This was written by the World Challenge Planning Manager for Ecuador & the Galapagos. Every year she travels throughout the country and the islands to find you the best itinerary options …
As I sit on the white sand beach looking out at the ocean, I realize that I am the only person here. The only sounds are the crashing waves, and the omnipresent bark of the Galapagos sea lions. My eye is drawn to something dark in the shallows of the shoreline. I watch transfixed as a huge marine iguana crawls out of the water onto the beach. He is a remarkable looking creature with dragon-like features: a line of sharp spines along his back, black scaly skin and a long tail bringing his length to about one meter. He waddles back into the water and gracefully swishes his tail as he swims off to sit on a lava rock nearby. There I watch him sit, staring at nothing into the distance for the next two hours. Such is the life of a marine iguana.
The Galàpagos Islands, an archipelago of 14 islands 1000 kilometers off the coast of Ecuador, is home to dozens of weird and wonderful creatures whose amiability has made them world famous. The Galàpagos experience doesn’t wait until you have settled in.
On the second day I found myself standing on a white sand beach surrounded by black lava rocks and sparkling blue ocean. High above, frigate birds circled like enormous bats, blue-footed boobies flaunted their dazzling diving skills and pelicans used their huge bills to swoop and catch unsuspecting fish.
The volcanic landscape and the huge pre-historic looking birds reminded me of a cross between Star-Trek and Jurassic Park. I was not alone though: apart from the sea lions basking in the sun by my feet, I had a herd of 25 children to entertain for the morning. I set my aside feeble Spanish and negligible experience with children to work on trash-picking, snorkelling, surfing and game playing, all of which used up about one tenth of the children’s energy. This is a community where no one is a stranger, and where life is certainly different from the average town.
I noticed some stragglers from the group harassing a crab with a stick. Now, this was no ordinary crab – the Sally Lightfoot’s vibrant colored shell is found nowhere else on earth. Whilst defending the creature from its juvenile persecutors, I turned to find their companions pointing at a baby sea lion by the water’s edge.
The bark of the sea lion is as ubiquitous as the sound of the waves. Colonies of these smelly, though magnificent beasts, laze around on the town promenade, occasionally shuffling down to the water and treating the tourists to a spectacular aquatic display. The birds fish, the shop owners sit around on the street chatting, and the government workers wander unhurriedly from office to office.
I had 3 months to devote to volunteer work and I had to decide which one of the islands or needy species to assist. I chose the largest and most brightly colored species, which since being introduced to the archipelago in the 18th century has grown to a population of 20,000 on four of the islands. Homo sapiens make considerably more noise than any other Galàpagos mammal. A quarter of these live on San Cristòbal, the capital of the province and home to the Foundation Nueva Era Galàpagos (FNEG). Eight years old and staffed principally by foreign volunteers, the foundation aims to empower the islanders and raise conservation awareness by providing virtually free English and environmental education classes. I would be teaching English and helping out with the “E-Club” (environmental club).
For William Puga, the founder and director of the FNEG, education is the key to conservation, and is equally as important as the scientific research undertaken here. “The population of this island is here to stay,” he explains, “This is their home, and therefore it is essential that they themselves become a part of the process of conservation.”
To this end, the “E Club” regularly takes over the town’s main plaza, filling it with various stands, posters and children eager to paint everything in sight. On “World Environment Day” children learned how to re-cycle paper into art, showed off their posters about the island’s flora and fauna, and helped transform the square into a life-sized environmental board game. One volunteer enthused, “The most satisfying thing is seeing kids passing on their appreciation of the issues to their parents. I have seen children telling their parents why they shouldn’t drop litter!” The development of this community isn’t only about environmental awareness though. “We need to give these kids a voice and choices in their future careers,” says William. Although currently 60% of the islanders generate their income from fishing, tourism is clearly the future.
FNEG is the only organisation of its kind in the Galàpagos archipelago, and although the need for environmental education is slowly being recognised, the focus is still strongly on pure scientific research and conservation. Being part of something which really is having an impact on the community and the conservation process of the island while working alongside some of the most incredible wildlife on the planet was a fantastic experience and one which I would totally recommend to anyone.
Every year World Challenge pairs some teams of Challengers with FNEG to help continue to promote environmental education and community action in the Galapagos.
