has a little time to spare, they can head upstairs to the museum dedicated to Barack Obama, the United States’ 44th president. 

It’s a surreal mix of a service station and a presidential memorial. Signs with Obama’s name adorn everything from the floor mats to trash cans to cups of tea. Cardboard cutouts of the former U.S. president and first lady greet every entrant. Upstairs, display cases proudly show off memorabilia from Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and his visit to the nearby village of Moneygall. 

Obama fever swept Ireland when an Irish genealogist discovered that Obama’s great-great-great-grandfather, Fulmoth Kearney, emigrated from Moneygall to a farm in rural Ohio in 1850. The discovery added yet another twist to Obama’s multifaceted heritage and led to a 2011 visit by the president. 

Moneygall adorned its streets with Irish and American flags to welcome the presidential motorcade. Locals lined the streets to welcome the president and first lady as they met Obama’s eighth cousin Henry, whom the president dubbed “Henry the Eighth.” Most famously, they stopped by Ollie Hayes’ Pub to drink a pint of Guinness. “We feel very much at home here,” Obama said. “I feel even more at home after that pint that I just had.”

What’s the craic, Barack? Charles McCain. CC0.

As a nation defined by diaspora, Ireland welcomes prominent figures from across the world into its fold. The Great Potato Famine of 1845 forced millions to flee Ireland penniless and starving, beginning a long pattern of emigration in search of a better life. Over the course of the next century, Irish migrants spread across the world. Though Ireland’s population numbers only 5 million, 80 million people worldwide can claim Irish ancestry.

So when Barack Obama discovered his Irish roots, the nation feverishly celebrated his visit. His speech in Dublin packed the city’s streets. Convenience stores stocked up on presidential souvenirs and knickknacks. Musicians celebrated Obama’s homecoming in song. The Corrigan Brothers wrote the minor hit “There’s No One As Irish As Barack O’bama” while fiddler Martin Hayes still regularly performs “The Barack Obama Reel.”

Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill performing “The Barack Obama Reel”

Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign couldn’t have been far from his mind, speculated political analysts. Irish-Americans constitute a large voting bloc, so his ceremonial visit to Ireland played well to a key demographic. As Obama noted in a later address in Belfast, Northern Ireland, “When I was first running for office in Chicago, I didn’t know this [his Irish ancestry], but I wish I had. It pays to be Irish in Chicago.” It pays nationwide as well.

Obama fever culminated in the half-charming, half-embarrassing Barack Obama Plaza. The $9 million project opened in 2014, long after Obama's first visit, but an earnest love persists across the Emerald Isle. In 2016, the service station wondered whether it should change its name to “Trump’s Pumps” or “Hillary’s Fillery.” The change never happened. Obama fever’s symptoms are long-lasting.

Michael McCarthy

Michael is an undergraduate student at Haverford College, dodging the pandemic by taking a gap year. He writes in a variety of genres, and his time in high school debate renders political writing an inevitable fascination. Writing at Catalyst and the Bi-Co News, a student-run newspaper, provides an outlet for this passion. In the future, he intends to keep writing in mediums both informative and creative.

Ireland Becomes the First Country to Divest from Fossil Fuels

Executive Director of Trócaire calls the bill “both substantive and symbolic.”

Sunset in Skerries, Ireland. Giuseppe Milo. CC BY 2.0

Last July, Ireland moved to take public funds out of fossil fuels. While many universities, organizations, and even cities have made similar commitments, Ireland will be the first country to do so. According to the New York Times, Ireland’s action represents the most substantial advance for divestment in the world.

The bill commiting to divestment was passed with all party support by the lower house of Parliament and necessitates that money from the sovereign fund (8.9 billion euros) be taken out of fossil fuels. According to a statement, the change will be made, “as soon as practicable.” (The phrase likely refers to changes made to the bill: originally it called for divestment within five years, but was altered to give the government more flexibility.)

According to the Guardian, the bill defines a fossil fuel company as one that receives 20% or more of its income from the “exploration, extraction or refinement of fossil fuels.”

The divestment bill will move on to the Senate which has the ability to delay, but not overturn it. According to the aid of Thomas Pringle, the parliament member who introduced the bill, it has the support of Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and is thus almost guaranteed to become law. Varadkar’s support is expected, as he has professed hopes that Ireland will become a “leader in climate action.”

According to Pringle himself, the “movement is highlighting the need to stop investing in the expansion of a global industry which must be brought into managed decline if catastrophic climate change is to be averted. Ireland by divesting is sending a clear message that the Irish public and the international community are ready to think and act beyond narrow short term vested interests.”

Eamonn Meehan, director of Trócaire, the environmental organization that advocated for the bill, told the New York Times that the bill, “will stop public money being invested against the public interest, and it sends a clear signal nationally and globally that action on the climate crisis needs to be accelerated urgently, starting with the phase-out of fossil fuels.”

Currently, Ireland has over 300 million euros in fossil fuel investments, according to the Guardian. The country's decision to divest is so momentous in part because of its reputation as slacker in fighting climate change. According to a survey by Climate Action Network, conducted a month before the decision, Ireland was was ranked second to last in the category of climate action, followed by Poland. The country’s decision to divest promises a greener future for Ireland.

Now, Ireland hopes that other countries will follow its lead. According to Gerry Liston of the Global Legal Action Network, and drafter of the bill, “governments will not meet their obligations under the Paris agreement on climate change if they continue to financially sustain the fossil fuel industry. Countries the world over must now urgently follow Ireland’s lead and divest from fossil fuels.”

 

 

 


EMMA BRUCE is an undergraduate student studying English and marketing at Emerson College in Boston. While not writing she explores the nearest museums, reads poetry, and takes classes at her local dance studio. She is passionate about sustainable travel and can't wait to see where life will take her. 


Fight Volunteer’s Guilt

There is a feeling that all volunteers can relate to: post-volunteering guilt. It’s that feeling of returning home after an amazing experience working abroad, only to wonder “did I do enough?”. Did you spend enough time with the kids you were teaching? Build enough homes? Vaccinate enough dogs? Play enough games of soccer? The list can go on and on.

My husband, John, and I are experts at realizing this guilt. We have worked abroad in three different countries.; Teaching English, providing childcare, building houses…you name it. We met while both teaching in Lima, Peru for an organization called Tarpuy Sonqo. (tarpuysonqo.org – check it out if you’re heading to South America). He worked for six months building three houses, and developing a full curriculum for the 4th grade students. I spent the following two months continuing his teaching work. Our hearts were completely invested in our efforts, and of course we fell in love with every baby, kid and adult that we met along the way. (Another feeling that every volunteer can understand.)

When we returned stateside and started dating, our conversations were consumed with when we could return back to our classrooms in Pachecutec, the largest slum outside of Lima. We worried how our students were doing, if the projects we’d started were continuing, and if the volunteers we’d trained were maintaining our high standards. But with full-time jobs, eventually buying a house and adopting dogs, it was becoming unrealistic to return to Lima for more than a week or two. That wasn’t long enough to make the impact we had in mind.

Instead – we decided to take the business we were already running, and use it as a tool to provide continued support to the causes close to our heart. My travel photography company – Kristen Emma Photography – quickly developed into a forever-fundraiser for international charities. Our new motto became “Capture the world to help the world”.  We decided to give 25% of our sales back to charities local to where each of my photos were taken. Anything from South America was given back to Tarpuy Sonqo – and other photos donated to a select charity based on their continental location. Within a few months of art shows we were supporting teachers in Peru, dog adoptions in the UK (dogstrust.org.uk), prenatal medicine for women in India (villageclinic.org), AIDS research and meds in South Africa (aids.org.za), even penguin conservation through the Pew Charitable Trusts and my recent trip to Antarctica.

Not only were we thrilled to be helping our Peruvian students – but our clients were amazed! With the rise of charity companies, and the one-for-one model, people are always looking for products that give back to various causes. Adding the charitable aspect to our business model was good for the charities – but also good for our bottom line. That certainly wasn’t our goal, but it helped put food in our dogs’ mouths. :)

The lesson learned is that volunteers can use their guilt as motivation to keep helping. It’s not always possible to physically get back to their area of choice – but they can instead work to find methods of help in their everyday lives. Of course, not everyone has a business that they can use like we did – but there are other approaches to helping:

·      Getting married? Set up a gofundme page for a charity, rather than asking for gifts. (John and I raised over $5000 for Tarpuy Sonqo. It built an entire park in the slums where we taught, and a jungle gym in a 2nd location. Exchange rates are always your friend. :)

·      Birthday? Have your friends bring a non-perishable good instead of a present for you, and then donate it to the local food shelf. (You don’t really need another pair of earrings anyway.)

·      Clean out your basement, sell what you don’t need on craigslist, and commit some of the proceeds to your volunteer location. (Those college books you’ve been holding onto could fund new books for your students in Kenya).

·      Have friends who are looking to travel? Put them in touch with your volunteer coordinator. A lot of organizations will trade housing and food in exchange for a few hours of work per day. My company of choice is New Zealand-based International Volunteer HQ. They’ve got volunteer placements all around the world, and their credibility makes sure volunteers stay safe while having an incredible experience.  Check them out at ivhq.org. They charge some fees, but its always cheaper than a hotel!

·      Volunteer locally! There are an abundance of opportunities to help in your own neighborhood. If you speak another language, you can teach ELL classes at your community center. Any work you found abroad can definitely translate to your own community – teaching, childcare, food shelves, and homeless shelters.

In the short seven months since we developed our charitable mission, we’ve raised over $1500 for our partner charities. Although it may not sound like much, it’s $1500 more than they had before. We could have easily NOT raised any money, but what good would that do? Its important to remember that even just $10 raised is helpful to any of the thousands of organizations around the world.

 

 

KRISTEN MACAULEY

Kristen is a Minnesota-based photographer, specializing in fine art travel photography. She has lived in three different countries, and traveled to all seven continents through her photography endeavors. Her goal is to use photography to show similarities between cultures, regardless of their location. In order to give back to the communities that she photographs, 25% of all sales are donated back to local charities around the world. See her work on Etsy or on her website.