Cultural & Educational Opportunities Aboard the Islander

There were a variety of cultural and educational activities aboard the ship, when we were not on excursions or snorkeling. Here is a summary of a few during the week.

Nature Photography Sessions - Naturalist and Photo Instructor Aura Banda gave two talks on photography. The first session was on "Knowing your Camera" which was a good refresher before exploring the islands full of wildlife. The second session was on "Image Composition" where she reminded us of the rule of thirds and to experiment. These talks were accompanied by her excellent photos as examples (our photos are shown on this page).

Geology of the Galapagos Islands - A short presentation was given about the geological hot spot origins and the currents which define the Galapagos Islands.

• The Galapagos Islands are volcanic islands formed in a similar manner as the Hawaiian Islands. The Galapagos are a geological hot spot due to the number of volcanoes and the interaction of two Tectonic plates.  Subduction is where one Tectonic plate slides under another Tectonic plate. "A major subduction zone is located along the west coast of Central and South America, just north of the Galapagos Islands, where the Nazca and Cocos Plates are subducting beneath the South American and Carribean plates." Subduction zones are marked by deep trenches and overlying chains of volcanoes.
• There are five ocean currents which converge on the Galapagos Islands. The primary currents are the Panama Current (warm) from the north and the Humboldt Current (cold) from the south. This is why penguins  can exist in the Galapagos Islands.

Lindblad Philanthropic and Development Efforts - of Lindblad's many community efforts, these two were shared on the boat.

• Lindblad Artisan Fund. This Fund provides support to a variety of communities around the world to develop their craft potential more effectively, safely and successfully. In certain instances it will involve training for artists; and in other cases, it will involve supplying equipment and helping to find creative ways to develop markets. Some of the artists works were in the Global Market on the ship.
• Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic Fund for Galapagos. Since 1997, guests traveling with Lindblad Expeditions on Galapagos cruises have supported conservation efforts in these magnificent islands. As of October 2009, more than $4.5 million has been raised from our guests for projects such as the eradication of feral pigs on Santiago and the support of National Park Marine Reserve patrol boats. Funds from our guests are contributed entirely to local projects, as determined by an independent board and implemented by the Galapagos National Park and Charles Darwin Research Station.

Research on Tortoises and Donkeys near Volcan Alcedo - Expedition leader Lynn Fowler shared her experiences doing her PhD research in the Galapagos. When Lynn was studying the affects of donkeys (introduced a couple centuries ago) on the tortoises, she lived at the top of the Alcedo Volcano. She lived alone for 18 months, with visitors every three months. She studied both species eating, sleeping and breeding habits during the wet and dry seasons. She made recommendations for eliminating the goat population. As feral goats have been eliminated, plant and animal species are recovering.

Charles Darwin - Presentation on his life, discoveries, and contemporaries. Charles Darwin was born in England on the same day in the same year as Abraham Lincoln February 12, 1809. Darwin didn't do well in medical school so went to Divinity School. Darwin became interested in biology and geology. He got an invitation to join a 2 year expedition as a naturalist. He quickly became with Captain Fitsroy of the Beagle and was soon the "captain's companion". By the time he left England 12/7/31, he knew it would be a 4 year journey. Darwin was in the Galapagos Archipelago for 5 weeks but stayed on the island only 19 days. He sent specimens in wooden boxes back with ships returning to England. He identified different species, called the marine iguana "imps of darkness", and didn't do very well with finch identification due to species being on different islands. He returned to London in October 2, 1836. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection. Alfred Russel Wallace explored 14,000 miles in 8 years and identified 1000 new species and collected 125,000 specimens. He came up with similar results as Darwin and it was only when the threat of Wallace's publishing the results, that Darwin finally published "The Origin of Species" in 1859, (23 years after the return of the Beagle) with compelling evidence for evolution  overcoming scientific rejection of earlier concepts of transmutation of species.

Cultural - One night a local band with dancers entertained us and another night naturalist Christian Saa sang some songs. Samples of his songs can be found here.