Traveling is an exciting thing to be doing. Whether it’s for work, school or a treat yourself kind of trip there are many ways to do it. As a treat yourself kind of trip opportunity came up at the end of the summer after my internship had ended on the south coast, I found myself traveling in a different and more sustainable way than I had before. The last time I was abroad was over a year ago when I went to Vancouver, B.C. for a weekend trip. This time I would be going to three countries in East Asia. Vietnam, South Korea and Japan (with an additional three day stop over in Hawaii to visit family). Having never been to Asia before but having a fair amount of international travel experience and having just spent the last 10 weeks working with OSU Extension and Oregon Sea Grant’s Tourism Department, I wanted to be a sustainable tourist.

As a Senior at OSU with a tight budget I thought being a sustainable tourist was going to be hard. However, it turned out to be easier than I thought. I stayed in hostels and connected with the locals. With a little research I was able to find places in my budget that had everything I needed: A clean bed to sleep in, a shower and free breakfast. I saved myself a lot of money staying in shared dormitory style rooms. Staying in a hostel allowed me to have a little extra spending money, meet travelers from all over the world and most importantly, connect with the locals. According to Hostelling International, “true sustainability involves the development of clear and measurable objectives” in the areas of social, ecological and economical.

These three areas were all achieved during my stay. The first morning of my trip abroad was in Hanoi, Vietnam. It was pouring down rain and my travel partners and I didn’t know what to do. So, we turned to the hostel employees and were just in time for a walking city tour. There were only three of us on the tour and our Vietnamese guide, Bob was an 18 year old, aspiring to be a tour guide. The guided tour with Bob was a great experience. He made a point to learn our names and ask where we were from and a little about why we were traveling and then he told us about him and why he’s working in the hostel and providing guided tours. As he navigated us through the streets of Old Town Hanoi, making sure we learned the proper etiquette of crossing the street (make eye contact with drivers and keep moving) and answering our questions about what there is to do around town, he stopped at a few turning points to tell us a little about the local history.

It was a great introduction to Vietnam and was one step to being a sustainable tourist.

Art influences, inspires, educates and mobilizes the community it thrives in.

For the small coastal town of Bandon, Ore., art has brought the locals and tourists together. Galleries in old town Bandon showcase and sell thousands of works made by local artists and local artists’ works are being seen, talked about and sold all over the world. The art movement has brought attention to an underrated type of economic stimulus. Art is attracting people to small towns like Bandon and there are many great examples to showcase.

Local motel co-owner of La Kris Inn, Susan Dimock is a professional photographer who has influenced nature photography in the area. Known for her stunning shots from Face Rock Beach, she and her husband, who is also a photographer, have prints being sold in a number of places including neighboring towns such as Coos Bay.

As she produces her art and sells them she is also expanding her business due to a niche in the market that needed to be filled, guided photography sessions with a local photographer, a great example of sustainable tourism.

“People see me as a good resource to guide them and teach them on the local beaches,” said Dimock. “I don’t put all my eggs in one basket, I kind of diversify. I sell down at the galleries and off my website and then most recently I’ve been doing some private lessons on the beaches. People have been calling me, that’s where social media comes in handy, and they pay a good fee.”

Another great example of how art has brought in many tourists is actually one of Dimock’s clients. Dimock is contracted to make a calendar for the legendary artist, Denny Dyke. Dyke is a sand artist, Circles in the Sand, that organizes and creates

labyrinths during the low-tides of the beach since 2011.

Fast forward to today, Dyke has transformed his art into a community event, and for the last five years has been raking circles in the sand as a full time public venture. With dozens of labyrinths drawn during the summer season, over 20,000 people have walked the paths of the labyrinth, attracting locals and tourists alike from all over the world.

A non-profit art gallery located in the heart of Bandon is a prime example of how art can be used to promote sustainability but is also an attraction for tourists to see while visiting the area. Washed Ashore creates exhibits and art pieces from plastics that wash ashore Oregon beaches. They encourage people to reduce their plastic wastes by showing them through art how much plastics are in our oceans. They also educate the harmful effects it has on marine life and the ecosystem as a whole.

Art is a tool, a passion, a form of communication. It is an outlet to express what is going on in the world and a way for individuals to share their imagination with others. Art brings the community together in many ways, indirect or direct.

For more information, please see:

http://www.susandimock.com

https://www.sandypathbandon.com

https://washedashore.org

Shellfish and shellfish harvesting are both important to Oregon. Shellfish species include mollusks; included in the phylum Mollusca is the class Bivalvia. Bivalves are species that are laterally compressed and have a two-part, hinged shell. Bivalves include clams, scallops, mussels, and oysters.

Microplastics are defined as plastic particles that are smaller than 5 millimeters. They can be bits of plastic that have broken off of larger plastic debris or microbeads, which are small pieces of polyethylene added to health and beauty products.

How are bivalves and microplastics connected? Well, most bivalves are filter feeders, meaning that they bring in water and use their gills to capture food, like phytoplankton, and then expel the rest of the water. Microplastics can get trapped in the organism, and seafood consumers end up ingesting the plastics, too. In fact, a recent study demonstrated that 0.36 to 0.47 particles of microplastics per gram are found in mussels and oysters. That can add up to one individual consuming 11,000 plastic particles per year.

It’s important to limit how much plastic we use and to keep our oceans clean. Not only to protect marine ecosystems, but to ensure that we are consuming clean seafood.

Sources:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/microplastics

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/microplastics.html

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/09/19/551261222/guess-whats-showing-up-in-our-shellfish-one-word-plastics

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749114002425

Photo:

https://inhabitat.com/microplastics-have-been-found-in-mussels-everywhere-scientists-have-looked/