20,000 climate-friendly kilometres

People — Jul 17, 2024
Caroline Begle, CIPRA International

At the end of June 2024, 35 young people – previously unknown to each other – met in Slovenia. They were part of the Yoalin project, in which 105 (out of over 2,200 applicants) are travelling the Alps this summer in a climate-friendly way using an Interrail ticket.

The 35 or so people travelled a total of 20,000 kilometres by train and bus to the kick-off event in Ljubljana – the equivalent of more than 16 Alpine crossings from Monaco to the Slovenian capital. Travelling by car or by plane, they would have generated some four to five thousand kilograms of CO2. By choosing this way, only a fraction was however generated, namely around 600 kilograms. The group that met in Slovenia was diverse in nature, including an asset manager from Luxembourg, a civil engineer who works on sustainable timber construction and a scientist who has develops a board game in which clever moves are used to save the climate.

Visit to a mountain farm

The group visited an organic farm in Krvavec/SI at the foot of a ski resort that is facing major challenges owing to a lack of snow. The young organic farmer spoke enthusiastically about his farm and his innovative approaches, explaining how important it is as a mountain farmer to build up various mainstays in order to secure a livelihood. In addition to climate-friendly travel using public transport, Yoalin also focuses on encounters with the local population and an understanding of ecological relationships.

Tips for the travelling adventure

The kick-off event had even more to offer: joint travel planning, locating favourite places on a map of the Alps, sharing tips and tricks and learning more about why a small carbon footprint is important. Sandeep Mishra from Paris, who is travelling through the Alps with Yoalin this summer, was enthusiastic about the event: “The value of our trip lies not only in the places we saw, but also in the memories we took home and the people we met along the way. Each and every participant plays a part in making this a truly extraordinary adventure.”

CIPRA and the CIPRA Youth Advisory Council have been implementing the YOALIN project since 2018 with the support of the ministries of the Alpine countries.

 

Further information: www.yoalin.org (en), www.turizem-kuhar.si/brunarica-soncek (sl)