Ms Marcia Barton
Reflections from the 2008 Toyota International Teacher Program to the Galápagos Islands
Barton, second from right, enjoys the sunset with fellow participants aboard the M/V Santa Cruz.
Unexpectedly, I fell in love on the trip to the Galapagos. The feelings snuck up on me, but when I returned home, I knew it was true. I had fallen wholeheartedly in love with the natural world again, in all of its beauty and all of its ugliness. I felt reconnected to the stunning beauty inherent in all living creatures, and to my fellow educators, and I understood on a deeper kinesthetic level how my choices and actions affect creatures thousands of miles away. This love affair has renewed my commitment to teaching about environmental issues and strengthened my resolve to help young people realize that there are positive actions that they can take to reduce their carbon footprint and tread more lightly upon this fantastic planet we call home.
That’s it! I felt at home – connected to the wildlife, colleagues, children and adults who live in the Galapagos Islands and in Ecuador. Toyota created an unforgettably rich professional development experience for us. The cruise ship adventures, in particular, allowed us to explore the islands in a way that left us free to experience the splendor and magnificence of the islands. For example, the snorkeling was a totally engaging body/mind experience, both slightly scary and wonderfully marvelous. It was like a science fiction experience. With my head above the water, the world was as I knew it. Air, land and water were perceived to be correctly in their right places. But when I submerged my face below the water with snorkeling gear on, a whole new magical world appeared, full of fantastic shapes, colorful creatures, and best of all, giant turtles! Large, graceful creatures nibbling on algae, they moved through the medium of water with ease. Following that elegant creature through the water, I was completely in awe. That awe and wonder laid the foundation for a deep caring and a feeling of being connected to the turtles and their ecosystem in a way that no intellectual study could ever do.
The Galapagos Islands provide an important case study of the human impact on ecosystems. As Felipe Cruz of the Charles Darwin Research Station said (paraphrasing him), “We can not exclude humans from the Galapagos, we must take them into account when considering how to manage the islands.” Felipe pointed out that the islands are actually in better ecological shape than they were in 1906 after the great tortoise and whale massacres. He also illustrated how tourism drives all the human systems on the islands. If it weren’t for tourism and good paying jobs, there would not be migration to the islands, and the resulting strain on public services such as fresh water supply, education, roads and waste water treatment. The similarities to my hometown of Santa Fe, New Mexico are striking. We depend on tourism to keep our economy healthy, and we face similar challenges of adequate fresh water supplies, illegal immigration and under funded educational systems. The isolation of the Galapagos makes it possible to study how the interrelationships of all these factors impact an area.
The collaboration with the Galapagueño teachers and other US teachers was a fruitful experience for me. Suddenly, without planning it beforehand, we found ourselves in a process of clarifying our underlying educational strategy for teaching environmental education. We all agreed that providing experiences where our students could fall in love with ecosystems would be ideal. We also acknowledged that this is one of the most challenging types of experience to facilitate. The time required to find funding, file the paperwork, arrange for transportation, and complete all of the field trip and medical release forms is daunting. Yet it is also one of the most rewarding. As my Galapagueño colleague said, “How can we ask our students to care about the environment if they do not love it?” Once students have a relationship with the environment, they are more actively engaged in developing the knowledge and skills they need to become informed about environmental issues. The formation of a relationship to the local and global environment also plants a seed which can be fostered into the desire to take positive action for change. It is essential that as environmental educators we spend an equal amount of time educating about positive actions for change as we spend educating our students about the gloom and doom situation that we are in. Our collaboration stressed that we want to engage all parts of our students: their hearts, their intellects, and their abilities to take action.
I fell in love with the adult sea lions and their adorable young pups. Watching them relax in the sun on the beach and play together in the water was truly delightful. They seem an easy going, fun loving species. I wept inwardly when I heard how all the pups and almost half of the adults starved to death during the last El Niño. An El Niño caused by climate change brought warmer currents to the islands and kept the nutrient rich colder water from reaching the islands. The sardines and other food the sea lions depend on live in the colder water, and so they starved. Why does it make a difference if I ride my bike to work instead of driving? Why should I recycle? Why should I do any of the things that might reduce carbon emissions? I only have to think of the sea lions and I know why. Climate change is not simply an interesting academic question to me– it has real consequences to creatures that I feel connected to.
I was honored to be part of the Toyota International Teacher program. Due to this extraordinary experience of professional development, my resolve was renewed and deepened to do whatever I can to contribute to the health and well being of our planet through personal actions and through working in the education of our young people. Many thanks to Toyota for funding this incredible journey!