Sri Lanka 2020

This article first appeared in our Consumer Revolution issue of My Green Pod Magazine, distributed with The Guardian on 06 March 2020. Click here to subscribe to our digital edition and get each issue delivered straight to your inbox

Sir David Attenborough is our most influential environmentalist, and his contagious passion for the natural world stems from firsthand experience of the world’s richest ecosystems.

For The Life of Birds alone he reportedly travelled 256,000 miles – the equivalent of circling the globe 10 times.

Tomorrow’s environmental heroes face a dilemma: those who care most understand the impact of long-haul flights to the very destinations that could inspire tomorrow’s ambassadors of change.

Experience is all

For Brad Frankel and Ian Taylor, the inspiration to act is effected by immersion in cultures and ecosystems. They created Flooglebinder to promote conservation and education through experience – and they believe it could be the world’s first climate positive travel company.

The business started as a way for Ian, a lecturer in Animal Behaviour and Ecology, to give his students valuable field experience. Now Flooglebinder has launched its first adult trip to Sri Lanka (23-31 May 2020) so everyone has an opportunity to travel with purpose and impact. ‘We realised how incredible travel is to inspire and create change’, Brad tells us. ‘Like all our trips, Sri Lanka will be about conservation, sustainability and personal development.’

How it should be done

Brad – a self-confessed travel addict – is a marine biologist, qualified divemaster and underwater videographer. For the 2020 ‘Project Change’ Sri Lanka trip he will be joined by Charlie Granger, a yoga practitioner, holistic therapist and coach with a degree in Psychology and Neuroscience.

The trip promises personal development and awareness through sustainable travel, elephant conservation and ‘thought-provoking adventures’ that combine elemental yoga therapy, coaching, running, mindfulness, surfing, paddle boarding and food.

‘For us it’s not just about the trip, it’s about creating change’, Brad explains. ‘Making people aware of their environmental impact, becoming more sustainable and helping with mental health. As a B Corp we want to show the industry how it should be done.’