Human-powered adventure – connect with nature and travel sustainably
- X Magazine
- Mar 20, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 9, 2021
By Evangeline Modell
Adventures, undeniably, can have a huge environmental impact. Planes, trains and the black smoke billowing out of that old petrol-guzzling bus. Tourism contributes 8% of carbon emissions globally, according to a study by Nature Climate Change.
Despite all the pollution, seeing lots of the planet surely gives us an incentive to care for it. Human-powered adventure is the very pinnacle of this idea. Cycling, hiking, swimming, running, you name it. Emission-free, calorie-fuelled travel is unsurpassable in its ability to unite us with nature.
“You're physically connected to the environment in a way that you simply aren't in any other situation,” says Levison Wood, television presenter and world-renowned adventurer. He has walked the length of the Nile (4,250 miles), across the Himalayas (1,700 miles), from Mexico to Colombia (1,800 miles) and across Botswana following the migration of African Elephants (650 miles), among other expeditions.
“Ultimately walking is what humans have evolved to do over the last 2 million years. It's a very natural state physically and mentally and I think it does enable you to appreciate what's going on bit more,” he says.
While we might not all be going on such extreme human-powered journeys, as summer approaches, it’s important to think about ways we can travel more sustainably. Try staying closer to home and think about incorporating a human-powered aspect into your next escape. We’ve all done a lot of walking during lockdown but maybe it’s time to attempt more of a challenge.
It’s not the answer to fully sustainable travel but it’s a step in the right direction. Levison claims that slow travel allows you to “see with your own eyes the effects of climate change”. According to him, anyone can do it. “It's all possible,” he says. What do you think?
Read a Q&A with Levison Wood about human-powered adventures here.
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