Discover with Nature

Sustainable Travel Tips developed in partnership with the
Minnesota Chapter’s Global Advisory Council.    

The Minnesota Chapter trustees, like many of The Nature Conservancy’s advocates, are travel enthusiasts and passionate environmentalists. As they explore the globe, they find inspiration in the beautiful geographies we protect, in the innovation we bring to solving real problems in the field and in the indigenous communities with which we partner to ensure the lasting impact of critical conservation strategies. 

Let’s travel together in a way that is healthy for people and nature! 

COVID-19 Travel Safety 

COVID-19 vaccinations are required for all travelers on Discover with Nature trips. Please reach out to travel@tnc.org if you have questions or concerns about this policy. 

In addition to requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for all travelers, our travel partners are taking all precautions to provide travelers with the safest possible experience. We are regularly monitoring travel conditions and expect to safely be exploring nature on the travel dates. 

Given the ever-changing conditions of the pandemic and how widely they can vary from place to place, our partners and our own safety experts are working right up until the time of each departure to ensure safe experiences, including extra precautions to keep our travelers as safe as possible (e.g. indoor mask requirements, daily self-screening, the air in vehicles, etc.). We will keep this COVID-19  Travel Safety page updated with the latest information, and we will reach out to you with the most up-to-date policies prior to your trip's departure. 

Travel Highlights

These year-end highlights won’t always be about me and my TNC travel experiences, but I did want to use this space to celebrate a few things this year from both the planning and travel side of things.

We had four new Discover with Nature trips this year that showcased TNC and partner work. We would love to share all of these special trips with you again. I had the opportunity to work with so many of my colleagues across the organization with whom I’d never collaborated before. Hearing about the conservation work that energizes other staff members is one of my favorite things about working at TNC!

Additionally, our New Zealand trip that was originally planned for 2020 but was postponed due to COVID-19 finally took place in October 2022! This was Discover with Nature’s first return to travel outside of the U.S., and we look forward to offering more opportunities like it in the future.

Finally, I wanted to share about my Discover with Nature trip to Louisiana in April. The warm spring air feels like ages ago now, but many moments from the trip are still very present. Last year’s big takeaway from Montana’s trip was how important it is to think beyond state borders in conservation. This year, somewhat similarly, I learned to think upstream. Not just about the movement of animals but how the movement of water can affect entire ecosystems miles away.

Out on Lake Martin that afternoon exploring the Preserve and gliding alongside silent alligators, we only had to look up to spot all kinds of birds weaving across the sky above us: Mississippi kites, swallow-tailed kites, roseate spoonbills, and far, far above, American white ibises. It was such a peaceful moment as we watched the show playing out above us. For a while, we spoke only in whispers, not because we were trying not to startle wildlife, but simply because the majesty of the moment seemed to demand it.

Sitting in my home far away from those waters, birds, and people, I can still feel all that beauty close at hand when I think about the nature and partnerships I was lucky enough to witness. I can’t wait for others to experience these kinds of moments next year!

- Christine Kessler, Trip Manager at The Nature Conservancy