Zero Waste Travel: Caribbean Packing List

The Situation

So the situation for myself is that I am traveling to St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands for three months to conduct research and nest monitoring for sea turtles with the National Park Service. I know, I know, very hard life over here. 

I've done lots of small zero-waste trips, but this is the first long term one. I've been doing a lot of prep, and despite all the lists I have all over my house, I still have things pop into my head that I need that I probably won't have much access to down there, especially when it comes to zero waste living. 

I don't know how many of you will need a packing list for a three month stay in the Caribbean, but here's what I'm bringing, while attempting to travel light and efficiently.

Clothes

* A star indicates that the item(s) were specific to my work, so may differ greatly from your needs

pants

• 3 pair casual pants - 1 linen/hemp, 1 cotton, 1 leggings
• *4 pair field pants - good for hiking, I need several because I will be doing field work 5 nights/week

Shorts

• 5 pair casual - 3 hemp, 2 mid-length, 2 jean
• 5 pair athletic - 2 running, 2 spandex, 1 water

Shirts

• *15 cotton T-shirts - probably the most excessive, but that's because of the field work I'm doing could involve being pulled into the ocean by a turtle
• 10 Tank Tops - I'm a shorts and tank top kind of gal, these are small and back down easily so I don't mind bringing some extra
• 5 nice T-shirts - for office days or dinners

Skirts/dresses

• 2 skirts
• 2 sundresses
• 1 nice dress

Long Sleeves/Cover Ups

• 1 flannel
• 1 fleece
• 1 light-weight jacket
• 1 Rain Jaket
• 1 button up sun shirt

Nighttime/Undies

• 6 sports Bras – I mostly wear sports bras, I also stuck in a few bralettes 
• ALL the Underwear – I like to have enough undies
• Socks – Yes. Socks. socks are good for hiking and I need them for field work
• Sleepwear - some cotton shorts and a few comfy T-shirts

Swimwear

• Sarong  
• 3 bathing suits sets

Footwear

• Running/hiking shoes 
• Bierkenstocks
• *Chacos - close and open toed

sundry

• 1 scarf – super versatile and good for overly air-conditioned places
• 1 Hat 
• 1 Sunglasses 
• 3 Buffs/Headsox
• 1 belt

Toiletries

• Medication/Painkillers – I have no medications that I take regularly, but on some islands painkillers such as ibuprofen are not available over the counter, so this could be something to throw in your bag.
• Deodorant– I normally make my own deodorant, but I decided to take this as an opportunity to try out some other stuff. I brought down Lush's
• Lotion - coming from dry, dry Colorado, I'm not bringing to many lotion products. I am bringing a small vile of daily moisturizer made by Denver's local zero waste shop to help my face recover from the sun
• Toothbrush/Toothpaste - Brush with bamboo, and Tom's of Maine (keeping tubes to send into TerraCycle)
• Razors – I brought my trusty safety razor and razor blades
• Hair care – 2 shampoo bars & 1 conditioner bar from Lush
• Soaps - body soap from Sallye Ander and Little Seed Farm, Face soap from Lush
• Towel and Facecloth – Because you need to shower, and you will shower often. A facecloth can be used for wiping sweat off you in general.
• Sunscreen – I brought 2 Raw Elements Face + Body sunscreen that comes in tins!
• Bug Repellent – I'm bringing an essential oil mix to make bug repellent with.

Laundry

I know I will have access to laundry machines where I am staying, but I have no idea what will be available as far as laundry products go. Since all the water I use will drain into the ocean pretty immediately, I wanted to make sure I was prepared for eco-friendly laundering.

• Nellie's All-Natural Laundry Detergent - refillable tin
• STOP! MicroWaste washing bag 
• 2 rolls quarters 

Tech Gear

• Camera
• Laptop
• Cell Phone

other

• Day-Pack
• small first aid kit
• Hammock
• 1 Reusable grocery bag
• COFFEE

things i forgot

• Food Storage - this was such a zero waste fail. I forgot my snacks for the airplane, which not only left me w/o snacks but w/o containers! Luckily I was able to acquire some w/i the first week, but I definitely generated waste w/o them
• Silverware/spork - I also forgot my spork! How? I don't know, but so far I haven't had to use any plastic utensils, I've just had to get a little creative with the spoon I brought for scooping coffee. 

Easy Banana-Oat Snack Bars

As many of you know I'm a biologist, and that often means long days in the field, and long times in between full meals. 

I've tried many home-made bars in my time, but when I tried these ones, made by my co-worker, I got really excited - they were so yummy, filling, and just the right texture! 

This recipe is super loose/adaptable, the most important thing is the general proportions, but feel free to exchange different nuts / seeds / dried fruits as you see fit! If you need to make these nut-free just swap out the walnuts and almonds for more seeds (or chocolate chips, if you’re feeling wild)!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana, fresh or frozen (3-4 large)
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries or blueberries
• 1/2 cup dried cherries, jumbo raisins, or dried chopped apricots
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup flax seeds
• 1/2 cup pepita seeds
• 1 cup almonds, chopped
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Grease a 9" x 13" baking pan with butter or oil
3. In a large bowl, mash the banana until smooth. Measure to ensure you have 1 1/2 cups
4. In a separate bowl mix the salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and any other spices you want. 
5. Stir the dry spice mixture, vanilla, and honey into the bananas.
6. Place the oats into a food processor or blender and pulse until the oats are coarsely chopped, stir completely into the mashed bananas.
7. Stir the dried fruit, walnuts, flax and pepita seeds, & almonds into the banana-oat mixture until thoroughly combined.
8. Spoon the mixture into the prepared dish. With a fork or lightly wet hands press down the mixture until even and compact. 
9. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until firm and lightly golden along the edges. 
10. Let the dish cool for at least 10 minutes
11. Slice the slab into bars either using a knife, pizza cutter, or bench knife. 
12. These can be served immediately as a snack or saved a parsed throughout a week.
13. Leftovers can be stored in a tupperware in the fridge for about a week, or in a freezer for 4-6 weeks.

Other Ideas:

• Dried fruit can be subbed out for chocolate chips
• You can sub in/out pretty much any nuts used in this recipe
• Hempseed hearts are a great sub for the flaxseed

This recipe is adapted from Oh She Glows Feel Good Hearty Granola Bars, which was adapted from Anjali's Oat Snack Bars recipe, which was originally adapted from Faith's 4-Ingredient Banana Oat Bars.

 

Why Make Choices for the Enivironment?

A friend of mine recently directed me to some awesome PSAs created by a non-profit called The Way to Happiness Foundation, and one of them really spoke to what I am trying to accomplish with Note to Trash and the zero waste movement:

safeguard and improve your environment

---

As I've outlined in my breakdown of plastics, we've been bombarding our own home for years with toxins and trash in a way that is just simply unsustainable. Part of my decision to go zero waste was based around the idea of taking some personal responsibility for the condition of our planet. 

---

Excerpt from: The Way To Happiness, a Common Sense Guide to Better Living :

Help take care of the planet.

"The idea that one has a share in the planet and that one can and should help care for it may seem very large and, to some, quite beyond reality. But today what happens on the other side of the world, even so far away, can effect what happens in your own home.

"Recent discoveries by space probes to Venus have shown that our own world could be deteriorated to a point where it would no longer support life. And it possibly could happen in one’s own lifetime.

"Cut down too many forests, foul too many rivers and seas, mess up the atmosphere and we have had it. The surface temperature can go roasting hot, the rain can turn to sulfuric acid. All living things could die.

"One can ask, 'Even if that were true, what could I do about it?' Well, even if one were simply to frown when people do things to mess up the planet, one would be doing something about it. Even if one only had the opinion that it was just not a good thing to wreck the planet and mentioned that opinion, one would be doing something.

"Care of the planet begins in one’s own front yard. It extends through the area one travels to get to school or work. It covers such places as where one picnics or goes on vacation. The litter which messes up the terrain and water supply, the dead brush which invites fire, these are things one need not contribute to and which, in otherwise idle moments, one can do something about. Planting a tree may seem little enough but it is something.

"In some countries, old people, the unemployed do not just sit around and go to pieces: they are used to care for the gardens and parks and forests, to pick up the litter and add some beauty to the world. There is no lack of resources to take care of the planet. They are mainly ignored. One notes that the Civilian Conservation Corps in the US, organized in the 1930s to absorb the energies of unemployed officers and youth, was one of the few, if not the only project of that depressed era, that created far more wealth for the state than was expended. It reforested large areas and did other valuable things that cared for the US part of the planet. One notes that the CCC no longer exists. One can do as little as add one’s opinion that such projects are worthwhile and support opinion leaders and organizations that carry on environmental work.

"There is no lack of technology. But technology and its application cost money. Money is available when sensible economic policies, policies which do not penalize everyone, are followed. Such policies exist.

"There are many things one can do to help take care of the planet. They begin with the idea that one should. They progress with suggesting to others they should.

"Man has gotten up to the potential of destroying the planet. He must be pushed on up to the capability and actions of saving it.

"It is, after all, what we’re standing on."

---

I absolutely loved this piece!

We all know that, as humans, we are completely capable of destroying the beautiful planet that we have been fortunate enough to find ourselves on.

I also believe we are wholly capable of saving it.

We can all begin somewhere, so find your beginning, because none of us are going to survive alone. 

---

1. PSA: Public Service Announcement or public service ad: a message in the public interest disseminated without charge, with the objective of raising awareness, changing public attitudes and behavior towards a social issue.
2. safeguard: prevent from being harmed; protect.

---