Sustainability
Sustainable
is given three definitions in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: “Able to be used
without being completely used up or destroyed”; “Involving methods that do not
completely use up or destroy natural resources”; “Able to last or continue for
a long time”. [1]
Oxford University Press’s Dictionary defines sustainable as: “Able to be maintained at a certain rate or level”;
“Able to be upheld or defended”.[2]
The United States Environmental Protection Agency assesses sustainability by
considering “The Three Pillars of Sustainability”. This construct describes a
balanced approach to long-term social, environmental, and economic objectives.[3]
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| Taking a break from climbing O'Cebreiro, a 1,300m mountain. |
The
Horizon Fund gave me a grant to compare the sustainability of the 545-mile
pilgrimage called El Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain (El Camino) to the
John Muir Trail (JMT) in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. I wanted to
assess the ability of the trails to ‘last or continue for a long time’. In
order to do this, I evaluated the economic, environmental, and social
sustainability of each of the trails. My
question: would El Camino de Santiago and the John Muir Trail be ‘able to be
maintained at a certain rate or level’? I wanted to find out.
El Camino de Santiago
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| Entering the city of Santiago! |
El
Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of St. James, is a pilgrimage where
travelers walk various routes across Spain or Portugal to the shrine of the
apostle St. James the Great in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in
Galicia in northwestern Spain. This summer, from June 10th to July 9th,
I completed the French Route as I started in Sean Jean Pied de Port, France and
ended my walk in Finisterre, Spain (55 miles beyond Santiago de Compostela).
During this journey, I walked 879km (545 miles) in 30 days.
Along
the way, I hiked an average of 18.2 miles a day. I carried my clothes and my sleeping
bag in my backpack and, since the Camino passes through a village or town every
five to ten kilometers, I bought all of my food as I went at local cafes and
small shops (‘tiendas’). Each night I
stayed in albergues, which are discounted pilgrim hostels with shared sleeping
areas. These communal settings encouraged conversation and I was able to meet
many people from all over the world. My original intention was to interview the
hostel owners, however all of them only spoke Spanish and unfortunately, I didn’t
have a strong enough Spanish skillset to
converse with them about sustainability. Instead, I made many observations
along the way in order to assess the Camino. The path that I followed for 545
miles wound through farmland, forests, and desert landscapes, beside small
roads and sometimes along main highways, and through hundreds of small
villages. The path was usually so wide that so that you could walk next to one
or a few people. I went with a friend, and it was nice to walk besides him and
have conversations to make the miles pass. We also sometimes walked with other
people from different countries and got to exchange stories about their lives
and share memories of the path that we had walked so far. In 2013, 215,880
pilgrims
completed El Camino de Santiago. Of these pilgrims, 55% were men, 45%
were woman; 56% were 30-60 years of age, 28% were under 30 years old, and 16%
were over 60 years old; 49% were from Spain, and the remainder came from most
popularly Germany, Italy, Portugal, the United States, France, and Ireland; 70%
walked the French route, while the others walked through Portugal or on other
routes through Spain.[4]
The French path, which I traveled, experiences the most foot traffic, and has
the most impact from pilgrims.
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| Me and Jordan, my hiking parter, after walking our first 100 miles! |
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| El Camino de Santiago |
Economic Sustainability
Economic sustainability
is the ability of an economy to support a defined level of economic production
indefinitely.[5]
The
Camino stimulates the local economy in all of the small towns along the way. I
never once purchased food from a chain store, and instead I purchased from
local cafes and independent markets. Each morning we bought breakfast (which
usually consisted of a baguette with butter and jam), as well as
coffee from a local café, in whichever village we were staying in. During the day we walked
through many fields
of wheat, which most likely contributed to the ingredients for our bread. We
also passed many dairy farms, which helped source the milk in the café con leche, my morning drink, and
the dairy farms contributed to the butter on my toast as well. All of the meat
that I consumed during our dinners at night was from Spain. Given that Spain is
a relatively small country, all of the food was fairly local and the money that
I spent was for the most part helping to fuel locals and their livelihoods, as
their businesses were dependent upon ‘pilgrims’ who were doing the Camino.
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| My typical breakfast of toast with jam and butter. |
The
Camino helped to sustain hostels, cafes, restaurants, and small corner stores
in hundreds of villages. We passed through tiny villages where the only visible
industry
and source of income was the local hostel with an attached café. Other
than the hospilateros, or people who
owned the hostels, it seemed as if the populations of the small villages
consisted of an older, retired demographic unless the village was within close
proximity to a larger city. The Camino proved to be economically sustainable as
it provides current and future jobs for locals in Spain. The number of people
who complete the Camino will likely continue to grow, and thus more hostels and
restaurants along the way may need to be opened up.
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| My favorite: cafe con lech |
One
afternoon I had some tea and read at a local café that had been opened by a
Spanish and Croatian couple who had completed the Camino five years prior. They
met and walked the Camino together and they loved the small town called Bercianos
del Real Camino so much when they passed through it on their Camino that they
decided to move there and open their own café. They saw the need for a relaxing
afternoon spot, and five years later their café was thriving. Our trip also included a stay in a massive and
modern hostel that was less than a year old in a smaller rural village. I
predict that new cafes and hostels will continue to open along the Way, as the
Camino is sometimes referred to, thus creating more economic growth for these
small villages.
Economically,
the Camino has potential to sustain itself. As it brings in a source of local
income, it provides locals with employment and supports them and their
families. I would add that I would have
liked to see more promotion of environmental practices at these hostels and
cafés as there were seldom any signs that indicated that they considered
themselves as stewards of the land. If the local industries encouraged
sustainable environmental practices, then pilgrims might become more aware of
their impacts on the land.
Environmental Sustainability
Environmental sustainability is the ability of the environment to
support a defined level of environmental quality and natural resource
extraction rates indefinitely.[6]
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| The typical width of the path. |
As
stated earlier, the path of the Camino runs alongside main roads, smaller
roads, through farmers’ fields, through narrow village streets, and sometimes
exists as a small independent trail. Unlike the JMT, the Camino does not run
through protected land and there are no expectations of the ‘pilgrims’ to leave
no trace. Every few kilometers there were trashcans to dispose garbage in,
however there was no one to monitor the cleanliness of the whole Camino. I saw
much more trash on the Camino than I did on the JMT, though for the most part
the Camino didn’t have too much trash along side the trail. While on the JMT
you have no choice but to carry out all of your trash, so consequently you
become much more aware of all of the packaging you use. On the contrary, on the
Camino you can buy a snack in a wrapper, eat it five minutes later, throw away
the wrapper, and then forget that you even used a piece of plastic in the
consumption of your snack. I don’t think that the Camino did a good job of
increasing my awareness of my rate of consumption of resources.
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| One of the many yellow arrows along the way. |
As
in my everyday life at home in the United States, I used running showers, was
able to flush the toilet, and had access to all necessary amenities along the
way. By doing the Camino, I don’t think that my personal footprint on the
environment shrunk at all. I consumed natural resources everyday, as I do when
I am living in the States, including having access to fresh food, and having a
mattress to sleep on every night. I don’t think that the Camino make me any
more of a steward of the land than I was before I was there, and it didn’t
challenge me to think about my environmental impact. I loved spending most of
the day out on the trail hiking under the sun, however I was always rewarded
with ‘typical’, first world accommodations at the end of each day.
Social Sustainability
Social sustainability
is the ability of a social system, such as a country, family, or organization,
to function at a defined level of social well-being and harmony indefinitely.[7]
The
interactions that I had with many of the people on the Camino gave me hope that
the Camino could last a long time. The people were definitely the most
uplifting part of the whole experience. One morning, we stopped in a small tienda to buy our usual supplies for
lunch. As we were outside the store packing up our goodies into our backpacks,
the woman, who owned the store and sold
us our food, asked if we wanted some
tea. We welcomed her offer and she escorted us to sit on a handcrafted wooden
bench in front of her shop in the warm morning sun. She proceeded to bring us
not only wonderfully warm lemon-infused honey tea, but she also brought us
bowls of raisins and bowls of biscuits and chocolate. We sat there in pure
bliss, happy to have some snacks after being on the trail all morning. After we
finished soaking in all the delicious flavors, I approached her and asked
“¿Cuánto cuesta?” She replied that she didn’t need any money, and that our
happiness was enough for her. I was blown away by her generosity and her
genuine desire to make our days better. On top of that, her husband sent us on
our way with a freshly picked bag of cherries.
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| Enjoying the sun and our treats from the kind woman. |
We
received many other acts of kindness along the way. Once we were sitting on a
park bench and a fellow pilgrim gave us a huge bag of cherries. A man in a
local café gave us little charms with the local saint of the area. We got two
free cookies from bakers, and the list goes on. It wasn’t so
much about what we
received, but the gesture of people going out of their way to be generous to
us. This gave me faith in humanity and I now believe that good interactions
with people in any setting potentially increases the social sustainability of
that place. As a result of my intimate and kind interactions with the people on
the Camino, I feel a stewardship for the Camino and I want other people to be
able to have the same experience that I had. I want my children, and
grandchildren to be able to embark on the same incredible journey that I went
on. I think that when people develop ties to a place, the probability of them
wanting to protect that area in the future significantly increases. The social
support for the Camino is immense, as was proven
through passionate
conversations with fellow pilgrims towards the end of the Camino. Each of them
had had numerous wonderful social experiences, and I knew that many of them
would be back to complete the Camino. I know for myself that that definitely
was not my last Camino.
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| Cherries a kind pilgrim gave us. |
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| Me, Jordan, and Susanne from Ireland, a sweet woman who we walked with one day and shared a couple meals with. She was the first person we saw when we got to the Cathedral in Santiago. |
John Muir Trail Evaluation of
Sustainability
The John Muir Trail
The
John Muir Trail (JMT) is a 212-mile long trail that winds through the Sierra
Nevada
mountain range of California. The JMT begins in Yosemite National Park
and passes through five different wilderness areas before ending at Mount
Whitney—the highest point in the contiguous United States.[8]
This summer I started the trail in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, hiking in about
5 miles from Florence Lake to join the JMT, and ended my journey in Tuolumne
Meadows in Yosemite National Park. We hiked
South to North, opposing the direction of most hikers who travel North to
South. The entire section of the trail that I hiked was above 7,000 feet and
the highest point I reached was 11,056 feet at Donahue Pass. I hiked 98 miles
in 10 days, and climbed over 18,000 vertical feet.
The
JMT is much more isolated than the Camino. I had some interactions with other
hikers as I passed them on the trail and had some brief conversations, but for
the most part, I spent most of the day alone. Each night I camped at a personal
campsite, so contrary to the Camino, I wasn’t living in a community setting. I
definitely had less human interaction on the JMT, but I still encountered about
50 hikers each day in passing. Given
that my dad and I were doing the trail in the opposite direction of
most
people, we rarely encountered the same person twice. The trail itself on the
JMT was also much narrower than the Camino path. You could seldom fit two
hikers side by side on the paths as they were carved into mountainsides and
carefully constructed from surrounding material such as granite rocks. The
trail was much more isolated from civilization and the entire trail winded
through protected wild land; hence, I became much more acquainted with the proximate
flora and fauna.
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| Sallie Keyes Lake |
Economic sustainability
Economic sustainability
is the ability of an economy to support a defined level of economic production
indefinitely.[9]
The
Parks Service is struggling with obtaining enough funding to make the JMT
economically sustainable. While on the
trail there is no charge to hike on the winding trails through the mountains,
however there is a great deal of labor, and hence funding, that is associated
with maintaining trails and
enforcing environmental practices. On my eighth day
out on the trail, I encountered my first ranger. She informed me that she was
the only ranger employed the entire section from the border of Yosemite
National Park to Mount Whitney, which is about a 180-mile stretch of the trail.
She said that the wilderness area that she was being employed by had a severe
lack of funding and she was the only ranger that they could afford during the
summer season. This is unfortunate considering that she is supposed to monitor
this whole section of the trail and ensure that hikers are being environmental
stewards of the land and following all of the ‘Leave No Trace principles’ that
hikers hopefully commit to when using the trails. The lack of rangers means
that there could potentially be more acts of violation of the wilderness rules.
Upon entering Yosemite National Park during the last two days of my trip I
learned that Yosemite National Park employs at least 5 rangers for a much
shorter stretch of the trail and also had enough funding to employ five or six
trail crews that performed maintenance, which decreases the chance of the trail
widening and overrunning the natural ecosystems.
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| Rosaline Lake |
I
think that there is potential to increase the funding for park rangers, which
in turn would increase the monitoring of hikers on the trail, which would
potentially enhance the environmental sustainability, as there would be more of
an incentive for hikers to practice ‘Leave No Trace’ principles. To obtain my
permit for the JMT, I only had to pay a $5 processing fee. I think that a potential
solution would be for the Parks Service to charge an additional fee for the
permit that could be distributed to the
various wilderness areas that encompass
the trail. Part of the reason that Yosemite National Park had such a large
workforce was because as everyone enters into the park, they have to pay a $20
fee per vehicle. This money contributes to the salary of all of the trail crews
and forest rangers. In turn, trail crew employment ensures trail maintenance
which reduces erosion and encroachment into the local ecosystem. The rangers are able to make sure that hikers
are being environmental stewards and also that they have a permit to be out on
the trail, as the number of hikers on the trails is limited every year.
Environmental sustainability
Environmental sustainability is the ability of the environment to
support a defined level of environmental quality and natural resource
extraction rates indefinitely.[10]
The
John Muir Trail and supporting parks in the area do a great job in
communicating how to be an environmental steward as you hike and camp along the
trail. At the entry point I used to the JMT,
and along all of the entrances
onto the trail, the ‘Leave No Trace’ principles are outlined on large signs. These
same principles are printed on the wilderness permit required to enter the
area. These principles include: plan ahead and prepare, travel and camp on
durable surfaces, dispose of waste properly, leave what you find, minimize
campfire hazards, respect wildlife, and be considerate of other visitors.[11] I
think that most everyone I encountered along the JMT were very familiar with
these practices. The JMT also limits the number of backpackers that can access
the trail every year. This quota helps reduce the effects on wildlife and helps
preserve the land so that the use of the JMT can be maintained for many years
to come.
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| The sunset on our last night on the JMT over Lyell Canyon. |
Another
important practice that is specific to the JMT is storing your food in approved
bear containers because the area previously had big problems with bears’ access
to human food, thus interfering with their natural food sourcing. Since the
implementation of the bear container practices, the bear populations have
become healthier and less dependent on humans.[12] I
became more aware of
my environmental impact on the JMT than I did on the
Camino. I had to pack everything out that I carried in. At the end of the trip,
we had a big bag of all of our trash, which consisted of the packaging of all
of our food during our 10-day adventure. This put my environmental footprint
into clear perspective as I could visually see all of the trash generated from my
entire trip. I know that if I had had to carry all of the trash I produced on
the Camino, my bag would have been much heavier at the end and I might have
been more thoughtful about my consumption along the way.
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| Me and my 50 pound backpack overlooking Thousand Island Lake. |
On the JMT I became increasingly aware of
living simply. My dad and I ate only what we could carry (which was 35 pounds
of food for 10 days for two people), drank just enough water as we had to hand pump
a filter for clean water, and ate just enough to sustain our energy as we
conquered mountain passes and hiked over rocky terrain. Upon entry back into
“normal” life in civilization, I feel
much more conscious of my consumption of
packaged goods, my water use, and I am more thankful for the little things,
such as a warm shower, a flushing toilet, and a comfortable bed. I am also more
aware of properly disposing waste, such as composting and recycling. Other
hikers were also amazed at how little they need to survive.
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| My dad and I passing my 600th mile walked this summer. |
Social sustainability
Social sustainability
is the ability of a social system, such as a country, family, or organization,
to function at a defined level of social well-being and harmony indefinitely.[13]
As
mentioned earlier, the John Muir Trail seasonally limits the number of ‘through’
hikers in order to preserve the wilderness. There is a fine balance between
human usage of the land and their interference with wildlife. In order to
completely preserve the wilderness, there needs to be a complete
separation of humans and the land. However this is not a reality along a well-traveled trail. Thus,
humans must control their behavior
and respect the wildlife around them. This includes carrying their food in bear
containers, so that bears do not become reliant on human food, as well as
camping in only designated camping areas so that flora does not get destroyed. Limiting
the population of people along the trail helps minimize human impacts year to
year and ensures that people whom are on the trail have a permit and are
familiar with sustainable backpacking practices. The limitation of the number
of hikers is crucial for the area to continue to be preserved.
separation of humans and the land. However this is not a reality along a well-traveled trail. Thus,
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| Sallie Keyes Lake. |
While
in the backcountry on the JMT, I feel as if I developed a spiritual connection
to nature. Many of the people who I encountered on the trail were astounded by
their surroundings and taken
aback by the raw beauty that the Sierras
demonstrated. It truly is a special place to spend a prolonged period of time
and everyone that I talked to felt the same way about the mountains. My
increased affinity with nature will cause me to take a stand for even more
environmental issues in the future. I know that once I start donating to
organizations that protecting National Parks, the ‘untouched’ areas of nature
will be at the top of my list. I also feel more confident defending my view of
the importance of protecting the environment. Previously, I would sometimes
feel shy speaking up about environmental issues, but after feeling as if nature
and myself were part of one interconnected system and living in the mountains
and off of the land for a week and a half, I feel a responsibility to express
my views and attitudes. I think that my experience will inspire others to
immerse themselves in nature and I hope that they too will feel a strong
connection to the land.
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| Marie Lakes. |
I
think that when you have a profound experience and then you turn around and
share it, there can be an exponential affect. For example, after the Camino and
before the JMT, I was training for the JMT by walking an 8-mile loop in Redwood
Regional Park in Oakland, California near my house with a large backpacking
pack on. I received a number of curious looks with people focusing on my large
load. As I was walking past one man, he
inquired about why I was carrying my large pack. I told him that I was training
to do part of the John Muir Trail and I ended up walking with him for a mile or
two. He told me that he had had the idea of doing the John Muir Trail in the
back of his mind for 10 years and he told me that I inspired him to “finally do
the damn thing” after 10 years of being slightly hesitant. We talked about a
documentary that had recently come out about a group of artists who did the JMT
and as we parted our ways at a junction in the trail, he said meeting me was a
sign and wished me ‘happy trails’. Understandably, not everyone will be
stimulated by my time spent out in nature, but as long as it touches a few
people, then my experience will have a ‘ripple effect’ upon others as they perhaps
seek a similar experience and then pass this on to others in their lives. Sharing
stories can thus have an exponential effect on society and its trends.
The
Horizon Fund has given me the opportunity to expand upon my classroom knowledge
and
given me the opportunity to apply my comprehension to real life
circumstances. I have learned that sustainability is multifaceted and requires
evaluation from so many different positions. Economic, environmental, and
social sustainability overlap, intertwine, and often are inseparable. I have
developed a more critical eye to view the world with and like to think that
through my experiences this summer, I have become an environmental steward of
the land and will do my best in the future to protect this beautiful earth.
[1] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sustainability
[3] http://epa.gov/ncer/rfa/forms/sustainability_primer_v7.pdf
[4] http://www.caminodesantiago.me/2013-statistics-for-the-camino-de-santiago/
[5] http://www.thwink.org/sustain/glossary/ThreePillarsOfSustainability.htm
[6] http://www.thwink.org/sustain/glossary/ThreePillarsOfSustainability.htm
[7] http://www.thwink.org/sustain/glossary/ThreePillarsOfSustainability.htm
[8] http://johnmuirtrail.org/
[9] http://www.thwink.org/sustain/glossary/ThreePillarsOfSustainability.htm
[10] http://www.thwink.org/sustain/glossary/ThreePillarsOfSustainability.htm
[11] https://lnt.org/learn/7-principles
[12] http://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/backcountry-basics/food/protecting-your-food/
[13] http://www.thwink.org/sustain/glossary/ThreePillarsOfSustainability.htm
