ECOGALAPAGOS FOUNDATION
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Mission Statement
The Ecogalapagos Foundation seeks to provide a variety of educational venues for students and teachers in the United States, and in the Galapagos Islands. We seek to promote sound environmental and sustainable practices in the Galapagos Islands, while at the same time encouraging student civic involvement that will contribute to the overall health of this unique UNECSO Natural Heritage site. Students and teachers from the United States will be able to participate in these venues and share the environmental lessons learned with their colleagues.
About This Cause
The Ecogalapagos Foundation was founded after years of experience working with university students and professors from the United States in the Galapagos Islands. At the same time, we incorporated projects partnering with several schools in Galapagos and the Galapagos National Park, into the university program. As a result, strong ties were made to the community in San Cristobal, Galapagos, and some of our staff. As time passed, we were able to bring several students from Galapagos to Arizona to visit schools, interact with Arizona students, and also visit many popular visitor sites in the Southwest. We also became involved in working with teachers and students in Galapagos to a greater extent each year. As a result, we saw the importance of understanding the environmental problems unique to Galapagos, as well as those shared by communities in the United States and around the world. As educators, we also realized the importance of environmental education in the lives of students for protecting their environment in the present, as well as making it more secure for the future. Galapagos allows an unprecedented opportunity for U.S. students to visit and learn about the Galapagos archipelago; while visiting the United States offers the Galapagos students a chance to see the "outside world," and learn how we are attacking some of the same ecological problems that Galapagos is facing. In the future, as funds permit, the Ecogalapagos Foundation hopes to facilitate short-term student exchanges through public schools in Galapagos and Arizona. We also hope to establish a learning center in Galapagos where students can expand their knowledge of environmental issues and sustainability which will help protect the fragile ecosystems of Galapagos for the future. The center could also help foster research from scientists in the United States by providing them with some research facilities and temporary housing. By providing a host of community services, especially for the students of Galapagos, this center would strengthen community involvement by the students and offer them sound alternatives to the drug and alcohol culture common in Galapagos where very few sound leisure time activities are offered. Partnering with many other organizations can help to make these goals a reality.