… except when turning into a Marine or Space Force base.

#vandenburg

To Huntington Beach we go, thanks San Diego!

Wrapping up here in Tucson, AZ. Next up: San Diego, CA and the Pacific Coast Highway

Orlando, Ft Lauderdale and now Tampa. I guess the trip has resumed!

What year is it? 2022? Almost two years exactly since returning to Canada.

Next up: Arizona

Hi there!

Here with something a little different… but time sensitive.

• Do you have kids 11+ years old?
• Do you know an educator or teacher who does?
• Are you interested in documentary filmmaking, conservation or the work of eco rangers.

If so, I’ve got something you may find interesting.

• 22nd April – 10AM EDT – Confronting Extinction
• 22nd April – 11AM EDT – Impacts of illegal wildlife markets

Background

I met Kate Brooks one year ago at a yoga retreat in India while she was recuperating from the grueling work of releasing her documentary The Last Animals.

Now her foundation, along with Encounter Edu and the University of Michigan School of Environment and Sustainability, will be doing a live event on Earth Day – 22nd April 2020 – at 10AM EDT (check your timezone).

The event is family friendly, hosted by 17 year old British conservationist & youth activist Bella Lack and will consist of two 40-minute panels in which you can submit questions to be answered by experts in their respective fields. There will be age group appropriate reading and writing exercises around these lessons posted on Encounter in the next day or so.

I personally love the work Kate and her foundation are doing and the online forum Encounter Edu uses is perfect for STEM online resources during the times we are in today.

If you are interested, select one or both of the lessons below, click the ‘Book Now’ button and sign you or your class up for it. The lessons are free and the documentary is also available for a small cost.

Stay safe, stay healthy.

— Daniel

How this all came together – in Kate’s own words

Nearly one year ago Sarasota Military Academy and The Inspire Project began organizing the Project Earth Day. I was honored to be invited to screen The Last Animals and speak to the students who would be in attendance. 

Weeks before quarantine came into full force, we decided to prepare for a possible quarantine. Rather than cancel the event in response to the COVID 19, we decided that we would share the day with schools and students everywhere. On Earth Day 2020, it’s more important than ever for students to learn about and discuss the many consequences of wildlife trafficking, including zoonotic disease, and hear directly from people working to save our shared planet. 

Encounter and SEAS are creating conservation literacy exercises for middle grade and high school students which will be posted in the next few days. The Last Animals educational distributor is providing streaming licenses for participating schools. Individual homeschool licenses are available for parents to reach students in places where schools have been suspended. This panel will be open to any school or individual, but of course more meaningful with the perspective of the film. 

Encounter Edu specializes in open source education resources, which is why The Last Animals Foundation has partnered with Encounter. One of our primary goals is to raise awareness about wildlife trafficking and increase conservation literacy. Please check out this Earth Day live link: https://encounteredu.com/live-lessons/earth-day-live-2020  You will find details on the panels on the bottom of the page or can directly connect to them here: Panel 1 and  Panel 2 which will be hosted by British conservationist youth activist, Bella Lack  After years of working on these issues, the power and emotion of her speech at the IWTC in London in the fall of 2018 inspired me and also brought tears to my eyes. 

Please spread the word with educators, parents and anyone you feel may be interested in tuning into the live event, and perhaps watching The Last Animals in advance of the event as a learning exercise. For all those struggling with the practicalities of homeschooling during quarantine, Encounter Edu is a wonderful resource, now and always, to creatively educate the next generation. 

I am also pleased to share that The Last Animals Foundation has been supporting the construction of a new educational and community center in Garamba National park. For every dollar raised for this initiative, the EU has been match funding. I made a commitment to help the rangers and their families featured in the film, and I am proud to say that the foundation is honoring that commitment. 

All my best,

Kate Brooks

Summary: Checked-in, got settled and caught up with everyone on Whatsapp!

I arrived in Toronto, chauffeured to my hotel in Markham and checked in to the Hilton Suites Markham, keeping a lot of distance between me and the staff. I will do everything possible to ensure I am not the cause of anyone contracting Coronavirus, though as of yet there are no indications I have it myself. Coming from low impacted countries (India / UAE) I still feel there’s a low chance I’ve picked it up.

What has been lovely since arriving is the ability to Whatsapp call friends and family! So far I’ve video called family in Ontario, Jamaica and spoken to friends in the US and UK. The UAE telecom companies have starved the local population from connecting with the rest of the world and I feel that’s a crime. They should join the rest of the modern world by allowing open video communication.

A chauffeur to the airport, business class lounge and an Emirates business trip to Toronto. Now that’s the right way to leave Dubai!

Attempt #1 was a bit weird. 30 years in Dubai, a life of being Emirates staff and I ended up leaving through Sharjah on Air Arabia? No, that wouldn’t do. I’m happy I got back to spend a little time with some friends and leave the right way.

For reasons you all can guess, I’m off to Canada! Leaving tonight on Emirates and keeping my fingers crossed both the flight and the border will stay open as planned.

Two days in Toronto, a drive down to London and then self impriso… sorry… isolation.

Current location: Dubai, UAE

The New Zealand government has begun deporting tourists who did not have sufficient self isolation plans. Despite the campervan company confirming their vehicles can be used for self isolation and that I think my plans would suffice, I don’t have to risk the long term consequences deportation would bring, and so I shall not.

This narrows options considerably: stay in Dubai on a 30 day visit visa or return to Canada.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has warned all Canadians overseas to return to Canada while flights are still available, and when doing so to go into 14-day self isolation.

This adventure has come to a halt before it really began. Decision time.

[13 Mar 2020 edit] When I saw New Zealand’s announcement I decided to move fast. Now enroute to Dubai.

After a lot of consideration about Coronavirus and the travel restrictions now being placed on travellers, I’ve decided to accelerate my plans to travel to New Zealand. I don’t take this decision lightly, there’s a lot to consider.

Why move on?

Five days after I arrived in Goa, India shut down the ability for any foreigner to get a visa, going as far as to even cancel pre-approved visas of anyone who didn’t arrive here before today – 13th March 2020.

This has had a catastrophic impact on tourist industry especially in places such as Goa who rely on a the tail end of peak season leading up to the monsoons in late April. Even the fabulous yoga retreat in Palolem that I’m staying saw 80% of its future reservations cancelled, forcing them to close earlier than expected. A nearby yoga teacher training centre in Agonda now offers 60% off to anyone who will join it’s next training course, hoping to grab some of the yogis who remain. This is a cataclysmic reduction of revenue to the region.

Sounds like a good time to be in India… no?

Well yes… and no. I’ve considered staying here as I’m one of the few that has the time, flexibility and – most importantly – visa to adjust plans and go explore India. I’m sure the Taj Mahal and other top tourist destinations will be far emptier than ever before and I could snap up tours at a discount. There’s definitely appeal in taking this time to knock off some bucket list items.

However… that would be opportunistic and short sighted. I didn’t come here to be a deal grabbing tourist and I didn’t even come to see the sites. I came to get out of Dubai, do some self reflection and work on my yoga practice.

The tsunami approaching India

I don’t think everyone here realizes it but I believe the Coronavirus will hit India in a massive way despite the commendable efforts made here by the government to flatten the curve. By doing all they can ahead of the storm they’re increasing the odds they can drag out the local epidemic and ultimately save lives. Regardless, I believe it will eventually spread around India quickly and that the health systems here will struggle to keep up. Also, more as a side note, when the numbers swell the government will be forced to cancel all public gatherings and start to close some of those same sites I would want to visit, neutralizing any reason to stay.

In the end I’m forced to ask myself, do I want to be here when that storm hits? I’m definitely young, fit and healthy enough to weather it and the risk to my age group is small but by staying I will restrict my future movement and that is my biggest concern. My real destination has been New Zealand for some time and the window to travel there will be closing fast.

So on to New Zealand. My preferred carrier is Emirates, especially after looking at the work they’re doing to keep aircraft clean. That means I’ll need to go Goa > Mumbai > Dubai > Auckland and sounds like I’ll be back in Dubai much earlier than expected.