August 29, 2025 • 17 mins
Regenerative Travel for Families with Kirsten Ovstaas If you’ve ever wondered how your family vacations could give back to the places you visit, this episode is for you. In Episode 190 of The Family Vacationer, Rob sits down with regenerative travel advocate Kirsten Ovstaas to explore how families can make travel not just sustainable—but regenerative. Regenerative travel goes beyond reducing your footprint. It’s about restoring, replenishing, and leaving a destination better than you found it. Kirsten shares practical ways families can start small, engage with local communities, and make their vacations a force for good. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: The difference between sustainable and regenerative travel Why regenerative practices matter for families and kids Simple first steps—like beach cleans and local dining—that any family can do Examples of destinations offering regenerative experiences (Hawaii, British Columbia, Copenhagen, and more) How to research and choose businesses that truly benefit local communities Common misconceptions about regenerative travel (and why they’re wrong) How regenerative travel can inspire kids and shape their future values Travel memories are some of the most powerful a family can create. Imagine adding the joy of knowing your trip left a positive mark on the world. This conversation will inspire you to rethink your travel habits and embrace new ways to connect, give back, and grow together as a family. 👉 Learn more about Kirsten’s work and ReBC (Regenerative Travel British Columbia) at ReBCTravel.ca or follow them on Instagram at @ReBCTravel. 👉 Don’t forget to subscribe to The Family Vacationer and connect with us on Instagram and Substack for more family travel inspiration. Remember folks to keep your passports and your hearts open.Safe travels, everyone.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
If you've been thinking about how your family can travel
in a way that actually helps the places you visit.
That's what regenerative travel is all about. Today, on episode
one ninety, we unpack this exciting approach to family travel,
what it means, why it matters, and how your family
can get started. Episode one ninety starts right now. Welcome
(00:30):
to the Family Vacationer with Robin Tracy, your go to
podcast for families on the moon. Welcome back, friends to
the Family Vacationer podcast. I'm your host, Rob and this
is episode one ninety.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Now.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Over the years we've talked about sustainable travel. We've started
to talk about it more and more as we're more
sensitive to trying to reduce our footprint and preserve destinations.
But today we're taking it a step further into regenerative travel,
which is all about giving back, restoring and creative positive
impacts while we explore the world with our families. To
(01:07):
help us with this topic, I'm joined by Kirsten Ostas,
a passionate expert in regenerative travel, tourism and family travel advocate.
Kirstin Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
We're excited to have you. Can you start off by
telling us what regenerative travel means in your own words?
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Yes, and I'm going to give you a really short synopsis.
But for me and I kind of live my life
like this wherever I can. It's beyond stay mutral or sustainable.
It is leaving a place better than you found it.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
So how does that differ from sustainable travel? I think
I told you offline, We've we've done a show or
two on that. So how do how do how do
these differ?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Great?
Speaker 3 (01:54):
And I mean sustainable travel is good, Sustainable travel is
the precursor to regenerative travel. Sustainable travel is focused on
reducing our negative impact, things like lowering emissions, conserving water,
reducing plastic. Regenerative travel takes that a step further. It's
how can we help nature regenerate? How can we empower
(02:17):
local communities to thrive while we're there and after we've left,
And how can we leave a positive impact on the
place that we are visiting versus a negative or neutral impact.
So that's how regenerative is different than sustainable.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
So that answers my next question is why should families
care about this? So let me you answered that, So
let me take it a little further and say, what
do you think is the best way to impress upon
our kids? Get to them and help them understand the
value in regenerating you know what's around us.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
So kids are.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Amazing, and I mean, as we both know, we both kids,
they are so incredibly intuitive and impressionable, and I mean
children are our future in.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Every aspect of society, but travel.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Specifically, And so I mean the best place with them
is getting them to ask us questions, being open to questions,
getting curious and getting excited about what this is. And
so I mean with my kids and regeneration, we can
talk about like why we're going and what we're going
(03:31):
to experience, and then how are some ways that we
can leave things in a better situation than when we
got there?
Speaker 1 (03:40):
And that makes sense well for families that are listening,
who were just starting to think about their impact when
they travel, what are some first steps?
Speaker 2 (03:49):
It's a great question. I mean, the first steps I
would take in.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
Getting excited about regenerators travel with your family is asking questions, like,
you know, who lives here year round? How can we
tread lightly choose destinations that are welcoming tourists thoughtfully, but
it also can feel I mean, I know what it's
like to travel with your kids. It's hard, and so
(04:18):
it's I mean, adding another level of having to worry
about you know, Okay, so how are we going to
give back from dad? That feels like a whole other
added responsibility to your already hard trip because you're trying
to make sure your kids have fun and you keep
it under budget. And I can totally understand. And so
starting small, just asking a small question, you don't have
to do it perfectly, and you don't have to do
(04:40):
all of it at once. You can go on a
trip and regenerate in one or two ways, like you
don't have to do the whole entire regenerative trip all
at once. As you continue to kind of do these
little things and educate your kids, it will become natural,
it will become a habit. So a small thing is,
for example, you do a little beach clean So while
(05:00):
you're on a trip, you take one day and you
take you know, a plastic bag, and your kids go
on a hey and you each collect five pieces of
garbage and there you go. You've done something regenitive on
your trip. Your whole trip may not have been regenitive,
but you've started the conversation with them.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Sure, it seems like another way, and we talk about
the value of getting to know locals. Seems like if they,
if they, if we take the time to get to
know some people who do live in the area, that
kind of humanizes things for our kids a little bit
and they can understand, you know, wanting to help out
(05:38):
this person clean their beach. So that might be another
way that families could start that process.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
I mean, what you can do with your kids to
kind of also generate enthusiasm over the trip is like,
do a little research, look at who lives there, look
at what the cultures are, look at what you can
do when you're there that helps impact the local communities.
Stay away from the chain restaurants, Stay away from the
chain hotels, Stay places that are a little bit off
(06:07):
the beaten path, so that you get to know the
locals and know what you're visiting, so that you can
give back while you're there.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
So, could you just articulate for our listeners, what is
the negative in going to a chain hotel or a
chain restaurant.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
I would say, first and foremost, the economic impact. When
you give your money to a chain restaurant, the local
community sees very little of that. So if you're going
to go to McDonald's, a very high percentage of the
cost of what you pay goes to another person in
another community, more than likely a very large corporation. It
(06:45):
doesn't actually need your money, whereas a local cafe with
a mom and pop who are building sandwiches with their
own two hands and need that extra twenty or thirty
dollars and sandwiches and drinks are then going to benefit
directly from you going to lunch at.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Their cafe versus going to a place.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Like McDonald's or I mean, and I'm not harping on
McDonald I guess that's that it's easy, but going to
a chain restaurant where that money gets directly transported outside
of the community, right.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Can you give us some examples of some destinations or
experiences that you feel like really embody this kind of travel,
this kind of travel, particularly ones that are family friendly.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Had program that I work with which sends for a
regenerative responsible travel. In British Columbia. We have nine partner
communities that do really interesting events that can you can
do things like Thanksgiving Back and rebel Stoke where you go,
you book a hotel, you sign up for a volunteer event,
(07:49):
and then they give you cash back to your hotel,
so it pays for part of your trip and you've
helped build a trail or clean up a beach or do.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Something with that.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
So you know, there are lots of communities that are
doing those small things. Hawaii has a whole entire program
where you sign up for a volunteer experience and they
do the same thing cash credit back to your hotel,
and so there are I mean, Copenhagen has a really
interesting program where you can go and you shine out
(08:20):
to volunteer and they buy you a coffee. Squamish has
a red bag program where you go to the visitor
center and they give you red bag and you do
a little beach cleane. You bring the garbage back to
the visitor center and then you get an ice cream
or a pint of beer. So lots of incentives and
good reasons to visit those communities.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
For sure, what should families be asking or researching before
they book a trip to make sure they're supporting these principles.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
That's a really good question.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
I mean, first and foremost who owns the business and
where does the money go?
Speaker 2 (08:55):
That's a great question to start.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Making sure kind of what's culturally appropriate for the culture
that you're going to. And you know that you're going
to go and be able to speak to the locals
in not necessarily understanding exactly what's going on, but that
you have an understanding of kind of what some of
the cultural traditions within that location that you're going to.
(09:19):
How are different tour operators showing up, so say you're
going to go well watching or you're going to go
on a gondola ride, how are those tour operators thinking
about their own impact? And if they are have any
sort of sustainable initiatives are a really great pointer looking
(09:42):
at different local say hotels or homestays, and if they
partner with any local artisans, guides or like food producers,
so farm to table restaurants that then like you know
in Victoria there's a restaurant called ten Acres who is
owned then that has a far sorry Victory, BC has
a farm that all of the food.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Comes from the farm to the restaurant.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
And so you are directly impacting impacting multiple jobs and
multiple economies and industries by going to that restaurant. So though,
like just looking a little bit, doing a tiny bit
of research really helps.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
What are some misconceptions that families might have about this
kind of travel?
Speaker 3 (10:21):
For sure, this is a great question because I mean
the first, I think big misconception is that it's hard,
and like, as I mentioned earlier, like oh my gosh,
I'm planning a trip with my kids. I'm trying to
remember diapers and play pens and car seats and like
getting to a destination, making sure we have everything there.
This is an added layer we don't need. But this
(10:43):
is something that can be so small and so easy
and so easy to build upon, and so like it's
not hard if you start small and that's that's all
it takes. Some other misconceptions can be that it is expensive,
it's for like a life luxury budget to be able
to go and stay these like fancy places or take
(11:04):
the time so or that they're for only eco warriors
only for people who really care about the planet or
climate change or whatever. I mean, this can be for anybody.
This can be for you know, grandma and grandpa to
start thinking about.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
So I mean.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
That is probably the first like that it's eco focused,
and it doesn't have to be. It can just be
you know, anybody who is interested in thinking about leaving
a place better than when you came.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Where do you see this going in the next five
to ten years. It's funny, since we had this recording
on the books, I've seen probably five or ten articles
about reginative travel that I don't think I'd ever seen before.
So where do you see this going in the next
five to ten years.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Yeah, it's so interesting to say that because even this
program that I'm running, which has an app in a website,
we've seen a massive uptake. Even in the last eight weeks,
you know, our following on Instagram has doubled. People are
just interested. And so I mean, I think it's moving
from niche to like, you know, a few different people,
to necessity because there is this understanding that travel is
(12:19):
amazing and so important for education and creating empathy and
understanding of a place and people. But there's suddenly a
realization that travel is also very hard on a place.
And so this realization of that we can travel and
not only leave you know, a low impact, we can
(12:40):
leave a better impact, a positive impact by going and
doing some of these very easy and fun These activities
can be so fun to go and leave feeling so
much better about what you have done during your holiday.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah, I mean, on this podcast, we talked about the
importance of you know, family vacation memories. You know, in
a person's lifetime, vacation memories just seem to kind of
bubble to the top because you get to see your
parents in a different light, and you know, the parents
get to spend a little more time with their kids
and making memories with your children of helping out a community.
(13:21):
I mean, what's cooler than that?
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Really amazing?
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Well, and think about the foundation and the groundwork that
you are laying for your children who are going to
grow up as travelers and moving into a society where
you know, there is a growing demand for accountability as travelers.
So if they go come, they grow up knowing that
they are going to go on a trip or a
vacation and do something that betters the place that they
(13:47):
are in and it becomes a habit, it becomes a
norm for them. That that is a foundation that you
are laying not only for your family directly, but indirectly society.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
If there was one mindset gift that you hope families
walk away with after hearing our conversation, what would it be?
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Yeah, that's a great question. I love that question, and
I mean the easy answer is that like every choice
you make is a ripple or a butterfly effect. So
you know, you take your kids on a vacation and
get them to participate in a beach clean and then
they go and they tell their kids their friends about
it at school, and the next vacation you go on
(14:28):
you do two more activities like that. It is growth
and so regenerative travel it's not about guilt. It's about
empowerment and shifting from passive consumers to active participants in
the communities that we are visiting. Travel can become transformative.
It is transformative, and so regenerative travel is an opportunity
(14:53):
to transform to the positive.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Well, you mentioned your app and your efforts. Where can
our listeners find out which you're doing?
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Great question as well.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
So we are running a program called RebC, which is
Regenerative Travel British Columbia.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
We're up in Canada.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
This is a website so RebC travel dot ca A
and we also have an app that you can look
us up on as well as Instagram RebC Travel and
we have six partner communities this year round. We do
all different things with the communities. They are doing their
own initiative initiatives within the communities, volunteerism, trips, beach queens,
(15:39):
emphasis and focus on just educating people on what regenerative
travel is, because lots of people have heard of sustainable travel,
but regenerative travel, as we just discussed, is a newer
concept that is coming to light and it's a very
exciting one because how good would it feel to go
on a vacation and know that you contributed to a
(16:01):
better community when you look by the time you left.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
It's just it's a win win for everybody.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Absolutely well, Kirsten, thank you so much for joining us
and sharing your insight on this important topic. It's it's
clear that families have a powerful role to play in
protecting and restoring the places that we love to visit.
So thank you for coming on.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Thank you so.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Much for having me, and I'm so excited to see
you all on the rebe's feed.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
I hope you've enjoyed this episode and you want to
learn more about regenerative travel and get inspired to make
your next family vacation a force for good. Don't forget
to subscribe to the Family Vacation or wherever you get
your podcasts, and follow us on Instagram and substack for
even more family travel inspiration. Remember, folks, keep your passports
(16:48):
and your hearts open and as always, safe travels. Everyone
guiding fool. All the beach places and hotel spaces, amusement
park rats and water slides.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
Mountains, ranges and seasonal changes.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
I'm leading serve. I'm the ferry vacationers.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
I've got in full on other beach praces and hotel spaces,
amusement park rats and water slides,
If you've been thinking about how your family can travel
in a way that actually helps the places you visit.
That's what regenerative travel is all about. Today, on episode
one ninety, we unpack this exciting approach to family travel,
what it means, why it matters, and how your family
can get started. Episode one ninety starts right now. Welcome
(00:30):
to the Family Vacationer with Robin Tracy, your go to
podcast for families on the moon. Welcome back, friends to
the Family Vacationer podcast. I'm your host, Rob and this
is episode one ninety.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Now.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Over the years we've talked about sustainable travel. We've started
to talk about it more and more as we're more
sensitive to trying to reduce our footprint and preserve destinations.
But today we're taking it a step further into regenerative travel,
which is all about giving back, restoring and creative positive
impacts while we explore the world with our families. To
(01:07):
help us with this topic, I'm joined by Kirsten Ostas,
a passionate expert in regenerative travel, tourism and family travel advocate.
Kirstin Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
We're excited to have you. Can you start off by
telling us what regenerative travel means in your own words?
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Yes, and I'm going to give you a really short synopsis.
But for me and I kind of live my life
like this wherever I can. It's beyond stay mutral or sustainable.
It is leaving a place better than you found it.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
So how does that differ from sustainable travel? I think
I told you offline, We've we've done a show or
two on that. So how do how do how do
these differ?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Great?
Speaker 3 (01:54):
And I mean sustainable travel is good, Sustainable travel is
the precursor to regenerative travel. Sustainable travel is focused on
reducing our negative impact, things like lowering emissions, conserving water,
reducing plastic. Regenerative travel takes that a step further. It's
how can we help nature regenerate? How can we empower
(02:17):
local communities to thrive while we're there and after we've left,
And how can we leave a positive impact on the
place that we are visiting versus a negative or neutral impact.
So that's how regenerative is different than sustainable.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
So that answers my next question is why should families
care about this? So let me you answered that, So
let me take it a little further and say, what
do you think is the best way to impress upon
our kids? Get to them and help them understand the
value in regenerating you know what's around us.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
So kids are.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Amazing, and I mean, as we both know, we both kids,
they are so incredibly intuitive and impressionable, and I mean
children are our future in.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Every aspect of society, but travel.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Specifically, And so I mean the best place with them
is getting them to ask us questions, being open to questions,
getting curious and getting excited about what this is. And
so I mean with my kids and regeneration, we can
talk about like why we're going and what we're going
(03:31):
to experience, and then how are some ways that we
can leave things in a better situation than when we
got there?
Speaker 1 (03:40):
And that makes sense well for families that are listening,
who were just starting to think about their impact when
they travel, what are some first steps?
Speaker 2 (03:49):
It's a great question. I mean, the first steps I
would take in.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
Getting excited about regenerators travel with your family is asking questions, like,
you know, who lives here year round? How can we
tread lightly choose destinations that are welcoming tourists thoughtfully, but
it also can feel I mean, I know what it's
like to travel with your kids. It's hard, and so
(04:18):
it's I mean, adding another level of having to worry
about you know, Okay, so how are we going to
give back from dad? That feels like a whole other
added responsibility to your already hard trip because you're trying
to make sure your kids have fun and you keep
it under budget. And I can totally understand. And so
starting small, just asking a small question, you don't have
to do it perfectly, and you don't have to do
(04:40):
all of it at once. You can go on a
trip and regenerate in one or two ways, like you
don't have to do the whole entire regenerative trip all
at once. As you continue to kind of do these
little things and educate your kids, it will become natural,
it will become a habit. So a small thing is,
for example, you do a little beach clean So while
(05:00):
you're on a trip, you take one day and you
take you know, a plastic bag, and your kids go
on a hey and you each collect five pieces of
garbage and there you go. You've done something regenitive on
your trip. Your whole trip may not have been regenitive,
but you've started the conversation with them.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Sure, it seems like another way, and we talk about
the value of getting to know locals. Seems like if they,
if they, if we take the time to get to
know some people who do live in the area, that
kind of humanizes things for our kids a little bit
and they can understand, you know, wanting to help out
(05:38):
this person clean their beach. So that might be another
way that families could start that process.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
I mean, what you can do with your kids to
kind of also generate enthusiasm over the trip is like,
do a little research, look at who lives there, look
at what the cultures are, look at what you can
do when you're there that helps impact the local communities.
Stay away from the chain restaurants, Stay away from the
chain hotels, Stay places that are a little bit off
(06:07):
the beaten path, so that you get to know the
locals and know what you're visiting, so that you can
give back while you're there.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
So, could you just articulate for our listeners, what is
the negative in going to a chain hotel or a
chain restaurant.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
I would say, first and foremost, the economic impact. When
you give your money to a chain restaurant, the local
community sees very little of that. So if you're going
to go to McDonald's, a very high percentage of the
cost of what you pay goes to another person in
another community, more than likely a very large corporation. It
(06:45):
doesn't actually need your money, whereas a local cafe with
a mom and pop who are building sandwiches with their
own two hands and need that extra twenty or thirty
dollars and sandwiches and drinks are then going to benefit
directly from you going to lunch at.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Their cafe versus going to a place.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Like McDonald's or I mean, and I'm not harping on
McDonald I guess that's that it's easy, but going to
a chain restaurant where that money gets directly transported outside
of the community, right.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Can you give us some examples of some destinations or
experiences that you feel like really embody this kind of travel,
this kind of travel, particularly ones that are family friendly.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Had program that I work with which sends for a
regenerative responsible travel. In British Columbia. We have nine partner
communities that do really interesting events that can you can
do things like Thanksgiving Back and rebel Stoke where you go,
you book a hotel, you sign up for a volunteer event,
(07:49):
and then they give you cash back to your hotel,
so it pays for part of your trip and you've
helped build a trail or clean up a beach or do.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Something with that.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
So you know, there are lots of communities that are
doing those small things. Hawaii has a whole entire program
where you sign up for a volunteer experience and they
do the same thing cash credit back to your hotel,
and so there are I mean, Copenhagen has a really
interesting program where you can go and you shine out
(08:20):
to volunteer and they buy you a coffee. Squamish has
a red bag program where you go to the visitor
center and they give you red bag and you do
a little beach cleane. You bring the garbage back to
the visitor center and then you get an ice cream
or a pint of beer. So lots of incentives and
good reasons to visit those communities.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
For sure, what should families be asking or researching before
they book a trip to make sure they're supporting these principles.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
That's a really good question.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
I mean, first and foremost who owns the business and
where does the money go?
Speaker 2 (08:55):
That's a great question to start.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Making sure kind of what's culturally appropriate for the culture
that you're going to. And you know that you're going
to go and be able to speak to the locals
in not necessarily understanding exactly what's going on, but that
you have an understanding of kind of what some of
the cultural traditions within that location that you're going to.
(09:19):
How are different tour operators showing up, so say you're
going to go well watching or you're going to go
on a gondola ride, how are those tour operators thinking
about their own impact? And if they are have any
sort of sustainable initiatives are a really great pointer looking
(09:42):
at different local say hotels or homestays, and if they
partner with any local artisans, guides or like food producers,
so farm to table restaurants that then like you know
in Victoria there's a restaurant called ten Acres who is
owned then that has a far sorry Victory, BC has
a farm that all of the food.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Comes from the farm to the restaurant.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
And so you are directly impacting impacting multiple jobs and
multiple economies and industries by going to that restaurant. So though,
like just looking a little bit, doing a tiny bit
of research really helps.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
What are some misconceptions that families might have about this
kind of travel?
Speaker 3 (10:21):
For sure, this is a great question because I mean
the first, I think big misconception is that it's hard,
and like, as I mentioned earlier, like oh my gosh,
I'm planning a trip with my kids. I'm trying to
remember diapers and play pens and car seats and like
getting to a destination, making sure we have everything there.
This is an added layer we don't need. But this
(10:43):
is something that can be so small and so easy
and so easy to build upon, and so like it's
not hard if you start small and that's that's all
it takes. Some other misconceptions can be that it is expensive,
it's for like a life luxury budget to be able
to go and stay these like fancy places or take
(11:04):
the time so or that they're for only eco warriors
only for people who really care about the planet or
climate change or whatever. I mean, this can be for anybody.
This can be for you know, grandma and grandpa to
start thinking about.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
So I mean.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
That is probably the first like that it's eco focused,
and it doesn't have to be. It can just be
you know, anybody who is interested in thinking about leaving
a place better than when you came.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Where do you see this going in the next five
to ten years. It's funny, since we had this recording
on the books, I've seen probably five or ten articles
about reginative travel that I don't think I'd ever seen before.
So where do you see this going in the next
five to ten years.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Yeah, it's so interesting to say that because even this
program that I'm running, which has an app in a website,
we've seen a massive uptake. Even in the last eight weeks,
you know, our following on Instagram has doubled. People are
just interested. And so I mean, I think it's moving
from niche to like, you know, a few different people,
to necessity because there is this understanding that travel is
(12:19):
amazing and so important for education and creating empathy and
understanding of a place and people. But there's suddenly a
realization that travel is also very hard on a place.
And so this realization of that we can travel and
not only leave you know, a low impact, we can
(12:40):
leave a better impact, a positive impact by going and
doing some of these very easy and fun These activities
can be so fun to go and leave feeling so
much better about what you have done during your holiday.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yeah, I mean, on this podcast, we talked about the
importance of you know, family vacation memories. You know, in
a person's lifetime, vacation memories just seem to kind of
bubble to the top because you get to see your
parents in a different light, and you know, the parents
get to spend a little more time with their kids
and making memories with your children of helping out a community.
(13:21):
I mean, what's cooler than that?
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Really amazing?
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Well, and think about the foundation and the groundwork that
you are laying for your children who are going to
grow up as travelers and moving into a society where
you know, there is a growing demand for accountability as travelers.
So if they go come, they grow up knowing that
they are going to go on a trip or a
vacation and do something that betters the place that they
(13:47):
are in and it becomes a habit, it becomes a
norm for them. That that is a foundation that you
are laying not only for your family directly, but indirectly society.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
If there was one mindset gift that you hope families
walk away with after hearing our conversation, what would it be?
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Yeah, that's a great question. I love that question, and
I mean the easy answer is that like every choice
you make is a ripple or a butterfly effect. So
you know, you take your kids on a vacation and
get them to participate in a beach clean and then
they go and they tell their kids their friends about
it at school, and the next vacation you go on
(14:28):
you do two more activities like that. It is growth
and so regenerative travel it's not about guilt. It's about
empowerment and shifting from passive consumers to active participants in
the communities that we are visiting. Travel can become transformative.
It is transformative, and so regenerative travel is an opportunity
(14:53):
to transform to the positive.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Well, you mentioned your app and your efforts. Where can
our listeners find out which you're doing?
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Great question as well.
Speaker 3 (15:04):
So we are running a program called RebC, which is
Regenerative Travel British Columbia.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
We're up in Canada.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
This is a website so RebC travel dot ca A
and we also have an app that you can look
us up on as well as Instagram RebC Travel and
we have six partner communities this year round. We do
all different things with the communities. They are doing their
own initiative initiatives within the communities, volunteerism, trips, beach queens,
(15:39):
emphasis and focus on just educating people on what regenerative
travel is, because lots of people have heard of sustainable travel,
but regenerative travel, as we just discussed, is a newer
concept that is coming to light and it's a very
exciting one because how good would it feel to go
on a vacation and know that you contributed to a
(16:01):
better community when you look by the time you left.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
It's just it's a win win for everybody.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Absolutely well, Kirsten, thank you so much for joining us
and sharing your insight on this important topic. It's it's
clear that families have a powerful role to play in
protecting and restoring the places that we love to visit.
So thank you for coming on.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Thank you so.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Much for having me, and I'm so excited to see
you all on the rebe's feed.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
I hope you've enjoyed this episode and you want to
learn more about regenerative travel and get inspired to make
your next family vacation a force for good. Don't forget
to subscribe to the Family Vacation or wherever you get
your podcasts, and follow us on Instagram and substack for
even more family travel inspiration. Remember, folks, keep your passports
(16:48):
and your hearts open and as always, safe travels. Everyone
guiding fool. All the beach places and hotel spaces, amusement
park rats and water slides.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
Mountains, ranges and seasonal changes.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
I'm leading serve. I'm the ferry vacationers.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
I've got in full on other beach praces and hotel spaces,
amusement park rats and water slides,
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.