August 2008

A Tale of Two Archipelagos Part 1

Anyone that has taken a class in biology has likely heard about, or explored topics related to the Galapagos Islands. This small archipelago, straddling the Equator 600 miles west of the western coast of South America shares with Catalina similarities including conservation challenges.

Galapagos was made famous by naturalist Charles Darwin who wrote his hypothesis on the origin of species, in part from his observations of plants and animals of these islands. Almost 180 years later, hundreds of scientists have visited Galapagos, learning more about their unique species-and most recently, struggling with how to protect them.

Galapagos conservation challenges share many similarities with Catalina and the rest of the California Channel Islands. In this series of articles, we'll explore some of these challenges, the plants and animals that have made Galapagos so famous, and extract a few lessons that he can apply here on Catalina.

The Conservancy now offers travel opportunities to unique places like the Galapagos. To learn more about traveling with the Conservancy, click here.