Subject: Galapagos Conservation Trust e-News

From: "Galapagos Conservation Trust" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2007 11:14:51 +1300

Welcome to the Galapagos Conservation Trust e-News Home  | Membership  | Newsroom  | Conservation projects  | About Us  | Contact Us  Welcome to the Galapagos Conservation Trust's e-newsletter... 31 January, 2007 

Dear Mr Stephens, 

In this edition: 

OBE for Kent conservationist and GCT patron 
Nearly 19,000 sea cucumbers confiscated 
>From Galapagos with love 
Weekend trip to Shrewsbury 
Culinary Programme in Puerto Ayora: How a group of private donors set up Galapagos' first vocational school 
OBE for Kent conservationist and GCT patron 

Buckingham Palace has announced that Professor Ian Swingland, founder of the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) at the University of Kent, and GCT patron, has been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the New Year Honours List for 2007. The citation recognises his services to conservation. For further information, visit our website at www.gct.org/jan07_2.html. 

In honour of Professor Swingland's OBE, GCT is raising funds for the tortoise breeding centre at the Charles Darwin Research Station. If you would like to give a donation to the centre, please visit https://secure.gct.org/don_gen.html, or contact the GCT office on 020 7629 5049 or email [email-masked]. 

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Nearly 19,000 sea cucumbers confiscated 

Park Wardens from Santa Cruz and Isabela confiscated approximately 19,000 sea cucumbers (Holothuria atra) last weekend. As they approached Santa Rosa, to the south of Isabela, a legally licensed boat - the Nathaly - realised that they were park wardens and started to run away. The Park Wardens gave chase and caught them up at a place called El Finado. When the Park Wardens boarded the boat they found nothing out of order. 

However, when the Park Wardens returned to Santa Rosa and inspected the area, they found an illegal camp with industrial cookers, gas cylinders, barrels and thousands of dead sea cucumber. The Park Wardens informed the Isabela office and the sea cucumbers are being held by the Ecuadorian navy who counted 18,788 sea cucumbers. 

The majority of Galapagos fishermen respect the ban on sea cucumber fishing agreed by the AIM (the governing body for the Galapagos Marine Reserve consisting of all the stakeholders) but the Galapagos National Park have stated that they will continue working to ensure that a small minority of irresponsible fishermen do not break the regulations. 

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>From Galapagos with love 

This Valentine's Day why not support GCT's work by adopting a rare Galapagos species for someone you love. You can support the critically endangered plant species of Galapagos by adopting a passionflower for a loved one or support a bird species that stays with its mate for life - the Waved Albatross. 

More than ever there is a need for all of us to work together to preserve these unique and beautiful islands for future generations, and by adopting a special Galapagos species you will be doing just that. 

Visit our website at www.gct.org to find out more about adopting a passionflower or waved albatross. Or why not adopt another Galapagos animal as a gift? Here are some other dates to remember: Mothers' Day, 18th March; Easter, 8th April; Fathers' Day, 17th June 

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Weekend trip to Shrewsbury 

Join GCT on a special weekend in Shrewsbury on the 23rd and 24th February which will include dinner, Galapagos Day Shrewsbury with guest speaker Santiago Bejarano, a visit to an exhibition of the photographic diary of a voyage around the Galapagos, a special guided Darwin tour, also with the option of attending a lecture with Professor Denis Alexander, 'Darwinism & Religion' in St Julians Centre. 

For tickets or more information, please book online at https://secure.gct.org/event_gen.html or contact Abigail on [email-masked] or 020 7629 5049. The cost of a weekend ticket is £175.00 and includes accommodation, dinner, breakfast and the events listed above. If you are interested in attending, please contact Abigail at your earliest convenience, so that she can reserve a seat for you at the Galapagos Day lecture. 

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Culinary Programme in Puerto Ayora: How a group of private donors set up Galapagos' first vocational school 

Read the heartwarming story about the beginnings of the Culinary Programme in Galapagos, and how a chef, a hotel manager and a fund-raising specialist combined to create the first vocational school in the islands, by visiting our website at http://www.gct.org/culinaryprog.html. 

You will also be introduced to several students on the programme, including Daniel who was the sole provider of his family, when enrolling into the Culinary School. Both his parents having died, it was up to him to look after his siblings. Sensing an opportunity to both double his future income (to about $600/month) and help the islands, Daniel rose to the task in an admirable way - his grades are among the best of the entire school year. 

Thank you to Sven Lorenz (the fund-raising specialist!) for sharing this story with us. 

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