Staring out the window to a small green garden abundant with life in the middle of Santa Cruz I wonder what it must be like to live in this cute flat for one. Six small birds to each seed house, two six foot tall, orange flowering aloe vera plants, hydrangeas, a meandering possum, a skunk on a jolly jaunt, a weeping willow look-alike tree and an array of other Californian greens I’m unfamiliar with, it’s a small garden of Eden amongst many, I suspect, in this part of the world. But there’s a few things in this Santa Cruzian flat that are a little out of the ordinary.

Look a little closer and you’ll notice low door knobs on all the cupboards and a bicycle-like contraption. Foster Andersen has been a quadriplegic for over 30 years. He had a motorcycle accident at age 17, suffering spinal cord injury that has left him temporarily bound to a wheelchair since. I write temporarily because Foster is no average person. You name it he's done it, from skydiving, bungee jumping out of a hot air balloon, canoeing, scuba diving, kayaking, sailing, rock climbing... the list goes on.

What's so impressive is that he did it all after his accident, wheelchair bound... until he gets in that parachute of course. 15 years ago Foster started the not-for-profit organisation, Shared Adventures, which is dedicated to improving the quality of life of people living with disabilities. It's based on the belief that 'recreation, fun, challenge and access to the outdoors are an essential part of a healthy and fulfilling life'.  Foster trained as a computer graphic engineer however spends most of his time working on the events hosted by Shared Adventures. Day at the Beach and Day in the Sky are two of the annual highlights. In addition to the list of things Foster himself has done, the organisation offers a whole range of activities for people with disabilities including camping, horse riding, sailing, flying planes and plenty of social gatherings like the Halloween Dance Party, Frozen Yoghurt Sketch Circle and Bowling by the Boardwalk to get the local community involved. He's also the regular Santa Cruz'ian celebrity. Take one look at his office wall and you'll see articles that span the state, all featuring Foster's achievements from his early 20's until now. He is without a doubt one of the most inspirational people I've ever met and... if one can be so bold... one of those 'ideal' members of society that we would do well to follow his example by for living a full and giving life. For more information on Foster and Shared Adventures visit www.sharedadventures.org

It’s a fairly accurate assumption these days to say that most corners of the world have been touched by the eco effect. Whether you agree, disagree or choose to ignore what´s happening to our planet you´ve at least heard about it in some shape or form. Mexico is no different. The latest in eco developments is underway in the hotel resort paradise of Cancun.

Phase one of this beautiful 5 star resort is already complete so bookings are being snapped up before you can say ‘may I have an organic margarita por favour?’  Why? Well to begin with it is the epitome of luxury and in the location to boot situated 30 minutes drive from Cancun on a clear tranquil beach amongst jungle and ancient Mayan ruins.

I was lucky enough to take a tour of the first complete part of the resort the Hacienda Tres Rios and it lived up to all expectations.

As you enter the resort you are greeted by a beautiful light reception, with stylish Mexican décor and white baby grand piano. Being a 5 star hotel you can dine or receive room service 24/7. With twelve restaurants in total in the Hacienda alone you will not be stuck for choice. There is also a business theatre, patisserie, theatre, spa, gym (including top rate yoga classes) and equestrian and polo centre. The resort covers 150 acres of land. It has 18 rivers (filled with fish) in total with three main ones that snake around the resort and lead into the ocean. You can take a kayak or canoe out for the day and paddle around these beautiful rivers and also get a unique view of the resort. The forest has a number of exotic wildlife like the toucan, cougar, peacock, parrots, flamingos, deer and monkeys. The long-term vision of Tres Ríos includes a marina and yacht club, a convention centre, an equestrian centre, and a fully developed nature park. But how is it eco friendly? The buildings are quite discreet and are only up to three stories high. The rest rooms use ocean water cleaned by one of the local native plants that is able to extract naturally the salt from the water to clean it for usage. Thought the soil is too sandy to grow their own produce on site (explains why the coconuts are only small) the resort does buy local and their meat, I´m told, is organic. The resort is one of the only in Cancun that does not use plastic straws or cups which are excessively used in the hotel filled region.

The ecology mission of Tres Ríos is “to be the leading model for sustainable luxury tourism in the Mexican Caribbean, to guarantee the enduring, intelligent and responsible use of the property’s jungle, mangrove, dune and marine ecosystems and to guarantee the long-term preservation of the ecosystems’ environmental functions, flora and fauna.” One of the wonderful things they´ve done for the region already is reforest 10,000m2 of mangrove, planting more than 50,000 mangrove trees of three varieties. The developers of this plush resort last year donated all of their profits for October to the second biggest killer in Mexico, Breast Cancer. I’m not sure if they advertised the slip slop slap sunscreen to their sunbathing guests but it’s a good start isn’t it? On arrival you can request at the concierge a tour of all the eco features of the resort so that you know exactly what your eco heart and green dollars are buying. For more information about the hotel visit www.haciendatresrios.com

The things you learn in a hotel lobby can be quite educational – a mix of people from all over the world are collectively sure to have a wealth of information to share, particularly about eco issues in these eco conscious days. I’ve recently met a few such people interested in all things environmentally friendly, one being eco activist Pat from Canada. Pat started an electric bicycle company called Pedaless and also works with the Electrical Vehicle Council of Ottawa (EVCO). Pat was telling me how there have been studies done that prove electric bikes are more beneficial for the environment than your regular push bike when you look at the energy used of each. When you measure the amount of food fuel you require for a 1 hour ride (think of the amount of energy required to grow and transport the food to you) compared to the amount of electricity, which can be gained from renewable sources the electric bicycle comes out on top. Some of the other advantages of an electric bike include not needing to buy petrol any longer, you do not require a license or insurance to ride one, you can beat the traffic and those hefty parking fees, it produces zero emissions, it’s legal to ride one on the street and the bike path, and it´s much easier to ride up those steep hills (think of what a joy riding through Greenwich or Hampstead Health parks would be!). It’s also very cheap to run at about CAD$0.15/100Km. Pat also told me that he helped the EVCO push through a policy to allow electric bicycles to be ridden on the roads. Unfortunately the same has not been granted for home built electric cars yet but they are working on it. If you´re interested in finding out more information about the electric bicycle or want some inspiration to build your own visit www.pedaless.ca or the EVCO visit www.euco.ca. Personally I prefer the sweaty exercise … and if I want to keep it as eco friendly as possible perhaps I should just not eat that piece of chocolate cake afterwards!

You´ll need a big eco heart to run this race… a 100km ultra-marathon set on the volcanic island of Ometepe in Nicaragua. This new running event is organized by eco warrior Josue Stephens to promote the eco-tourism projects on the island. With so many forest regions in this part of the world that have been taken advantage of by foreign investors building infrastructure to meet the demands of travellers wanting to experience a piece of untainted wild, places like Ometepe are being tainted beyond repair. But Stephens is having none of it – he´s making clear it´s all about prevention through education. The aim of the race (other than to exhaust the fearless runners who dare to attempt this great feat) is to raise awareness about how to ‘maintain trail, keep people from cutting too many trails, and prevent erosion’ says Stephens. They’re also planning to demonstrate proper waste management to the island’s municipalities. As far as the community of Omeltepe is concerned the locals will provide the resourced needed for the race including aid stations, safety guides, food, medical care and lodging. Traverse Trail Running, which Stephens co-founded, will be fundraising for the race to help buy running shoes for the local children who want to compete in the min version of the race – the Calzado para Ometepe 5km and 10km. For mid-range runners there’s also a 25km and 50km option and a 2-3 runners relay for the 100km. If you´re a runner of any level the race of Ometepe is a treat to experience. Set in the dense jungle forests of Nicaragua the challenge of climbing two volcanoes by foot is sure to be nothing short of spectacular. Stephens says that if it rains runners face trudging through mud and water up to their knees. They battle temperatures that range between 65-95 degrees F, bugs, roots and steep, single track accents and descents. It’s no wonder Stephens and locals want to keep this beautiful place safe. The race will also raise awareness about illegal poaching in the two volcanic national parks that the event is being held in. For more information visit www.fuegoyagua.org

Guatemala is a place of many contrasts. In one day you can count a list of observations that are endless: the women carrying a basket on her head dressed in a modern polka dot dress and bright red stiletto shoes; a woman wearing traditional indigenous weaved skirt and shirt walking along the sidewalk chatting away on a mobile phone, a hummer driving down the old cobbled streets of the small rural town of Anitgua; the old man wearing shiny black banker shoes and a courier style jacket on a gleaming Harley Davidson and the most inconspicuous MacDonald’s I've ever seen with the exterior as humble as any street vendor but with an interior as glossy as any 5 star café (outdoor patio with quaint old water feature and all). What topped the list was sighting, at the end of the evening, when the cobbled streets were empty, a white stretch limo roll quietly down the road – all this in an old town surrounded by active volcanoes in the middle of Guatemala. I write this as I sit in one of the only ‘cafés’ in the rural town of San Juan, Comalapa in Guatemala called Café Chixot. I´ve ordered the first Mocha (with a slice of carrot cake!) I´ve seen in a month travelling though Central America: not in the big cities of Guatemala or Cuba but here in these ancient streets of Comalapa. But what is perhaps more surprising is that the eco word has appeared to reach these parts. 100% of the coffee in this wee oasis of a café, is sourced from local coffee bean growers and producers, as its tag line suggests: `!Mi café, tu café, nuestro café! (My café, your café, our café). On the back of its newly laminated paper menus is the café’s mission which goes something like this (if my semi-Spanish speaking travelling partners have translated correctly): to ensure the reforestation and eco production is carried out as an alternative way of taking care of and safeguarding economic activity for many families and small cultivators of coffee. One of the Long Way Home volunteers I´ve been working with has been helping to build a primary school out of old tyres, plastic bottles and earth filled sugar bags, told me that the word has already spread about this new eco method of building. Some of the locals, having seen or been a part of its construction have adopted a similar approach to re-using ´modern` synthetic materials to build with. A resourceful lot anyway, it´s no surprise the adoption rate has been so quick, particularly in a country that has taken on the technologies of the modern world (mobile phones and the internet are most prominent) so swiftly, even in the most remote and poorer rural areas. Let’s hope the positive influences from the west outweigh the negative for all we need is another mass produced line of chain stores on another same, same high street in the world!