A group of vocational agriculture students from Belgium on a study tour in Saskatchewan: it goes both ways
(Originally published in TOURISM)
Though Canada is often called an "incubator" for voluntourists - we produce great ones and they go abroad - Canada is also fertile ground (literally speaking) for voluntourism.
Voluntouring - a vacation experience wherein travellers give a portion (or all) of their travel time to a volunteer project or cause - has existed in one form or another for quite a few years. But, ecotourism and "eco-friendliness", other hot contemporary buzzwords, might be propelling the trend to greater popularity than ever before.
Given our vast geography and natural beauty, Canada is an especially fitting choice for environmentally-friendly and altruistic globe-trotters. On top of that, a voluntour vacation is a unique way for Canadian tour operators to re-brand existing assets. Take, for instance, the tried and true nature hike. Add the opportunity for travellers to restore the hiking trail, and voilà: you have both a new eco-friendly product and the ability to reach a new consumer segment.
Here's a sampling of the voluntours Canada currently has on offer:
Organizer Earthwatch Institute offers travellers the chance to help researchers track and map whales off the shorelines of the Great Bear Rainforest.
World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) aims to teach travellers about organic farming. WOOOF has farms across Canada that help voluntourists hone their homesteading skills.
The Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS) is a research organization that invites travellers on day trips and week-long trips in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to study blue, humpback, fin and minke whales. "Research apprentices," travellers snap pics, collect data, and participate in whale biopsies.
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