February • 2024
globalheroes.com
RESPONSIBLE TRAVELLER ADVERTORIAL
Vacation at Your Speed in Henry County, GA Some people use vacation to rest and relax, while others want their off-time supercharged with adventure. Enjoy the best of both worlds in Henry County, Georgia, only 32 kilometres south of Atlanta. Take your time in historic Locust Grove wandering the downtown streets, checking out the Black Rose Café & Bar, Lovin’ Oven Pizzeria, The French Market & Tavern, and Crumbles, a bakery owned by a televised baking show champ. Train enthusiasts can settle in to watch the more than 40 trains that pass through Locust Grove each day from the beautiful Train Watching Platform. Listen to the conductors talk to each other from the built-in speaker system. Shopaholics’ dreams come true in Locust Grove with two huge antique stores, Tanger Outlets, Cavender’s Horsetown, and a host of small boutiques. For one of the best breakfasts of your life, check out Southern Fusion Dining or sip coffee as you browse the new and used books at Birdsong Books.
While idyllic Downtown Hampton offers the opportunity to pick up some vacation reads at Speakeasy Bookstore, awardwinning homemade ice cream at Welcome Home Creamery & Coffee, and craft beer in a laidback setting at Camp Brewing Company, just a few miles away sits a thrill-seeker’s dream. The 850-acre Atlanta Motor Speedway is a virtual playground of opportunities with the Bobby Ore Motorsports Stunt Driving School, track tours, and annual NASCAR races and Monster Jam. Across the street at the Atlanta Speedway Airport, book a seat in a Vietnam-era Huey or Cobra for the ride of your life at the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation. If you want a bird’s-eye view but at a slower pace, check out South Atlanta Helicopter’s one-hour tours. When you want to kick back and take time to recharge, head to Stockbridge, where a private couples massage or a romantic dinner by the lake awaits at Stockbridge Lakes Bed & Breakfast. If nature
is your therapy, visit Panola Mountain State Park and book a sunset mountain hike. If music mellows you, check out the lineup of concerts at the Stockbridge Amphitheater. Stroll
the Downtown Stockbridge main street, stop in BarnBeautiful for unique, handcrafted barnwood furniture and home décor, and browse the gallery for local art. For a bite of delicious history,
travel down Martin Luther King, Sr. Heritage Trail to the Green Front Café, where, after more than 50 years since first opening, this restaurant is once again serving up southern staples, now with a Jamaican twist. When it's thrills you seek for the little ones, McDonough offers SkyZone Trampoline Park, Urban Air Adventure Park, and Starlite Family Fun Center. Southern Belle Farm can deliver thrills for the little ones and chill time for the adults. Berry picking, homemade ice cream and desserts, kids’ activities, and racing pigs in the fall are just some of their offerings. Looking for a quiet day by the lake? Head to Nash Farm Park with your fishing pole to enjoy the serene beauty of this 204-acre park. Heritage Park offers shaded trails and an opportunity to soak in some history at the Heritage Park Veterans Museum. Be sure to ask one of the Veterans who volunteer for a tour for the best experience! Book your trip today at visithenrycountygeorgia.com
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What Travellers Need to Know About Carbon Offsets as they embark on their adventures: the carbon footprint. From business trips to leisurely Travel leaves behind a sizeable adventures, travel has become an footprint, and with climate integral part of our lives, and the change becoming more of a impact of our journeys extends concern with each passing year, beyond the memories we create. there is a need for solutions that Responsible travellers leave go beyond the norm. While recynothing behind except footcling and conservation play key prints, but savvy travellers keep roles in taking care of our planet, an additional footprint in mind there is an even more effective RAYE MOCIOIU
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way to mitigate our carbon footprints: balancing our impact with carbon offsets—a vital tool in mitigating the environmental impact of our voyages. WHAT IS A CARBON OFFSET? A carbon offset is a measurable action designed to counterbalance the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere due to human activities. Whether it's industrial operations or our daily commute, carbon offsets are a remedy, measured in metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (mTCO₂e). The idea is to reduce, avoid, or sequester emissions elsewhere to compensate for those generated during our journeys. "Carbon offset" and "carbon credit" are often used interchangeably. While a carbon credit represents the removal of one tonne of carbon from the atmosphere, the term "carbon offset" is commonly associated with the action taken to achieve this reduction. This reduction is crucial not only in the compliance market, where
HOW DO YOU DO IT? The road to a sustainable future involves individual responsibility and collective action. We can curb our carbon footprint by making mindful choices in our daily lives. Reducing reliance on red meat, reconsidering our WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? commuting habits, and being mindful of energy consumption The reality is that every human has a carbon footprint. Our are all steps in the right direction. Still, it’s possible to make daily activities contribute to an even more significant impact. releasing carbon emissions into the atmosphere, creating an Planting trees, for example, ecological debt that demands is an easy way to impact your attention. From the energy carbon footprint. In addition, we consume to how we travel, organizations like TenTree, Cool our actions play a role in the Effect, and Less, among others, rising carbon pollution that has offer online carbon offset calcudisrupted the planet's natural lators, accessible ways to see how carbon cycle. much your travels will impact The consequences of our your carbon footprint, and even escalating carbon emissions allow visitors to donate the are becoming more noticeable, amount to finance worthy carbon with temperatures soaring to projects, from reforestation efunprecedented levels. Carbon forts to conservation initiatives. offsets offer a solution that seems As travellers, we have the small but makes a big change. power to explore the world By taking conscious steps to responsibly. From reconsidering reduce, offset, and sequester our travel habits and consumpemissions, we can contribute to tion patterns to supporting a significant positive change for sustainable practices, every our planet. effort counts.
companies can make an impact by adapting and lowering their emissions, but also in the voluntary market, where individuals, organizations, and everyday heroes can proactively offset their carbon footprint.
Trailblazing Through History: Experience the Eclipse in the Oil Region National Heritage Area As the birthplace of the modern petroleum industry, the Oil Region National Heritage Area in northwest Pennsylvania revolutionized the world. It’s home to fascinating stories of fortunes won and lost, innovation, and perseverance. It will make history again on April 8, 2024, as the path of totality for a once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse passes overhead in the afternoon. Come to the Oil Region to experience the eclipse and take in the rich history, impressive outdoor recreation, and vibrant art scene always awaiting guests. Much of the impressive late 1800s architecture and oilfield relics remain alongside charming small towns brimming with activities and special events. Nature reclaimed “the Valley that Changed the World,” creating an outdoor recreation paradise with Oil Creek State Park and the Allegheny River at its heart. With more than 112 kilometres of paved bike trails plus hundreds more for hiking, mountain biking,
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horseback riding, fishing, and boating, the ORNHA offers adventure for everyone. The ORNHA has the longest continuous miles of the Erie to Pittsburgh Trail, a 434-kilometre rail trail being developed for bicycling between Erie and Pittsburgh. The EPT contains two tunnels, the Rockland Tunnel at 874 metres and the Kennerdell Tunnel, which
at 1,020 metres is one of the longest rail-trail tunnels in the U.S. and among the longest bike/ped tunnels in the world. The North Country National Scenic Trail, the longest of the 11 National Scenic Trails authorized by the U.S. Congress, passes just south of the Oil Region on its route between Vermont and North Dakota.
Just south of the Oil Region in Foxburg is the oldest golf course in continuous use in the U.S., the Foxburg Golf Course & Country Club, and the American Golf Hall of Fame. Drake Well Museum & Park interprets the oil industry's history and its impact on the environment and daily life. The original well still exists inside a replica derrick, sometimes operated by re-enactors. The grounds offer additional exhibits to explore. A partner site, Historic Pithole City, is a former oil boomtown about a 20-minute drive from Drake Well. Here, a town of more than 15,000 people sprang up, then dwindled within two years. Now, all that remains is a visitor centre containing a diorama depicting the streets, shops, hotels, and theatres of this once bustling community of oil speculators and the empty land left behind. These towns were much like the Wild West and gold rush boomtowns. Often lawless collections of speculators and
swindlers, oil boomtowns had dubious reputations. The Oil Creek & Titusville Railroad takes riders through the valley and back in time on the only train in the U.S. with an operating Post Office car. DeBence Antique Music World, Venango Museum of Art, Science, and Industry, the Tiffany Windows at St. John’s Episcopal Church, the artists of the National Transit Art Studios, and Barrow-Civic Theatre’s live performances contribute to the area’s vibrancy. Self-guided walking tours in the towns of Titusville, Oil City, Franklin, and Emlenton, plus dozens of educational displays throughout the region, bring history to life. The ORNHA is an affordable destination for adventure-seekers, history buffs, and the whole family. Request an Oil Region Guide to plan your visit and see why the Oil Region National Heritage Area is a museum where you can hike, bike, float, and fish!
Experience NW Pennsylvania’s Oil Region!
