Martijn

My name is Martijn Simoons, 44 y.o. from The Netherlands. We only have one planet Earth. Cherish it!

There are millions of planets, but only one planet Earth. Cherish it, love it and take care of it… Together we can! That’s my motto. I joined the My Green Trip team as Senior Art Director and Communication Specialist. Next to that, I love to paint, create creative communication campaigns and enjoy nature.

 

 

What inspires you to travel and explore the world?

To feel that I am alive and part of something bigger, inspires me to travel. Bigger than a tiny person in a tiny part of the word, doing a tiny thing every day, every week, month and year. The thing that scares me the most, is to wake up one day and have the impression that I do not really live my own life, but that I conform myself to the expectations of others.

By traveling regularly and getting out of my ‘daily life’ I feel that I escape the routine. This gives me the space to breathe, the space to develop and grow as a person and to shake off the pressure that is put on my shoulders by outside influences. I am a very curious person, artistic and creative. This creativity needs to be fed and traveling is by far the best way to get new ideas, see new horizons, to learn and to grow.

 

Martijn

What do you always take with you on your travels to limit your impact on the environment?

When I travel, I always bring my multifunctional Swiss knife and my backpack, which I also use to collect the litter I find. In general, when traveling, I try not to add anything to the places I visit. If everyone would travel like this, the problem of litter and trash would not grow. Picking up what we find on our path makes the environment cleaner… little by little, litter after litter.

 

Which environmentally friendly projects have you encountered that have particularly inspired you? 

I am sad to say that it has not been environmentally friendly projects that inspired me, but rather the lack of it. So many places I have visited do not have anything in place to act upon the problem. Even though it would directly help their local economy. A lack of awareness and understanding of the issues, together with poverty, seem to be the reason for this. They rather just accept the way it is, instead of doing something about it. The most frustrating is to know that by cleaning up and collecting the trash, locals would feel better by living in a cleaner environment, (even if it would not take away their personal problems).

Travelers might have the power and energy to make an example and stimulate the clean up movement.

 

Which place on the planet that you visited has struck you the most and why? 

Finland has struck me in its beauty and the way people live so closely to nature.

Cuba has struck me because of the friendliness of locals.

Canada has struck me in its size and natural diversity.

La Reunion has struck me with its diversity and volcanic magical landscape.

Sardinia has won my heart with its people, beauty and hidden beaches!

Links :

 

  • Mail : martijn@mygreentrip.com
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