Galapagos ICE

July 2008:  Nineteen volunteers from the coeducational Ecuadoran Scouting organization (Asociación de Scouts del Ecuador) in Quito spent 2 days painting 5 houses surrounding the main square of Santa Rosa, and touching up the town’s main office and coliseum interior. Seventeen of the volunteers were children, ages 6-17, accompanied by 2 adult leaders. Their efforts help the citizens of Santa Rosa fulfill their goals for improvement and beautification of their village, particularly to attract ecologically minded tourists.

April 2008:  Galapagos ICE coordinated an effort with Ecology Project International (EPI) for 32 volunteers — 16 students and teachers from the United States and 16 Galapagos high school students — to paint the exteriors of Santa Rosa’s municipal buildings and perform lawn and landscaping maintenance on their grounds. EPI is an educational non-profit that works through FUNDAR, a Galapagos foundation focused on conservation, to offer international and local students the opportunity to learn ecological field research techniques in the Islands. Participants are required to fulfill community service and this group generously volunteered their time to help with the Galapagos ICE Santa Rosa campaign.