In the last seven months I've seen more than I can squeeze into
one blog, I've met hundreds of people and been introduced to
cultural, biological and geological differences in 11 different
countries. I was starting to feel a bit down because in short, I
thought that humans had really messed up this planet.
Standing on the lip of the 10km Sierra Negra volcanic crater,
with the remnants of powerful explosions and unstoppable lava flows
before me, I realised how insignificant we are in the scheme of
things.
On the Galapagos Islands I came face to face with reptiles from
a prehistoric era and turtles that were born around the time of my
great, great grandparents.
The breeding centres are having such a positive impact. Take for
example the Espana tortoise whose species was reduced to 3 males
and 12 females worldwide but now there are 1500 roaming around and
reproducing. I felt like a peeping tom but was able to capture this
amazing video of two giant land tortoises
mating.The effort required for a giant tortoise to mount and mate
for 2 hours is probably the equivalent to you or I running a
marathon.
My dreams have been incredibly vivid the past week, perhaps my
subconscious was inspired by the intense colours and flourishing
life around me. I dreamed that planet Earth was in fact a breeding
centre, where the few remaining humans were dropped thousands of
years ago in the perfect environment for reproducing and evolving.
With the population now over 7 billion and the planet in disrepair
it was time to relocate us back to our natural environment,
unfortunately I woke up before I found out where that was!
Most of the Galapagos Islands are protected from the death and
destruction of short-term human thinking.
1000km off the coast of Ecuador, the world feels in balance and
I came away feeling hopeful that it's not too late - as long as we
don't wait for our own backyards to be protected before we start to
look after them.
Fresh water is scarce on the islands so it is incredibly
precious. Now every time I turn on the tap I try not to waste what
I don't need. What small change in behaviour can you make today to
make a better world tomorrow?