As vacations evolve, more and more families are spending less time on the beach soaking up the rays or just playing on the sand. A popular vacation activity emerging is sustainable tourism or nature-based tourism. Families have discovered the fun of searching for dolphins playing in the waves or watching pelicans fly low over the water, and are now looking to expand that experience.
The Carlsbad Convention & Visitors Bureau recognizes the potential of this emerging industry and after much research on the subject, I found the following definitions to be a big help in the search for Carlsbad's hidden natural treasures, not found at the beach.
Nature-based tourism is a more generic term for any activity or travel experience with a focus on nature. Camping at South Carlsbad State Beach falls into this category as well as whale watching excursions. These types of vacations may or may not be environmentally sustainable or responsible.
Sustainable tourism has been defined as any form of tourism that does not reduce the availability of resources and does not inhibit future visitors from enjoying the same experience. If the presence of large numbers of visitors disturbs an animal's mating patterns so that there are fewer of that species in the future, then that visit was not sustainable. Kayaking on the Agua Heidonda Lagoon is a good example of sustainable tourism. Deer hunting in Big Bear is not.
With new knowledge in hand, I took a beautiful day to discover what Carlsbad had that would meet the criteria for nature-based and sustainable tourism. Surely Batiquitos Lagoon would fit the bill, but I had to be sure. I met up with Dave Dyer, a docent for Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation and an entomologist. Finding and seeing bugs through Dave's eyes was a whole new experience. We found almost microscopic bugs that live in galls, which are funny looking bumps stuck to leaves, tiny little spittle bugs that attach themselves to plants with a foamy substance, trap door spiders with a home so well camouflaged that most visitors would not be able to find it. Tree frogs, bull frogs, lizards and bugs that hatch inside fallen eucalyptus trees and create a maze of trails that will amaze any age visitor. Various stages of butterflies and tiny little wasps and praying mantis egg mounds were all a part of Dave's tour.
But, the most beautiful creature of the day was a very large spider called silver argiope. Dave found a string-like anchor web attached to a post and followed it to a web, and there she was, a very leggy spider with a beautiful silver abdomen and a yellow marking much like a Greek letter.
She was perched in the middle of her handiwork amid a beautiful zigzag design called stablimentem and feasting on a juicy bug. Later, we were joined by Jim Sanseverino another docent for the foundation and an expert on plants that grow at the lagoon. Some of the plants that grow in the lagoon environment are pickle plant, lemonade berries, plants that are highly toxic and poisonous, salt grass and a large variety of reeds and willows. All which are home to, or capable of sustaining the lives of the wild creatures that inhabit the lagoon.
I thanked Dave and Jim and commented that I have a new appreciation for the lagoon. Dave quoted John Muier who once said, “People don't notice things until you put their nose into it.” How true that is and I can attest that I would never have seen that lizard poop until Dave almost put my nose into it.
The fall migration of birds should start in September and the lagoon foundation has experts on birding and I hope to learn as much about birds as I have about bugs and plants.
After a day of outdoor exploring away from the beach, my observation is that Carlsbad can claim some sustainable tourism and a variety of nature-based tourism activities. This is indeed encouraging for our huge tourism industry since industry professionals have determined that a sizable segment of visitors desires this type of tourism.
In recent years, there has been a gradual trend for many ecotourists to be less intellectually curious, socially responsible, environmentally concerned and politically aware than in the past. Increasing numbers of older, wealthier and “softer” travelers are now opting for comfort over conservation. David Western, a conservationist with the Wildlife Conservation Society and chairman of the African Conservation Centre in Nairobi, Kenya once stated that, nature-based tourists are “entertained by nature, but not unduly concerned with its preservation.”
The Carlsbad Convention & Visitors Bureau will continue to promote Carlsbad's natural treasures to the burgeoning Nature-Tourism industry.
The Carlsbad Convention & Visitors Bureau recognizes the potential of this emerging industry and after much research on the subject, I found the following definitions to be a big help in the search for Carlsbad's hidden natural treasures, not found at the beach.
Nature-based tourism is a more generic term for any activity or travel experience with a focus on nature. Camping at South Carlsbad State Beach falls into this category as well as whale watching excursions. These types of vacations may or may not be environmentally sustainable or responsible.
Sustainable tourism has been defined as any form of tourism that does not reduce the availability of resources and does not inhibit future visitors from enjoying the same experience. If the presence of large numbers of visitors disturbs an animal's mating patterns so that there are fewer of that species in the future, then that visit was not sustainable. Kayaking on the Agua Heidonda Lagoon is a good example of sustainable tourism. Deer hunting in Big Bear is not.
With new knowledge in hand, I took a beautiful day to discover what Carlsbad had that would meet the criteria for nature-based and sustainable tourism. Surely Batiquitos Lagoon would fit the bill, but I had to be sure. I met up with Dave Dyer, a docent for Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation and an entomologist. Finding and seeing bugs through Dave's eyes was a whole new experience. We found almost microscopic bugs that live in galls, which are funny looking bumps stuck to leaves, tiny little spittle bugs that attach themselves to plants with a foamy substance, trap door spiders with a home so well camouflaged that most visitors would not be able to find it. Tree frogs, bull frogs, lizards and bugs that hatch inside fallen eucalyptus trees and create a maze of trails that will amaze any age visitor. Various stages of butterflies and tiny little wasps and praying mantis egg mounds were all a part of Dave's tour.
But, the most beautiful creature of the day was a very large spider called silver argiope. Dave found a string-like anchor web attached to a post and followed it to a web, and there she was, a very leggy spider with a beautiful silver abdomen and a yellow marking much like a Greek letter.
She was perched in the middle of her handiwork amid a beautiful zigzag design called stablimentem and feasting on a juicy bug. Later, we were joined by Jim Sanseverino another docent for the foundation and an expert on plants that grow at the lagoon. Some of the plants that grow in the lagoon environment are pickle plant, lemonade berries, plants that are highly toxic and poisonous, salt grass and a large variety of reeds and willows. All which are home to, or capable of sustaining the lives of the wild creatures that inhabit the lagoon.
I thanked Dave and Jim and commented that I have a new appreciation for the lagoon. Dave quoted John Muier who once said, “People don't notice things until you put their nose into it.” How true that is and I can attest that I would never have seen that lizard poop until Dave almost put my nose into it.
The fall migration of birds should start in September and the lagoon foundation has experts on birding and I hope to learn as much about birds as I have about bugs and plants.
After a day of outdoor exploring away from the beach, my observation is that Carlsbad can claim some sustainable tourism and a variety of nature-based tourism activities. This is indeed encouraging for our huge tourism industry since industry professionals have determined that a sizable segment of visitors desires this type of tourism.
In recent years, there has been a gradual trend for many ecotourists to be less intellectually curious, socially responsible, environmentally concerned and politically aware than in the past. Increasing numbers of older, wealthier and “softer” travelers are now opting for comfort over conservation. David Western, a conservationist with the Wildlife Conservation Society and chairman of the African Conservation Centre in Nairobi, Kenya once stated that, nature-based tourists are “entertained by nature, but not unduly concerned with its preservation.”
The Carlsbad Convention & Visitors Bureau will continue to promote Carlsbad's natural treasures to the burgeoning Nature-Tourism industry.