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Lessons in conservation, tourism, and island life from a journey nearly 3,000 miles away.
On April 16, I was one of 30 Nantucket High School students and five teachers who left Nantucket with our eyes set on another island almost 3,000 miles away. We were bound for the Galapagos, on a trip organized by the science department, with the head chaperone being Heather MacDonald, who teaches biology and anatomy/physiology at Nantucket High School. The goal of this trip was to take students off our island to teach them not only about Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution, but also to teach the students the valuable lesson of embracing new cultures, giving us an opportunity to compare the two different islands' life. Upfront, the Galapagos and Nantucket seem very different with the only similarities being that they are islands, isolated from the rest of the world. However when you look closer, you will find that the two islands share a ton of similarities; both have a heavy tourist-based economy, and above all, have a strong motivation to preserve the island.
Being islands, both the Galapagos and Nantucket are very heavily impacted by the ever-changing climate. While both islands have a driving force to preserve nature, the efforts taken in the Galapagos are far more extreme than on Nantucket. The Galapagos itself is a chain of islands consisting of about 13 major islands and hundreds of small rock islands. The Galapagos islands were made a national park in 1950, and they are protected by the Ecuadorian government and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This accounts for the heavy environmental restrictions that have taken place. While we were there we experienced these restrictions firsthand.
The most prevalent restriction that I noticed was their extreme caution on the spread of invasive species. When flying to the Galapagos, there are not many places you can fly through to get there, as there must be extensive screening to ensure that you are not carrying any seeds or live plants and animals that could be spread to the Galapagos. We flew through Quito, Ecuador's capital, where we went through the screening process, which involves running your checked bags through an X-Ray machine. After that, all bags were zip-tied shut to ensure that nothing was added to them that was not screened. We went through the same procedure once we got to the Galapagos and were traveling from one island to another, to further ensure the preservation of natural species.
They also have very strong restoration efforts to preserve endangered species. The most famous of these, which we saw firsthand, was the preservation of the famous giant tortoises. These efforts range from breeding centers, to collecting eggs from the wild and raising them, and on some islands, eradicating invasive species such as rats, which has allowed some species of giant tortoise to recover and be able to reproduce on their own. While on the trip, we visited the Charles Darwin Research Center, where we learned about the efforts to preserve these tortoises. We also learned about the efforts to preserve other species such as finch species and marine life, such as green sea turtles, Galapagos sea lions, and Galapagos penguins. We then got to see these efforts with a visit to one of the tortoise sanctuaries and one of the tortoise breeding centers. While these measures are very drastic, it pays off as the tortoise species are starting to thrive and their environment is pristine. I think Nantucket could learn from the Galapagos in means of restoration, implementing restoration efforts on the island similar to the ones for the tortoises on the piping plovers or other endangered species could have an outstanding impact on the island.
Another thing we have in common is our tourist-based economy. In the Galapagos, tourism is strictly regulated to ensure things don't get out of hand in terms of overtourism and overpopulation of people. As an island, the environment can only support so many people, and the Galapagos does an excellent job of allowing for the tourism needed for their economy while also preserving their environment and allowing locals to live their life there. In order to travel to the Galapagos, you must acquire a Transit Control Card also called a TCC. The amount of these given out is regulated to ensure that not too many tourists come, and to get one, you must pay $200 per card. You also must pay a $200 entry fee upon arrival and sign a Biosecurity Declaration if you are over 18. This says that you do not have anything that could threaten the environment such as seeds or fresh food. You must also have a naturalist guide with you when you leave the residential area. These are people who are trained in nature and how to preserve it, further ensuring that nothing will happen to the environment due to tourism.
In the Galapagos, 97% of it is protected area and you need a naturalist guide to enter. The other 3% is residential areas where the locals live. In this residential area, you do not need a naturalist guide, however you must follow some rules that are present everywhere in the Galapagos, including the “2 meter or 6 foot rule,” which says you can not come within 6 feet or 2 meters of any animal. Another rule that must always be followed is the ban of flash photography to further protect the environment and the animals living there. These are also all very extreme measures taken, but again pay off tremendously. While not all of these would work on Nantucket, I think some of these, if implemented, could benefit Nantucket. The biggest being the regulation of tourism, to not overpopulate our island past its capacity.
Overall, this trip was definitely a life changing experience. Some of the highlights for me were the amazing environment and new animals that we saw all over the place, along with learning about the methods that are used to preserve this beautiful ecosystem along with preserving its tourist economy. I think that everyone on this trip definitely was able to learn something new and unique to this amazing place. If you ever get an opportunity to go, take it, as this is a life changing experience that will forever change how you view conservation.
