Amanda Sanchez, North Carolina State University’s Sustainability in New Zealand student blogger, writes:

Photo Credit: Jamie Stapleton, a sealion on elm Wildlife Tours

Our trip began in Dunedin, on the South Island of New Zealand where we quickly learned that the people here in New Zealand have a strong understanding of the environment and a motivation to protect it.

This week we visited the Otago Peninsula with Elm Wildlife Tours, exploring the habitat of fur seals, slightly terrifying hooker sea lions, yellow-eyed penguins, and the endangered royal albatross. During our close encounters with wildlife, we observed the sustainable techniques of Elm Wildlife Tours that allows their business to thrive, while also helping to preserve the unique coastal ecosystem. The conservation area provides jobs for local people, habitats for protected animals, and an opportunity for tourists to learn about and enjoy the wildlife without disturbing them or their environment.

“Why do we do the things we do” art piece from Dunedin Public Art Gallery

Elm Wildlife Tours is a great example of how economic success and environmental protection can coincide. This experience made me reconsider how I make daily decisions. From the products I choose at the grocery store to the routes I drive around town, my decisions have an environmental impact. Too often we might think that to consider the environment first would be to give up our own luxuries, however, emerging practices such as that of Elm Wildlife Tours show that a strong motivation to conserve nature does not mean we need to sacrifice everything; it can in fact be mutually beneficial. I hope that this example can be an encouragement to consider our environment more often in our everyday lives.