Globe Scholars

Tinabeth Pia: Coming up next on Globe Scholars, we continue following gap year students on the Spain by Train program that's currently rolling through Basque Country.

Stay tuned.

By day, I'm a TV reporter, but at night I write a travel blog, because I love to travel.

It brings people and cultures together.

And when a student travels abroad, not only do they become a global citizen, the subjects they learn in school come to life.

This is Globe Scholars.

Welcome to Globe Scholars.

I'm your host, Tinabeth Pia from TinabethTravels.com and today I'm finishing up my travels through Vitoria, Spain with gap year students who are spending 12 weeks exploring Espania on the Spain by Train program.

In our last episodes, we learned about the rich history of Vitoria, Spain and saw its wonderfully preserved medieval quarter.

Then we had a culinary adventure and learned why food is so important to the Basque people.

Today, we're about to find out why Vitoria is a world leader when it comes to being environmentally aware.

Did you know that it has the largest number of green areas per inhabited?

I didn't.

And the gappers and I are about to learn why.

So let's get started.

Although the Spain by Train program clearly uses one of the most sustainable forms of travel, it also has the gappers using other forms of local transport since sustainability is a very important part of this gap year program.

The city of Vitoria has actually lessened its use of cars in favor of public transportation.

In fact, the city is known as being a leading European green capital.

Arantxa Martinez: We started seeing a lot of policies, introducing more sustainable forms of transport.

And we see that now we have the Bay, which is an electric bus.

There's a tram line, there's three tram lines now, and they are growing and connecting the different parts of the city.

And we see, of course, the bike lanes.

You've seen them everywhere.

It's hard to not bump into a bike lane.

So the city is very well set up for sustainable transport and living.

Tinabeth Pia: Vitoria also has an area known as the Green Belt, which is a series of urban parks strategically linked together through echo corridors that our gappers got to explore on bike.

[upbeat music] Janire Palcaios Blanco: Well, Vitoria has, this is one of the most important cities because of its green parts.

It is one of the cities around the world that has more green parts per habitant for people.

So for example, for me, that I have a dog.

I love nature.

It is really interesting to live here.

Tinabeth Pia: Janire Palacios was our tour guide around the Green Belt.

Janire Palcaios Blanco: -Of the 19th.

Well, we are going to start our tour here in the Florida Park.

That is one of the most important parks in the city.

And we will go around the Green Belt to finish our tour in Salburua Park.

Arantxa Martinez: The Green Belt is an effort for conservation, as you can see.

So they've linked all the preserved areas.

So Armentia, you see Olarizu, Salburua, and it's a belt around the city that is green.

So basically parks and natural reserves that you can cycle all around.

Tinabeth Pia: What did you think of the Green Belt and why is something like that so important in this day and age?

Kate Grabowski: Oh, I thought, I thought it was really nice.

And I think it's also really good to have because, you know, you can like, there's green space and more trees, which is good for the environment.

And then you can also walk around and do outdoor activities, which is just fun.

I saw a lot of birds and deer, which were really cool.

I like the deer.

It's interesting they're using them to like control the, like weeds and stuff like that.

It's more natural.

Keara Booth: Just in general accessible cities for bikes, pedestrians are really important.

And tours in general to learn about how to accessibly access the city, learn about the culture, buildings and just history that you can walk by.

And if I hadn't taken this tour, I wouldn't have known that, like all of the stories that were behind each building.

So that was cool.

Alex Dee: It's really important to be conscious of the climate because climate change is one of the biggest threats to humanity so having green areas, having like, sustainable green cities is good and also just, it's nice to have green areas to like be able to go out for a run or walk your dog.

Tinabeth Pia: The Green Belt is only one aspect of Vitorias work when it comes to sustainability.

And it should come as no surprise that organic lifestyle plays a pivotal role here in the Basque region.

And our gappers got their first introduction to it in the classroom when they learned about composting.

Mertxe Ircio: La sostenibilidad, fjate en qu mundo vivimos.

Que vas a comprar fruta al supermercado y te viene envuelta en plstico una banana cuando ya tiene su propio envoltura natural.

Pues a m es importante devolver a la naturaleza parte de lo que ella nos da y cerrar el circulo.

Tinabeth Pia: Y como cierr ese circulo con el compostaje?

Mertxe Ircio: La naturaleza nos da sus frutos y nosotros al comer sin querer generamos residuos, peladuras, huesos y entonces en vez de dejarlo en el cubo de la basura, y que olvidarme, y no s lo que pasa con ellos.

Lo que yo hago es transformarlos y lo convierto en compost, que parece tierra, que huele a tierra, y que realmente son las vitaminas; esas que tena mi comida la convierto en comida para plantas.

Tinabeth Pia: That composting process is exactly what Mertxe spent the afternoo teaching the gap year students.

Mertxe Ircio: Yo creo que han estado muy receptivos.

S al principio les costaba un poquito, pero bueno hemos intentado que sea muy grfico, que lo podan tocar, que lo vieran - no contar sino que lo vivieron - y ya han estado muy receptivos y preguntando cosas o sea que bien.

Las cascaras de huevos, ves.

Student: Y esto es para las plantas ms pequeas has dicho?

Mertxe Ircio: Eso es.

Y esto, sabe para que lo pueden usar?

Para las orqudeas.

Arantxa Martinez: So composting is one example out of many of the activities that we do.

We want to give them tools and examples to bring that back to their community and, you know, be empowered enough to propose it, suggest it, say, I know how to do this and this is how it's going to be beneficial to the local community and the environment.

Tinabeth Pia: Clearly composting is beneficial to the environment in a number of ways, and Mertxe was very hopeful that our gappers would take what they learned today in her class and make a difference in their hometowns.

Mertxe Ircio: Cualquier persona lo puede hacer si han aprendido y se animan, pueden fabricarse su propio abono con su comida.

Pero date cuenta que una persona en su vida normal de todos los residuos que genera, la mitad por lo menos es orgnico.

Son restos de comida, luego sern envases que no pesan tanto entonces hay mucho volumen pero no pesa.

El peso, la mitad de la bolsa si no lo separaramos los residuos, seran restos de comida.

Pues de ahi, su importancia.

En vez de tirarlos, tener que enterrarlos pues darles una segunda oportunidad - y descontaminar el planeta.

Tinabeth Pia: And what do the gappers think and learn about composting?

Kate Grabowski: Well, it prevents the food waste from just rotting and releasing carbon emissions.

And you can actually use it and then it's good for the soil and you can grow new things.

Bradley Traeger: And the fact that it takes three years for a shell to decompose and to compost and like the part of the banana a whole year, that's crazy.

That's totally crazy.

Keara Booth: I learned about the different types of soil that goes into different plants.

I didn't know that orchids use a different type of soil.

I didn't know that you can compost bones and shells.

That was really cool.

I also, initially going into this, didn't know that you can compost meat too, meat and fish.

That was interesting.

I always thought that it was more of a vegetable and fruit kind of thing.

So it's nice to kind of reduce your carbon footprint through this.

And not toss fruits and vegetables and other food that can be composted in landfills, beecause that, it's just not useful.

It's so cool that you can just re-implement everything in and not have any byproducts.

[melodic guitar music] Tinabeth Pia: Our gappers went from learning about composting to working right here on an organic farm on the outskirts of Vitoria to learn even more about sustainability.

Gapper: 3, 2, 1.

Kevin Terry: We wanted to bring all the gappers here today to show them a little different side of the local farming that we have here.

What our mission is, is to provide ecological vegetables and fruits to the local area.

So what's really important for us is the health of the soil, right?

So we use various forms of composting or different forms of fertilizers, animal fertilizers for the health of the soil.

And it's our main mission here to keep the soil vibrant and keep the health of the earth going without using chemicals.

You notice in the farm, there's very few plants planted, right?

Tinabeth Pia: After introducing them to the farm and learning about its history with its owners, Kevin worked with the gappers on the farm and they got the chance to herd sheep, Oh my God!

[laughing] [sheep bleating] Tinabeth Pia: Observe and feed some of the animals- Kevin Terry: We still let them out, but if we don't let them out- Tinabeth Pia: And work the fields, all in an effort to bring the farmer's mission to the forefront.

Kevin Terry: Yeah, I hope they walk away with several things.

Just the chance to see that there's other ways of life, if you will.

Other chances that they can take their career, whether it's in farming or not.

They can be active in their community.

Really close to organic farming.

Why it's important.

We just have a philosophy of sharing, right?

We help other people with their farming activities.

They help us with our farming activities.

And also at the end of the day, we can feel good about what we're doing here is were trying to make people more healthy and more conscious of not just the farming situation, but the health situation in general with our body so we feel good about providing fruits and organic fruits and vegetables to this village.

Tinabeth Pia: And what did the gappers think?

Kate Grabowski: Well, it's just a lot better to be like, sustainable and eco-friendly and it's nicer and, you know, it doesn't smell bad.

Like the other farms smell bad because they use the chemicals, but this one doesn't.

Tabitha Vanderhorst: It was really special.

I really felt at home being here and it just gave me a lot of inspiration for like, what I might wanna do in the future and what work exchanges could look like.

Tinabeth Pia: Sure And how was it working the farm?

Tabitha Vanderhorst: It was fun.

I loved it.

We were digging up old cauliflower roots and really putting ourselves to work, making ourselves earn lunch, so that was fun.

Bradley Traeger: I could live there for my whole life.

That life seems so peaceful.

All these little farm animals around.

The sheep grazing in the fields, the chickens.

It's so cool.

Keara Booth: So I just love donkeys.

I hadn't ever seen them in person until now, and just being able to be up close like pet them was really cool.

And able to be a shepherd.

I had a whole staff and a hat and everything.

Tinabeth Pia: Yeah.

So what are you taking away from visiting this organic farm today?

Keara Booth: I'm taking a lot away.

Before this, I grew up in the city.

I never really entertained the idea or thought of implementing sustainable farming or even just a small vegetable garden into my future.

But from visiting this and knowing that I can start off small.

I can have a flower garden.

I can implement the small things to make my life a little bit more fulfilled in the farming sector.

Kevin Terry: -Manure, if you will.

That was brought in.

Tinabeth Pia: Another way the Basque region is environmentally friendly is through the ceramics industry, which is synonymous with sustainability.

Arantxa Martinez: Pottery for some of our gappers is something they've already tried at home.

For most of our gappers, they've never worked with clay.

And so it's something that is very grounding, working with your hands, doing a craft and manipulating clay.

But we like to take them to the Pottery Museum and workshop to see another example of sustainable living.

Blanka De Segura: Mira cuando estamos nosotros - llevamos aqu con este proyecto 30 aos - lo que hemos querido es que no se pierdan nuestras races.

Y, el porqu a los escolares?

Porque hay que transmitirles que venimos de algn sitio, no es que acabamos de caer del cielo.

Es importante que veamos que lo que nosotros hoy tenemos, alguien lo ha trabajado antes y nos lo ha alegado y que nuestra obligacin de futuro por eso es de cuidar el nico planeta que tenemos que es esta tierra.

As que aprovechamos cualquier momento de la educacin para transmitir eso.

La arcilla es un elemento muy antiguo, desde hace miles de aos, y es elemento actual y asi seguir siendo.

Tinabeth Pia: Blanka and her team teach everyone who comes through their doors, the sustainable art of pottery.

There are workshops where you'll learn how to form the clay that you'll eventually use later on to create a work of art.

Plus, there's also a comprehensive museum that houses a total of 380 pieces in its permanent collection, including an old potter's wheel and samples of ancient earthenware.

Aitziber Gorosabel: Y esto es otro oficio, esto sera el oficio de los tejedos.

Es importante que los escolares y la gente, sobre todo noa adulta, aprenda pues de dnde venimos, cmo hacemos las cosas y, sobre todo, porque las hacemos.

Y bueno pues, esto es un desarrollo de lo que vamos haciendo en el da a da en el taller.

[stone pounding on clay] Keara Booth: It's really cool.

I've never made my own clay before.

Outside getting the the dirt, crushing it and making our own clay was really cool.

And learning about the different types of clay and how to heat it at different temperatures was new to me, because I've kind of, in my previous classes just kind of took the clay and made it, you know?

But it's nice to get the practice.

Tinabeth Pia: That's cool.

And how important is this workshop in terms of like, sustainability?

Because we all know that this area is all about environmental awareness.

Keara Booth: Yeah, yeah.

No, and as we learned in the museum, industrialization really caused a problem or made making this from the ground unnecessary.

So I just think it's really cool to continue or to be able to continue using the Earth's natural ingredients to, I don't know, make sustainable dishes and mugs.

I just think it's really cool instead of buying pre-made ceramics that are terrible for the environment.

Instead using what's available to us.

Tabitha Vanderhorst: I think learning the history behind what we were making and how it was made was like, really significant for me and super cool to be able to see that.

The resources around you that like, the earth is provided is something you can use to help save the environment.

And your like, materials aren't going to consumption waste.

So I think that's really cool.

Tinabeth Pia: Had you thought about that before?

Tabitha Vanderhorst: I had.

I had, yeah.

Tinabeth Pia: More than me.

Tabitha Vanderhorst: I've thought, I've thought about like, getting into pottery to being able to make my own like bowls and plates to use in my future home someday day.

And it's more authentic and it's special, so.

Tinabeth Pia: Sure.

And now you have training.

Tabitha Vanderhorst: Yeah, exactly.

Tinabeth Pia: And how fun was it to be creative while you were doing it?

Tabitha Vanderhorst: Oh, super fun.

I'm making a bowl right now with a snail and I'm working on a ladybug.

So yeah, whatever came to my brain, I just started doing it.

Tinabeth Pia: Positive?

Alex Bell: I like the experience.

It was quite, quite fun just to like get involved with your hands.

Yeah it's also, found it quite interesting, like, how much how much thought goes into it and like how much our ancestors like, knew through like, practically doing things.

Like they worked out that just drying clay, water seeps through it, but then they like, glazed it with glass to make like, containers that can hold liquid.

Tinabeth Pia: Mm-hmm.

Alex Dee: And I thought that was pretty interesting.

And then it was also really fun just to like, shape your own vase, so yeah.

Tinabeth Pia: Had you thought about before the importance of how this industry works in terms of the environment and being sustainable?

Alex Dee: It's out of, out of clay by hand is more environmentally friendly than like, mass produced plastic containers, so yeah.

Tinabeth Pia: So what did you think about this pottery class today?

Bradley Traeger: This is really fun.

I really like just playing with clay.

It's like, I remember when I had Play-Doh when I was younger.

I used to do like, these exact same things with my Play-Doh and this is just like very connecting with my childhood.

And this was super fun.

And super cute.

And I mean, like the stuff we made is so adorable.

Tinabeth Pia: Yeah.

Bradley Traeger: And like, she just gave me this and we just got to take one of these.

They're so cute.

And it's like a really nice memory of this place.

Tinabeth Pia: Of course.

And did you take anything else away from it?

Bradley Traeger: I would say that creativity and pottery has been a constant throughout like, history.

I mean, people are always being creative, always making new things, and things that have uses too.

Like most of the stuff we saw out there had like a significant use during a point of time in history, which is like really cool to see because someone made that with their hands.

It's not like it was just like on an assembly line and went through it and then came out looking perfect.

I mean, these things have imperfections, because they're made by people and that's really cool.

There's no waste behind this.

Like, you get it from the water, break it up, let it dry, let it sit for a few days, and then make something out of it.

And then where's the waste?

There isn't any.

[stone banging on clay] Tinabeth Pia: Now I know you were waiting to do this, so how excited were you?

Kate Grabowski: I was really excited.

It's really fun and it's like, really satisfying to do with the, like- schwooo- Tinabeth Pia: Assuming like you learned a lot more doing this.

Kate Grabowski: Oh yeah, because like we made, we like did the smashing wit the rocks and it's really cool, because it's like you make it and it's, you don't just like, buy it.

You make it and then you see like, the whole process, which is really cool.

Tinabeth Pia: It is cool.

Kate Grabowski: Yeah.

Tinabeth Pia: How cool is it that it's all part of being sustainable?

Kate Grabowski: Well it's cool to like, make your own stuff and have it like handmade instead of just made by machines.

Tinabeth Pia: And how creative are you being today with what you're doing?

Kate Grabowski: Well, I made this because there's a little display out there, and I thought it was really funny because of their blank expressions and how many of them there were.

So I made my own.

Tinabeth Pia: So is he gonna stay here?

Kate Grabowski: I'm hoping to keep him.

Yeah.

But I just think they're funny.

[futuristic sounds] Tinabeth Pia: The gappers last lesson in sustainability was right outside Vitoria, where they had the opportunity to plant trees that they can come back and visit in the future.

Arantxa Martinez: So tree planting is for carbon offsetting.

We like to do it in a sustainable way where we are partnering with local experts and organizations that are already working in the local community.

So we go with them, they tell us about their land, they tell us about the native species and the way that we can reforest an area in a way that doesn't disturb the ecosystem.

So we plant trees together with them and it is something that for us is amazing to see because we are seeing a lot of team cohesion while they dig and plant together, but they are giving something back as well.

They're planting something that will then grow.

Our vision is that the gappers can come back in 10 years time or 20 years time with their children and go see the trees that they planted fully grown.

[birds chirping] Tinabeth Pia: Together the gappers planted plum trees at La Cabana Pottery and Plants, and even had the opportunity to taste the plum jam from older trees that had already been planted by previous gap year students.

At the end of the experience, they realized how the different aspects of sustainability they learned during their time in Vitoria, from composting to visiting farms, went hand in hand with today's tree planting experience.

Bradley Traeger: This is our third time tree planting as well.

We tree planted in Salamanca and Granada as well.

And it was just really cool to see like, where, like that mulch we spread into the holes where that came from and now we're putting it actually into a plant and it's gonna grow.

I've never done a lot of environmental based programs and it was just really, I love the environment.

I'm going into environmental science in college.

So like seeing that actually happen and hearing from Violeta about like, the process of what happens to plant these plants was super cool.

Alex Dee: I thought the jam tasting was really interesting because we got given two different types of jams.

One was like, mass produced industrial jam that you find in supermarkets, and the other was a homemade jam.

And they asked us, which we thought was the industrial and which was a homemade one, and I guessed wrong and so most people are used to, used to like the industrial flavors that- Yeah, I thought seemed more natural, because it, it was less sweet than the homemade jam.

But yeah, I thought it was really interesting.

Keara Booth: This is the first tree planting that we've done where we've actually been able to reap what we've sowed, so to speak.

It's our first time that we've tried the jam of the fruits that we cultivated and planted.

So that's really cool because I think what I've learned in Vitoria is that what they're doing is not just to give back to the Earth and not just to give back to other people, but also giving back to the community.

Instead of just kind of consuming, we're able to understand what we're consuming and give back through planting trees.

Through learning the process of making jams.

So it's been really fun.

Tinabeth Pia: Although our gappers did have a lot of fun learning about sustainability, their time in Vitoria has come to an end.

And they were all very thankful for having visited Basque country and taking advantage of their gap year opportunity.

Kate Grabowski: Well, it's definitely fun because you get to take a year off of school and away from academics.

Then you can kind of like, understand more and get out of like, your small bubble if that's if you're in a smaller bubble.

And I would recommend it for anyone who's going to college.

And I think Vitoria is really awesome and I would definitely wanna come back.

Alex Dee: Well, it's definitely been the easiest to get around, because the public transport's so amazing.

It's the greenest place so far.

Yeah.

I've really enjoyed it.

Bradley Traeger: When we got here, I was like, okay, like, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And then when we went out the first night, I was like, this is so cool.

Such a cool town.

There's so much to offer.

I've met a lot of really cool locals and they're so friendly, so kind, so cool.

It's just like a, I don't know, the sense of like a total community.

Everybody knows each other.

Tabitha Vanderhorst: I would just say come.

Like, honestly, this plac is so cool, so rich in culture, and so diverse with the people here that I think it's something everybody should experience.

And I feel like it's much less of a touristy area than Southern Spain.

So for people to be able to come and like, compare the two would be really special and culturally significant.

Tinabeth Pia: And would you, if you had the opportunity to do a gap year again, would you do it based on this one?

Tabitha Vanderhorst: Oh, yes, 100%.

Gap year has been the best thing I've ever done for myself.

I've learned so much about myself, the world, my community, and like what I want my future to look like.

And I would highly suggest it to every single student, whether it's in between high school and college or during college.

It gives you an academic break where you can truly learn people skills and human skills that school just can't quite teach you.

Keara Booth: A gap year in general is just incredible.

I am so much more well off from it, and I'm excited to kind of approach the future.

And now I know so much more about future study opportunities and travel opportunities because of this.

Tinabeth Pia: Well, I hope you enjoyed our travels through Vitoria, Spain and Basque country.

Its rich history, gastronomical prowess, and environmental awareness clearly leaves quite the impression on everyone who's lucky enough to explore it, including our gap year students.

They're now headed off to Barcelona, Spain via the train station behind me, while I'm headed home to prepare for our next adventure.

Thanks for watching Globe Scholars, and I can't wait to see where we're headed to next.

Until then, happy travels my friends.

Bye bye.

Alex Dee: I'm surprised by how good the public transport is in Vitoria for how- and it's not a massive city.

And also how many green areas there are and how good, like the cycle ways are.

Tabitha Vanderhorst: I think a big like, focus in this program is like, environmental studies and doing what we can to help save the Earth.

So seeing like, a city that is really good at that is super inspiring and something that we can all take bits from and go throughout whenever we go back home.

Tinabeth Pia: For more information about studying abroad in Spain or any part of the world, check out GlobeScholarsTV.com for useful information, web only education abroad videos, scholarship information, travel reviews, and helpful travel minute videos, specifically about Spain.

Make sure you check it out.