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Restoring Habitat for Wildlife in San Cristobal, Ecuador
The remote volcanic archipelago of the Galápagos is home to flora and fauna found nowhere else on earth. Here on San Cristóbal, Charles Darwin first stepped off The Beagle to study the endemic species of the islands: giant tortoises on Rabida, nesting dark-billed tropical penguins on Bartolomé, 12 species of finches, and the marine iguanas that Darwin—in one of his more poetic moments—called disgusting "imps of darkness." The island attracts nature lovers and biology nuts, but tourism and an increasing population are precipitating the contamination of this previously isolated ecosystem. Those who can't resist a visit and want to forge a deeper connection with Darwin’s “Enchanted Islands" can volunteer with the Jatun Sacha Foundation to help reconstruct the native habitat (and rip out invasive species that now cover 80% of San Cristobal).
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