February vacations are coming up fast and for the occasion what’s better than traveling with your family. Traveling in France or abroad allows, among other things, to open up to the world and discover new cultures. Traveling while protecting the planet is another way to teach your children good habits, from a young age.
Promote awareness to children
Before traveling, the little ones need to understand the importance of protecting our planet. You can explain to them that the planet is sick and that everyone must act to heal it. Tell them the story of the hummingbird that tried to put out the fire that was ravaging the forest on its tiny scale. Even if we are still little, we can all help.
Introduce children to the beauty of nature. No matter what city or country you are in, take your child for a walk in the forest or go to the park, discovering the local fauna and flora while being careful to respect it. Don't dig up flowers, or break branches: you should respect the natural habitats of plants and animals.
Think of eating local and seasonal products. Traveling abroad means immersing yourself in a culture and food is an integral part of it. As a new discovery, children will taste new flavors which they do not always have access to Breton vegetable gardens or exotic fruits (depending on where you are).
Favoring local tourism
Understanding the environmental issue is one thing, knowing where to go is another. One of the solutions to travel while respecting the planet is local tourism (stay in your country or go to a bordering country). First of all, traveling close to home generates much less CO2 than long distance travel. Moreover, this type of tourism allows you to discover the heritage of your country.
It’s also a great occasion to travel mainly with less polluting means of transport than airplanes such as train, bus or boat. If you decide to stay in a city, walk or use electric transportation (scooter, bike, streetcar). If you are on vacation, there is no rush.
And if you want to visit Europe, there are solutions: with its InterRails packages, the company Eurail BV offers the possibility to use all European railroads.
Is it possible to visit your country without getting bored?
Of course! No matter where you are, it is possible to find something to do. Numerous apps list local monuments, activities to do near your home... Did you know that France has almost fifty UNESCO World Heritage sites? It's time to help your children discover them.
And then, there are many other things to do.
Geocaching, for example. You just need a smartphone and an apps and you can search for hidden beacons all over France. Don't worry: there are levels for everyone and the hiding spots are located on the app to help you. This family activity allows you to visit while having a little competition. Don’t you dare believe this game is too esay... More than 280,000 hiding spots have been identified in the country.
In a more eco-citizen spirit, the cleanwalk can be an opportunity to visit places while helping the planet. There are many groups on Facebook that organize several annual events to clean up city streets. Armed with a plastic bag and a pair of gardening gloves, you can participate in your own way to clean up your surroundings.
Going to the beach is fun and kids are always happy to go there. Take advantage of this opportunity to take a small hour in your beach week to contribute, at your level, to its cleanliness. With the help of a large garbage bag (and always gloves), pick up all the trash you see on the beach. Between the abandoned packages of snacks, the discarded cigarette butts, the empty bottles of yogurt or their caps, the soda cans... There is always something to do. After 60 minutes, you will be able to see the mass of things that could have been put directly in the garbage cans along the coast and make your children aware of how to throw away their garbage when they have some.
And if you want to go further: the website Initiatives Océanes allows you to participate or to organize collective collections on the French coasts.
