By bidding on a life changing trip!
We’re excited to be participating in SEE Turtles Sustainable Travel Auction! Bid on one of 8 incredible experiences around the world and the proceeds will help support sea turtle conservation efforts around the world.
Check out our trip and all of the others and place your bids here:
Sustainable and authentic change is rarely quick and easy. It is achieved through many small and often difficult steps. AEI aims to improve the lives of animals around the world and support the local communities of our partner organizations while empowering people to travel in an ethical and meaningful way. But truly, AEI's real goal is to not be needed. We want to live in a world where the conservation of species isn't just a consideration of people and countries, it's a top priority. We want animal welfare laws to be so strict and wide-reaching that no animals - wild or domestic, are exploited by people. But we realise we are not going to get there next year, or the year after. Real change takes time.
This means we celebrate the small accomplishments and get comfortable living in transitions, not in binary change. If we don't celebrate small achievements, we will never get to those big wins!
Our dog rescue and animal welfare partner in Nepal works with the local government to address the overpopulation and health needs of community dogs. The government solution had been to reduce their numbers through culling, which involved leaving poisoned food out, killing owned, domestic and feral dogs, and other animals indiscriminately. Instead, our partner now provides vaccinations and mass sterilization campaigns that have successfully controlled the dog population and improved their health. What do we want? No dogs to be hurt ever again, of course. However, we celebrate the small victory of having some communities in Nepal safe from culls, and the lives of many dogs saved. This small step - a community agreeing to follow evidence based scientific methods for canine population control, will hopefully lead us to a complete ban on culls and poisoning.
In Thailand, elephants are still exploited - a lot, by tourists. Elephants are wild animals, they have never been domesticated so for many reasons having them around humans is incredibly cruel. It is unforgivable that they are "broken" in crush cages as young elephants, that they literally break their backs when tourists ride them, and that male elephants' legs often become badly infected and sore when they are chained to keep tourists safe for pictures. What needs to happen eventually? All elephants should have no contact with humans and be completely left alone to live in large protected areas to keep them out of trouble and to keep humans from bothering them and getting hurt. But currently, this is not a possibility. While many protected areas exist in Thailand, there are many elephants who cannot be brought immediately to a wild area because they need veterinary care, psychological help and protection from poachers. This means there are still centres, our partners included, that offer elephants sanctuary and care. Volunteers are able to interact with some elephants in this way, helping to provide the elephants with environmental enrichment and supplemental food. Centres used to say that elephants could be ridden but the small victory was having no chains. Then all ethical centres banned people riding on elephants. Some centres allowed swimming with the elephants but after studies showed the harm and potential danger to both elephants and people, ethical centres also banned this practice. A small step towards elephants living in freedom, but a deeply important one. We celebrate that our partner in Thailand is taking steps towards the ultimate goal for these elephants - a life free and safe without human contact. Until then we will know how deeply privileged we are to have any consensual interaction with an elephant, especially one who is at a sanctuary to heal from a viscous and cruel chapter of their life.
Wherever the lives of people and wild animals intersect, problems are created that inevitably impact wildlife in a negative way. Wild spaces are being lost, polluted, divided and controlled by humans. It seems no place on earth is safe. Our partner in South Africa studies and protects sharks and marine habitats. When we visited this placement, Nora was able to take part in their study to determine if cage diving (when divers obverse the sharks from the safety of cages) opened sharks up to dangers because they recognized boats as helpful things that gave them chum. So far the study is finding that the sharks recognize boats with cages to be feeding boats and avoid other boats. It is probably true that highly intelligent whales can see hunting boats are different from recreational boats. But marine life still must contend with hazards such as boat propellers, fishing gear and trash. For example, in British Columbia, a Humpback whale was just hit by a ferry. It should not be the responsibility of wild animals to recognize human dangers and avoid them. The first step to helping these animals is have a less fragmented natural world for them. More spaces that aren't broken up by roads, mining, logging and development. More marine protected areas where massive ship traffic and fishing isn't allowed. It isn't about getting rid of all roads, it's not about getting orcas to sink all yachts (or maybe it is haha) - it's about seeing how we can share Earth. What small steps can we take now that can lead to a much different and a much better future.
Are we striving for perfection? Absolutely. But we know that won't come overnight, it will be a result of countless small and wide ranging changes. And they will be celebrated because each one brings us closer to the world we dream can exist - a world where humans and animals live in freedom and without cruelty.
Classic story of a girl meeting a guy, falling in love, girl living in a new country for 6 years then having him break up with her over facetime when she is in another country, during a pandemic after they buy a house together.
This is how I found myself back in Birmingham, England after being away and struggling through life for three years. A beautiful and wonderful friend was marrying her beloved and they had asked me to officiate the wedding. I had previously considered the whole country of England to be dead to me but one can not say no to love.
I packed my things and wrote one heck of a sermon for the wedding. While writing it I saw a hummingbird. I asked a Qu'wutsun friend of mine if hummingbirds meant anything special on this land. He said it was good luck before a trip. I felt like I had my ancestors on my side and took off to England. The trip was wonderful. Re-connecting with so many people and visiting these old places that felt like they were taken from me- it gave me the closure I didn't think I needed and didn't expect was waiting for me in the west midlands.
Leaving was a bit trickier. There are no hummingbirds in England.
I am no stranger to airport struggles so I try to go into a travel day without too much stress, I know there will be enough coming my way!
My generous and gracious friend drove me to the Manchester airport, a 90 minute drive from her lovely river side home in Yorkshire and I have to admit I was sleepy. Tired because we went mountain biking and had a BBQ the day before and it was 8am but also because the two week trip was emotionally exhausting. Connecting with some of my most precious friends for two weeks really was a dream but it had left my social and emotional battery completely flat. I had no charge nor did I have anything left in the tank to even try to start... clearly I don't know how engines work.
We talked in the car, soaking up the last little bit of in-person connection that we would get for the next while and in the middle of the ride I got a message from Air Canada saying my flight was 30 minutes delayed. No problem, I thought, gives me just a bit more time for security and a coffee. We hugged good bye and I said farewell to the English sun- something that had JUST come out in my last departing days.
Manchester security was a thing to behold. New signs were up around x-rays explaining all the things that were considered liquid: hair gel, lotion, mascara, solid lip balms, solid deodorant.. wait...
I have my travel packing to an art and travelled only carry on for this two weeks, but that was only possible because most of my traditionally liquid things are now solid- shampoo, deodorant, moisturizer- and really if something is a solid, how can it be considered a liquid? I was too far in line to change anything and I didn't have enough room in my 1L bag anyway. I assumed secondary screening would be inevitable.
But then I noticed a video screen that showed off how many other people either didn't understand the rules or were hoping to get by with a cheeky "whoops!, didn't understand that a solid was a liquid, mate!" The screen said that 90% of bags going through this queues x rays were failing and needing secondary inspection. I looked past the human metal detector and saw lines and lines and lines of bags waiting for security to go through them under the watchful eye of the less than patient Manchester travellers.
35 minutes later I waved to the security agent who lifted up my bag and asked who it belonged to, I went over and he asked if I could open it. I opened up the pocket that kept my solid deodorant and he told me they consider this a liquid. I said, I was sorry and didn't realise that. My purse had also been flagged and he asked if I had a laptop in it. I did not but I did trave with a small collapsible keyboard. I often didn't even take it out anymore at airports because no one seemed to care when I showed them. I took it out of my purse, and he wiggled it, jiggled it, tested it for explosives and said it was fine. I was then allowed on my way. I was still about 90 minutes early for the flight so I went to get a coffee.
While in line I heard our Air Canada flight was delayed another hour. Hmm, guess I will get this coffee for here, I thought.
Another announcement said it would be delayed another 2 hours. There was really nothing else to do but have a cookie with my coffee so I did that. I then walked to a comfy chair in front of a screen and had a sit down. Listening to a podcast and playing some silly phone game, I glanced up at the screen and apparently the flight was delayed another hour. I took out an ear phone and heard an announcement saying my Air Canada flight had been cancelled and we should make our way to an info desk. A woman beside me remarked to her travel partner that she would be 'fumin!!' if this happened to her. I glanced over and said: jeez, it's annoying, eh? She asked if I was on that flight, I said yes and she sat their stunned that I wasn't melting down. I told her there wasn't much to do, may as well see what they have to say. I walked off and joined a few hundred people standing in line that presumably started at an Air Canada desk. Another announcement told us they had no information but they would in 40 minutes. We looked at each other confused. So do we stand here? or sit down? Or something completely different. I updated friends in England that their country was obsessed with me and it looked like I would be here for a bit longer.
40(ish) minutes later we were told to go to gate 208 to disembark and eventually get our baggage. We didn't really know what that meant but we walked towards gate 208. Some people brushed past each other, racing to who knows what. This got rolled eyes and a few heavy sighs until one woman slipped past the wrong couple. The Northerners had no time for this nonsense and told her there was no point in rushing, we weren't going anywhere. She had no time or his antics and told him to piss off. He told her to piss off even louder. I looked at a stranger beside me and laughed: this is great!
We got to the gate and were told to sit and wait. We twiddled our thumbs, muttered under our breathes and generally zoned out. Suddenly an Air Canada agent said we could collect our bags. After that? Who knows. We went to baggage and I promptly left since I didn't have any to wait for. There were no agents waiting for us so I thought maybe going to Departures would make sense? Perhaps there was an Air Canada desk that could help. The Air Canada check-in desk was about to be a ghost town as the agents hurried away, I quickly asked where their info desk was. They told me there wasn't one. ... okay. They said maybe ask a Tui Agent?
I waited for the mass of stranded passengers to come upstairs, feeling very accomplished and cool that I would be the first person in line when they got there. I found the Tui desk and honestly I have no idea what was happening but a woman was angrily counting out pence and handing them over to the agent. It was taking ages and I was seeing no stranded passengers so I went to a different desk and asked if maybe it made sense I was up in Departures if my flight was cancelled. Bless Virgin Atlantic because the agent told me she had no idea but if this happened to Virgin they would put us on coaches to bring us to a hotel and those would pick us up downstairs at Arrivals.
As I walked back to Arrivals and recognized someone who also came upstairs. She had a cute tattoo of a dog with hearts around it, I decided she would be a safe person to ask wtf. She told me someone told her to come up here and find an agent. We both went back to Tui where the strange interaction was STILL happening and waited in line. We continued to be the only people waiting and I said it was questionable we were the only people who got this right and we should go downstairs. We went downstairs and some Air Canada agents were standing in a circle. "Hi! I don't know what I'm doing" I figured acting like a complete boob would help me get as much information as possible. They asked if I was a stranded passenger and I tried not to be sarcastic. They pointed to two coaches and said we could get on. Where are we going? I asked. They did not know.
I went to the first coach and asked if we just get on. The driver asked what hotel I was going to. I said I didn't know. He laughed at me and said I really should know. I pointed to the AC agent and said they told me to come here. He yelled to them that we really should know what hotel we were going to. My mood was wearing thin. Should we just get on? I asked. He walked away to make fun of the situation with the other driver. We got on the coach.
England was in it's first full day of a heat wave so the bus was approximately 1000 degrees. As we all settled into the bus we remarked how we didn't know anything other than it was very warm. Would we be paying for the hotel? For food? For the coach even? Who knows?!
We start to drive around airport city, past a few okay hotels and stop in the middle of a traffic circle outside the parking lot and hedge around the Delta Marriot. The coach driver opens the door. Someone says- are we here? He says, yes, and gets out to open up the baggage compartment. We all look around at each other most of us letting out exasperated laughter. This is amazing I laugh as I look around at the traffic trying to get navigate around us.
We exit while being parked in the middle of this traffic circle and walk through a hole in the hedgerow, through the parking lot and into the lobby. We are welcomed by the staff and told that dinner would be from 6 to 8. I quickly head to my room to lay down and have some alone time. I turn on the TV to find either a reno show or a baking show- the only things one can watch in a hotel room- unless its morning then breakfast news or 24 hour news networks are permissible. I unpack some of my bag and find liquid eye drops, two gel lip sticks, mascara and moisturiser. All things more liquid than my solid deodorant.
My phone buzzes and it's a text from Air Canada. I have a new flight! In two days. I laugh out loud.. now people will be fumin!
I go to dinner and see my tattooed friend, she has made another friend and we eat together. Burgers for them, curry for me. And a complimentary glass of wine! Spare no expenses, they did!
People are on their phones with baby sitters, dog sitters, cruise lines, hotels, spouses, travel agent and anyone else who will hear their pleas. I sip my wine and tell my new friends about my time in England. One is Canadian just coming from from a cruise and the other is English just going to Canada for a visit. We all feel we can take it as it is. A free night in a hotel isn't the worst thing.
The next morning I wake up for breakfast, stuff myself to the gills with beans, toast, marmite and coffee. I then go back to sleep for a few hours. This two weeks had taken so much out of me, I didn’t mind this stop in purgatory. I meet my friends for lunch and we discuss our plans for the day. I am happy enough to sleep, read and use the hotel gym. None of us are particularly interested in spending 40 quid to get into city centre. I am so exhausted from my trip I really see this as a nice sleepy get away. I check out the prices in the mini bar. A can of wine is 10 quid, about 20 Canadian dollars. I stick with my free drink with dinner.
Wednesday comes and we find out some passengers were sent earlier to Dublin, Europe and America so they could get to their final destinations without clogging up one flight path. It does seem that two nights in a hotel continues to be not a hardship, just weird.
I ask the front desk if a coach will pick us up again or if we take the airport shuttle, I'm told a bus at 9am will pick us up for our 12:05 flight. There is a lot of chatter amongst all us stranded passengers about how bad communication is with the airline. No one knows anything unless we talk to the front desk. information trickles down like wealth is meant to. 9am comes and there is no bus. 9:10 we see a bus but it's not coming in, it's idling down the road. While it's not in a traffic circle, it's just as goofy. I go down to see if it's ours. It is. I wave to everyone and say: follow me!
There is less frustration in the air but no one seems to trust we will be making it out. At every step we have been confused, left in the dark and forced to ask the poor front desk staff if they know anything. They have been so kind and added the times of the meals at the end of every single one of my queries, clearly they know my heart.
My new travel friends both seem nervous about security and timing. I assure them it will be annoying but we will not miss this flight. I pack as well I as I can but my deodorant won't fit in my small clear plastic litre bag so I again am okay with waiting, this time the screen tells me that only 5% of bags are going through secondary screening. The agent asks me to open my bag, I make the same joke about my solid being more solid than liquid and apologise again. This one is as impervious to my charm as the last. Me and my stranded friends are on our way.
We get a coffee and head to the gate. We are told our plane is having some issues and will be delayed 30 minutes. Then we are told there is a longer delay. There is then an announcement that anyone who is a stranded passenger should go to another gate as there is another Air Canada flight leaving just after ours. Bewildered, 50 of us walk to the other gate and ask what is going on. The gate agents tell us we are at the wrong gate. We tell them we know, but were told to come here. They tell us we were not. I tell them it's improbable that 50 of us misheard the announcement. They get on a walkie talkie and confirm with our original gate. We wait 5 minutes as there is rapid fire walkie talkie conversations. Then an agent from this new gate stomps to our original gate. After another 5 minutes of what looks like some emotional conversation he comes back and said there was never an announcement we need to go back. We go back and the gate agent loudly tells another passenger she never said that. There are a few remarks about gaslighting but we sit back down.
The maintenance something something gets resolved and we start boarding. We all hold our breathes and after another 20 minute delay, the doors close and we start to head to Canada.
And that is the story of why I slept for three days after visiting the United Kingdom in September and why I think we should introduce hummingbirds to every country in the world.
Our wildlife centre partner in Guatemala always could use the help but next summer we are going back!! Summer 2024 you can travel with Nora for 10 days while volunteering, visiting UNESCO World Heritage Sites and enjoying the best food Guate has to offer.
Want to come, follow this space or send us a message! More details, dates and prices to come.
A few weeks ago a cruise ship witnessed a traditional whale hunt in the Faroe Islands. It caused a lot of distress among the passengers. We were asked by the Washington Post to comment.
You can read the whole article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2023/07/13/faroe-islands-whale-hunt-slaughter-cruise-line/
While we believe our quote does get to the heart of what we think is important about travel, we did want to share our whole comment because it could spark even more conversation.
I don't think it's a tour operators' responsibility to shield passengers from the truth. The whale hunt in the Faroe Islands is indeed harrowing but it is a reality. While I don't think culture is ever an excuse for violence, this whale hunt, for the present is a part of the culture and history of the Faroe Island. To shield passengers from seeing it would be engaging in erasure around the very people we should be engaging with when we visit their traditional lands. Shielding people from cultural events also takes away the nuance in discussions that could and should happen around animal welfare, traditional activities and tourism.
I think it's also important to create room for discussions about animal welfare and marine conservation for those aboard these ships. I don't ever think discussion is bad, especially when all parties are given a seat at the table.
The whale hunt is extremely distressing to witness. Full stop. But turning away doesn't help the animals who are killed, and it doesn't help give voice to those who take part in the hunt. Shielding passengers only allows them to be ignorant to both the traditional culture of the place they are visiting and to the sentient beings who are being slaughtered.
I don't think tragic scenes should be accepted but they also shouldn't be hidden away either.
Want to have an amazing animal experience.. internationally? Of course you do! On this short but sweet podcast Nora speaks more about accessibility, justice and of course animals in travel. Give it a listen and tell us what you think!
Is there a travel story you tell again and again? For Nora that is her story about being in Kenya with her mom and encountering a cape buffalo a little too closely.. want to hear the full story? Check out The Thoughtful Travel Podcast and get your blood pumping!
https://www.notaballerina.com/2023/04/things-going-wrong-travels-episode-291-thoughtful-travel-podcast.html
Nora and her mom in Kenya.
Watch Nora talk with the Gap Year Association of Canada all about consent in travel. Consent in the local community hosts, consent in the animals we volunteer with and consent in our own bodies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P9f5-sLTDI&ab_channel=CanadianGapYearAssociation
While you can always travel solo with AEI we wanted to highlight two group trips, one with AEI and one not officially with us. We don't normally highlight trips that aren't run with our official partners but we can't think of a more important project right now.
Project Red Shed is looking for volunteers in June to help rebuild and better the infrastructure at a domestic animal rescue at the boarder of Hungary and Ukraine. This shelter was already poorly funded, under-resourced and overcrowded BEFORE the war. It is now unable to cope with the amount of Ukrainian animals it has been asked to take in and Red Shed is looking to help them. If you are good at building, carpentry and getting your hands dirty, this is a project for you. Again, you won't be travelling with AEI but we believe in this project so much, we wanted to help anyone who could volunteer, learn about this opportunity. For more details please visit: https://projectredshed.com/
If you want to volunteer *with* AEI in 2022, you should come to Nepal with us to volunteer with dogs, cats and cows!
This will be our 4th Expedition and this time we are going to the roof top of the world. Come with us to Nepal for 10 full days of volunteering with dogs, visiting UNESCO World Heritage Sites, hiking through terraced fields and taking part in activities that don't just help animals- they help the local population, too.
For all accomodation, meals, in-country transportation, access and administration to all UNESCO sites, fully guided day trek, full volunteer fees and donations to the centres, the trip will be $2495 Canadian.
Doesn't sound like your thing? Remember that you can sign up to travel independently throughout the year. Most of our programs are offered year round, so you can plan an adventure that works best for you. We help with your airport pick up, pre-departure training, accommodation is always included and remember we have visited all the placements first to make sure we know they are safe, ethical and authentic.
Elephants aren't your thing? Check out our other programs
No experience needed!
Remember, you don't need any experience to volunteer- there are vets and nurses already there! If you can sweep your floor, you can sweep a gibbon enclosure! If you can cut a watermelon, you can help make breakfast for a bear!
All our programs have been chosen because of their high standards of animal welfare, trust from the local community, investment in the local conservation professionals, safety and of course: authenticity in their benefit to the animals!
B Corps are certified by the non profit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. We have been a B Corp since 2013 and since then we have always been in the top 10% of quantifiable benefit to the environment and the communities we operate in.
