Of the 30,000 people who live on Galapagos, 40% are under the age of 15 years. Shockingly, over 90% of children living on the Islands have never been ‘out’ into the National Park – and have never seen much of the wildlife that tourists enjoy.
This is due to limited access to the Galapagos National Park and a lack of outdoor learning opportunities. A 2008 report showed that only 36% of women in Galapagos have completed secondary education and 18% pursued higher education. GCT is supporting Gills Club – a club that aims to engage more girls in shark science and is led by female shark researchers from the Galapagos Science Centre. Here are some recent pictures from Gills Club of girls learning to snorkel so they can do transect surveys in San Cristobal. These types of field trips will give them first-hand understanding of shark ecology, mangrove habitats and threats to juvenile sharks.
FAIRPLAY SOUTH WEST ON TWITTER
