Projects Abroad Volunteer Programs in the Galapagos

I volunteered with Projects Abroad in the Galápagos Islands as part of a High School Specials group. It was the experience of a lifetime. During the 2 weeks, we were kept very busy doing impactful work in the local community. The staff were very involved and helpful. The accommodation was great, very comfortable and social atmosphere with good local food at lunch/dinner. Overall, the experience was fantastic and I would definitely recommend this project to anyone who is considering volunteering abroad.

This is by far the best voluntary project I have ever done. It was truly the best experience because I was actively involved and could see how projects abroad help with conservation in San Cristabol and also helped to employ locals working with the projects and the locals who also support volunteers there during their voluntary programme.
My activities ranged from planting Otoi trees- I must have planted more than 60 trees which I am so proud of and hope to go back one day to see them.!!! These trees are the tortoise staple diet.
I helped at the Giant Tortoise Breeding Centre- the only protected haven centre on the island where giant tortoise, endemic to the Galapagos are kept safe and bred. To feed these animal, clean their pools and observe them was such an amazing experience and to think they were nearly wiped out by sailors not so long ago. We must share this planet with them and their existence now is our responsibility and we must protect them!!!
I was also involved in monitoring sea lions- what an absolute thrill- to see these playful animals.
Invasive Plant removal- sadly the sailors also introduced plants such as Black berry, guava which have altered the ecosystems of the islands and are displacing the endemic plants by competing for food, light nutrients and geographical space. The eradication of these invasive plants is done by hand using machetes- its such rewarding work as you get to do some manual work- keeping in good physic( building strong biceps:)
Plant nursery -reforestation of endemic species is essential to these islands- putting seedlings into soil- getting dirty and regenerating mother nature- you can't imagine the joy of feeling and touch soil the life force that sustains the all that grows on this planet.
Beach clean up- yes sadly there is litter on the beach because people are still very ignorant about the impact of plastic and the dangerous rubbish. So being there and showing and telling the locals how unique their home is fundamental in educating and encouraging them to recycle.
The Galapagos islands are unique, mesmerising, spectacular and enchanting. The animals there will turn you into a giggling child, the excitement and joy you will experience is indescribable . You will encounter iguanas which are very unique to these islands,birds such the blue footed bobbies , red footed bobbies, frigate birds, finches etc, sea horses, sharks, whales, dolphins, turtles, sea lions and of course the tortoises themselves-hence the name Galapagos.

Please, please go- its an experience that you will never forget. I strongly recommend going with Projects Abroad because in my opinion they are professional, supportive and above all they are following some of the World Health Organisation's 17 Sustainable Developmental Goals.

I could not be more grateful for my past experience with Projects Abroad. It was an extremely humbling and meaningful experience. I taught English and helped in a primary school classroom. I loved meeting the children and teachers. I loved being immersed in the culture and grew extremely close to my host family. I just went back to visit them 3 years after my volunteer experience. It really changed my entire outlook on life. The appreciation and gratitude that I feel is unmeasurable and I don't feel that I would be who I am today without that experience. The experience is what you make of it.

Culture shock did hit me in the beginning and my host parents were so supportive and loving. I really felt that they considered me a part of their family.

When I volunteered with Projects Abroad, I was a junior and biochemistry major at Northeastern University. I traveled to San Cristobal island, in the Galapagos, from Boston, Massachusetts during my summer break in May-June of 2018. One thing I would recommend, if traveling from the east coast, is to book a hotel room in Quito at the Wyndham near the airport. Typically, you arrive at the airport at around midnight, and the Galapagos flight does not leave until 9 or 10am; by booking a hotel room, we got a few hours of good sleep that worked wonders the next day. I volunteered with the ESL program, joining other volunteers to teach English at a rural location. When you arrive at the Galapagos, you are greeted by an open-air airport security center and a beautiful view. This is a far cry from dreary Logan airport in Boston! William Puga, the coordinator from San Cristobal, greeted me and my traveling partner Lindsay; from there, we took a pickup truck taxi ride (get used to these!) to our volunteer camp.
The volunteer camp is a beautiful, well-maintained row of dormitories about a 15 minute ride from the main town on the ocean. There are free bananas hanging from vines, comfy hammocks, and a clean common area where all the volunteers hang-out and get to know each other. We were taken care of by our host family, a couple in their twenties with a beautiful baby girl. My host family was nothing but professional and friendly. The rooms were kept clean, the meals were plentiful and nutritious, and I got a real taste of San Cristobal by living with them. The host “mom”, Abi, even did our laundry with a one dollar deposit per load! Speaking of food, they were also able to accommodate my traveling partners unique dietary restrictions, something that really left a positive impact on our experience.
As aforementioned, my traveling partner and I worked teaching English at a rural school in Northern San Cristobal, about a five minute walk from our placement. This was an incredible experience; we taught 7, 40 minute classes per day, from 7:15 to 12:30. If we had to form a lesson plan or do research, we would typically stay from 12:45 to 3pm at the volunteer office in town until our job was done. The teachers were very accommodating of our impromptu class scheduling and seemed excited about their students learning English; with so much of San Cristobal’s jobs being related to tourism, it makes future employees very marketable if they know even a little English. We formed our own lesson plans based on given material, and taught each age level at a different pace. I am happy to say that we finished the majority of what we had set out to teach by the end of our placement, namely high-yield vocabulary and verbs. Forming relationships with the kids and watching their English knowledge progress made getting up early really easy. All of the inside jokes and play-time during “Recreo” (recess) made teaching the kids a lot more fun and engaging. When the kids had a week of school off during our last week of placement, our coordinator, arranged for us to work in the tutoring center in the center of town. Here, we worked with three age groups and two other volunteers. It was very interesting to see how Lindsay and I viewed teaching English compared to the other volunteers, as we had been designing lesson plans independent of one another; the majority of the teaching was very similar and flowed cohesively with me and Lindsay’s knowledge.

Hi my name is Sara Stewart. I am an early/childhood education major at SUNY Cortland. This past winter I went to San Cristobal in the Galapagos islands in Ecuador.
My project that I had was teaching children in Ecuador English. I taught four classes every weekday and I planned lessons in the morning for a hour. All of the classes I taught were very different from each other. The first class I taught was a beginners class. This ranged from students who were typically five to six years old who barley knew any English. The next class I taught was advanced. This class consisted mainly of seven to eight year olds. The advanced class has mediocre English skills and the aspect that these students struggled with most was grammar. The third class I taught was level five. Level five consisted of eight to ten year olds. These students spoke some clear statements, but these students as well struggled with grammar. The last class I taught was a conversation class. This was the most advanced class I taught. This class consisted of twelve to fourteen year olds. These students when I were there had a one on one helper and I was one of the students helper. The whole time you would talk in English and ask the students any questions that cam dot your mind. This program had many supplies that you can use in your classroom and were willing to add anything you thought would be beneficial to the classroom.
The staff support was amazing. They provided me with transportation the minute I got off the flight. They introduced me to mu host family right when I got there. Later on in the first day they showed me where I would be working. They explained to me what was expected of me. Then they walked me around to show me where some cool places were. The first day of volunteering they picked me up and made sure I learned the walk to the work place. They also help me meet other volunteers. They also helped me to get adjusted to teaching ESL learners. They provided me with the resources I needed to teach the children. They even let me work on the conversation for a morning to see the turtles.
There are many activities to do on the Galapagos. I wish I had more time because there was so much I wanted to do! One thing I would recommend when being on San Cristobal is doing the 360 tour. During this tour you are on about ride. The boat ride takes you to many beaches that you couldn’t get to other than by boat. It then it takes you to other amazing snoring sites, such as my favorite kicker rock! When Snorkeling in kicker rock I saw hammerhead sharks and a few Galapagos sharks. I also saw sea turtles and many exotic fish it was a great experience! This tour was very affordable and I would highly recommend it. San Cristobal has another beautiful site, which is the volcano. The volcano doesn’t have may tourists that come to visit, but it is one of the most beautiful sites on the island. On the island there are tons of beaches, there are tons of beautiful hikes and tons of water activities that are worth checking out. The wild life is also amazing! The turtles park is a must see., They have a conversation for the turtles. You can see really tiny ones up to ones that are huge and are older
than one hundred years old. San Cristobal is an amazing place. Anyone who has the opportunity to go I would highly recommend it. I would also suggest going to the other two islands, that is the one aspect that I regret not doing most!

Travelling to the Galapagos Islands was quite the experience. I worked with some excellent and very supportive staff members. They helped me design my schedule and catered to my needs and interests. I spent a lot of time with other volunteers in the organization who made the experience so much more memorable.

Teaching English to children was a great time, and there was so much joy and laughter that was spread that it radiated the entire island. My host family was great as well. I was given a private room, had three meals a day, and got to learn a little bit about their style of living. This is definitely one of the best experiences I have had traveling, and I would recommend this location to anyone looking for an adventure!

I decided to volunteer in the Galapagos Islands as a dance instructor with Projects Abroad. I was highly impressed by the professionalism of the staff. From being picked up from the airport to being shown and introduced to my placement, I always felt safe and taken care of. The airline actually lost my luggage on my way there and the PA staff was extremely proactive about tracking my luggage down and getting it to me as soon as possible. The PA staff also did a fantastic job of planning fun social outings and activities for all of the volunteers. I was lucky enough to stay with a truly AMAZING host family who went above and beyond to ensure I was happy, comfortable, and well fed.

I spent 6 weeks in San Cristobal volunteering in conservation. I was initially looking for a study abroad program but was uninterested in the classes that were offered. After some research I found this project. Initially I was worried that we would not truly be making a difference or working very hard. However, upon arrival I met the staff who were extremely dedicated and passionate about conservation and preserving the incredible biodiversity that exists in the Galápagos, I quickly realized this would not be the case.

We worked from 7AM to 12PM and 3PM to around 5PM Monday through Friday. On Fridays we had the afternoon off. On MWF we spent the morning in the Galapaguera which is the tortoise breeding center on the island. We would cut Otoy to feed the tortoises and spend several hours doing machete work to remove invasive species like blackberry and lanta. On Tuesdays we would go to the Otoy plantation to clear blackberry in the effort to later reforest with endemic species. We also spent a considerable about of time building a greenhouse which was difficult work but it was also very rewarding. In the afternoons we generally did less physically demanding tasks such as iguana monitoring, bird monitoring, and campaign. We also worked very closely with the National Park. I spent two weeks doing sea lion monitoring at 5:30AM every morning which was a spectacular experience. There is nothing like watching the sunrise on a beautiful beach full of sea lions in the Galápagos islands.

While not working I spent a lot of time with the other volunteers snorkeling or visiting the beaches near by. The animal life in the Galápagos is phenomenal! Every time I snorkeled I saw at least two sea turtles and while I was there I saw sharks, manta rays, dolphins, marine iguanas, sting rays, sea horses, sea lions, and of course a plethora of beautifully colored fish. The closest beach was only a 10-15 minute walk away. I also went island hopping with a great group of people. Traveling to Santa Cruz and Isabella is fairly inexpensive and I would advise everyone to experience the other islands while they are here. I also took a tour around San Cristobal which was fantastic.

Another aspect of the trip that I loved was meeting volunteers from all over the world. I did not think it was possible to get so close to people in just 6 weeks. I already have plans to meet with some of them in the near future. You will meet so many remarkable people in this program. We all went out almost every night and enjoyed learning about each others respective countries and cultures. I met volunteers ranging from 15 years old to 53 years old and we all got along wonderfully. There is a sense of community in this program that is extremely unique.

I cannot speak more highly of this program and I would do it again in a heartbeat. My only complaint is that I couldn't stay longer. Be prepared to work hard because you will be expected to. The work is rewarding and I loved every minute of it. Your Spanish will also improve greatly especially if you spend quality time with your host family. My host family was very kind and the food was amazing! I hope that you will consider the Galápagos for your next volunteer trip. I am so glad that I did!