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Galapagos conservation projects

country:Ecuador, Galapagos Islands
location:Galapagos Islands 
departures:Departures throughout the year. This is a stand alone project tailor made to your specific requirements
price:From £895 (2 weeks) - £2895 (4 weeks) including flights from Quito
vouchers:Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday
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introduction to Galapagos conservation projects

Volunteer on the Galapagos before exploring the islands by boat.

Project Background
Our projects on the Galapagos Islands are helping to repair and conserve the natural habitat so that endemic fauna can thrive. Our project HQ is on San Cristobal Island where we work in partnership with the Galapagos National Park (GNP) and in consultation with a local NGO. There is a tremendous amount of work to be done: tasks vary from doing site surveys, identifying and counting native species and eradicating introduced plants.

We would also like to make links with local schools on San Cristobal Island to help strengthen awareness of conservation issues amongst the young population which is vital for the long-term survival of many endangered species. It’s not all work and no play! Weekends are free to explore some of the sites around San Cristobal Island and the town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is never far away for a taste of the local lifestyle.

Galapagos Islands, projectsProject Galapagos Highlights

  • Join our Galapagos conservation and community development project
  • Eight day sail-trek abound the Galapagos Islands (4 week option only)
  • New friends and the time of your life!
This is an all-inclusive trip, with full support and a range of services provided before, during and after the trip.

Please note: Any variants of the two or four week itinerary option are available for this project. Typical examples include two weeks on project and a week on the sail cruise or three weeks on project and a week on the sail cruise. Anything is possible on this programme so please contact us.
a day in a life of a volunteer
Volunteer Project: Throughout the day you will be clearing and maintaining plots of land of introduced plant species. This is the main concept of the project with an aim to regenerate the island to its original state, benefiting all those wonderful wildlife species. The project is completely self sufficient so you will also help to run the site itself. Activities may include helping in the kitchen and maintaining fruit and vegetable supplies from the surrounding the area. Throughout your stay you will be educated on which plants are the bad and introduced species and the quite obvious effect they have had on the island. Some time is also spent collecting seedlings from specific well maintained surrounding areas.

traveller reviews for Galapagos conservation projects

Flying over San Cristobal Island in the Galapagos then landing on the tiny airstrip right by the sea and seeing unique plants and animals for the first time that I had only seen in books or in documentaries was the most exciting part. (more)
how this holiday makes a difference
Groups are kept to a maximum of sixteen people, big enough to help the local communities, but not big enough to have a negative affect themselves. Back in the UK we also have our own environmental policy and we believe this is where responsible travel should start, prior to departure. It is simple things that help and perhaps the biggest impact in the office comes from recycling paper, as a rule where possible we print on both sides of paper and it is not until it is completely beyond use that we then send it to be recycled.

All our development projects have been carefully chosen to satisfy several criteria. They are of definable and sustainable benefit to the indigenous community and allow us the opportunity to work in tandem with the host community. Funding for the projects comes directly from the our Trust. For each person that joins the us, we, as a company, give at least US $400 to the Trust. 100% of the money the Trust receives is spent on the projects.

All development projects are over-seen by a resident Project Manager whose role is to co-ordinate the adventures, the funding and the project's objectives. We are committed to direct patronage within the local economies of the countries in which we operate. We pay local tutors to teach languages; accommodation throughout the adventure is in locally owned hostels or based in the project locations; and the entire expedition budget will be spent by the team at local "grass roots" level.

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