As many people working in the voluntary sector will tell you, voluntary and community related issues are never far from your mind, even when away on holiday or taking a break, as happened with me this weekend.
I attended the fantastic Camp Quirky Festival: a very green, vanlife festival, run by vanlife communities for anyone interested in campervan life or tiny living in any form.
The festival runs a number of wonderful talks and workshops, and the one that captured my attention and sent my mind into overdrive was a thought provoking talk – Planet Positive Travel by Tarja Salmela – @vanlife_landscapes on Instagram.
Tarja is interested in how vanlife is developing and becoming increasingly popular, and has been carrying out postdoc research including sustainable ways of living that kind of life and way of travelling.
Her research has led her to also look at the impact tourists can have on local communities, particularly in high tourist areas. Her project has been focused on both Northern Norway, and the Northern Highlands of Scotland, particularly the area around Scotland’s NC500 route, a bucket list route for many.
Tarja highlighted some of the problems that can arise with general tourism, as well as campervan travel. One example being where people want to travel a route, when it’s for the sake of being able to tick it off their wish list, rather than spending time exploring, enjoying and respecting the areas around the route.
The same issues arise in many popular high tourist routes and destinations, with local residents reporting they are more than a little fed up with people constantly passing through, blocking roads, putting a strain on services, often without any benefit to local economies or communities. Tensions can easily build, with residents wanting to protect where they live, and tourists feeling they have a right to visit and travel through.
Working out how camper van travellers and local communities can build bridges to ease tensions and benefit the planet, has become a point of interest for Tarja. The majority of campervan travellers already tend to be very conscious of their impact on the planet and many leave an area in a much better state than they found it. Clearing litter that was already there is just one example, but she wonders if there are additional ways to blend and benefit both campervan travellers and locals. Tarja asked the Camp Quirky audience their thoughts and ideas of how to help make that happen.
Whether volunteering could play a part in this relationship building came to my mind immediately and I shared my thoughts with Tarja and the audience. There must be a way that the many van travellers visiting an area can get involved in one off, or very short term volunteer activities.
As well as improving relationships between communities and van travellers, local projects or voluntary organisations could benefit, filling some of the gaps left by a national shortage of volunteers.
I remembered reading a Rob Jackson (Rob is an authority on volunteering who engages with people to bring about change) guest blog back in October 2022 by Laura White (Sutherland) who volunteered via an app while in Berlin on a sabbatical. Laura’s blog detailed how the app enabled her to sign up easily and instantly for a variety of temporary volunteer roles.
Surely there must be a way of making it possible for the high number of tourists and van travellers to give back to the communities they travel through, by giving a few hours of their time volunteering. After all, many of them are highly skilled, experienced and resourceful, and have so much to give. It would help them understand the challenges faced by local communities, and to really get to know and appreciate an area in return for the privilege of travelling through. Many would be willing to do this, but wouldn’t know if it’s possible or where to start. Is a volunteering app, similar to the one Laura described in her blog, the answer?
At the end of Tarja’s talk, I chatted to two other people who work in the voluntary sector, both agreeing with my point and wondering if it could work. Both said volunteer shortages are all too familiar in their areas.
I’d be interested to know whether any geographical areas already run such schemes, or utilise tourists in volunteer opportunities in some way. Are there vanlifers out there who already volunteer as they travel?
This topic is related a little to my first blog: both are thinking of the ways tourists can help the communities they visit. It’s so easy to take much for granted as a tourist, but we all need to play our part in helping an area thrive and give something back as we travel.
Tarja, thank you for opening up the conversation, as part of your research. I’m not sure what a next step would look like to increase volunteering while touring and van travelling, but you’ve certainly given your weekend audience lots of food for thought.
Not Just Leaking Noise 