As our thoughts turn to a holiday break, be it at home or abroad, travelling by car, bus, train or aeroplane you may worry about your carbon footprint, well look no further. Visit www.travelcare.co.uk where you, the traveller, can make a contribution to the renewable energy and reforestation projects around the world. Go to the picture on the left hand side of the screen with caption carbon offset to see how much to donate to the co-operative banks charity that invests in overseas projects such as reforestation of areas in Uganda. There is another way of help and that is by using the Co-operative Bank Think credit card and the bank with contribute to the purchase of a piece of Brazilian rainforest under the watchful eye of Cool Earth. What is frightening is that every 24hours 100 acres of rainforest is cleared for Soya or palm oil plantations as these are quick profit cash crops. The soil is so thin that the plantations are only productive for five years after which the area is abandoned as scrubland. By donating an extra £35GBP half an acre can be saved from deforestation. Put another way, for every 100 acres of rain forest cut down there is enough CO2 released equal to eight million people travelling from London to New York. So get those cheque books out and visit www.coolearth.org

As spring wakes up the plants and trees thoughts drift off to the summer holiday. Think of all those warm days lying on the beach, the large pools of glistening water, and the landscape. What we do not always think about is the impact we, the tourist, have on the local environment and the people, many of whom have abandoned traditional methods of earning a living for the fast paced life around the resorts. As for air miles…well that would be too much to think about whilst enjoying a cool drink besides the pool.

For many years, there have been small independent holiday companies who have worked with local communities to provide a safe, sustainable and environmentally friendly holiday for those willing to pay a little more to help other communities thrive in some of the most inhospitable parts of the globe. Visit www.responsibletravel.com where one can book holidays of shear indulgence, yet sustainable, to volunteering holidays where one goes in and works on a new house, school or hospital for a community group. Another company, www.ethicalescapes.com offers, amongst many other treats, the wonderful, self sufficient covert cabin in France complete with outside loo, solar, wind and wood powered facilities so no bright lights here, just chill out. And if you fly in for your stay you can plant a tree, or two, in the surrounding woodland, to off set your carbon footprint.

Other companies operate in the UK such as www.naturalretreats.com who provide state of the art, modern, thoughtfully designed, sustainable and award winning wooden cabins with magnificent views of our national parks. By 2011, the company plan to have a number of eco cabins in, or near, every national park in the UK.

If all this is too much and you still want to do something to compensate for your air travel what about a donation to the RSPB who work to save forests all over the world, or the Woodland Trust who plant a tree on your behalf for a donation that supports the woodland for life. Then you can sit back and relax for the rest of the holiday….mmmmm