Be more than a mere tourist who travel to the Galapagos Islands every year only to take some exciting photos! Come to Galapagos to contribute to the conservation of natural habitats in this fragile ecosystem and help protect endemic flora and fauna. By volunteering on the Galapagos Islands, you also get involved in local communities and help with environmental education.

The Placement

This volunteer project in the Galapagos Islands gives you the unique opportunity to spend an extended time on these famous islands.

The Galapagos Islands are home to around 500 native plant species, but over 700 species have been introduced! The island of San Cristobal is located 960 kilometers from the mainland right in the Pacific. The Humboldt, Cromwell and Panama currents cross here, which means that the Galapagos Islands are extremely diverse. In recent decades, the Galapagos Islands have seen a higher birth rate and an increasing number of tourists. This led to a much higher demand for food and other products. Endemic plants had to give way to agriculture and livestock farming. The Galapagos Islands, however, could not produce enough to meet the increasing demand. For this reason, the government had to allow imports from the mainland, which had fatal consequences. With the imports of (fresh) food and agricultural products came non-endemic species such as the blackberry (spreads very quickly) but also many plant pests that threaten the native flora and fauna.

An important part of the volunteer project on the island of San Cristobal / Galapagos is to counter the spread of these species in order to protect the local flora and fauna. The project is pursuing various approaches for this goal

• Eradicating imported plants
• Reforestation of endemic plants
• Promoting a sustainable lifestyle
• Education of the population
• Community work (construction work, environmental education, English lessons, etc.) - only possible for long-term volunteers

This volunteer project is your chance to get to know the Galapagos Islands the way normal tourists are not able to see it. Help to preserve this unique spot on earth and to fight the problems of mass tourism.

The Location

San Cristobal is one of the two main islands of the archipelago of the Galapagos Islands. The island has an airport and a harbor, as well as a small town and several small villages. The capital of Galapagos, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, is located on the southwestern tip of the island. Near Puerto Baquerizo Moreno there are tourist sites such as Cerro Tijeretas, a breeding colony for frigates, and a statue of Charles Darwin, which marks the original site where he first landed on the Galapagos Islands during the second voyage of the HMS Beagle. 

Also, worth seeing is La Lobería, a colony of sea lions, only about ten minutes by bus from the city. There are also locals who offer boat trips to take visitors to two nearby diving sites. Popular photo motifs on the island are the many sea lions, cliff crabs, seashells, frigate birds, mockingbirds, rays, Bahama ducks, moorhens, Darwin's finches, brown pelicans, blue-footed boobies and last but not least the famous Galapagos giant tortoises. In the hinterland of San Cristobal, small farms grow fruit, vegetables and even organic coffee. 

The climate is constant throughout the year and averages 25 °C per day. The rainiest months are from January to May; in the remaining months there is very little rain.