2022 Echo Footsteps Global Initiative: Galapagos
Through Echo’s 2022 Footsteps Global Initiative: Galapagos, ten Echo Student Ambassadors focused on climate change and the environment with specific attention to this extraordinary archipelago off the coast of Ecuador. Following six months of intensive study in Charlotte using the Echo curriculum, ECHOLOGIC, ten Echo Student Ambassadors traveled to Galapagos this past summer.
Experiential learning led the Ambassadors to further their study and impact when they:
met local High School students and formed lasting bonds with them
planted trees at Hacienda Tranquila: A small farm with a unique volunteer program and environmentally conscious practices
visited the UNC Science Center of the Galapagos and spoke with scientists on climate change
learned how to make bioplastics from natural materials such as shells or algae
examined the unique culture, environment and animals of Galapagos through a cooking lesson, guided hikes and encounters with wild animals
“Our trip taught me a lot about myself, and the environment and we are so lucky to have experienced everything we did and saw. The Galapagos Islands is a place that feels so surreal and serves as a great reminder of how imperative it is that we do everything we can to protect our planet.”
2022 Ambassador Hope
“Being able to experience all of this with a shared sense of community and appreciation of each other and our environment, and the mutual knowledge that we would take this experience and one another back to our homes and better the world, that is what truly differentiated the Echo experience, and my time in Galapagos.”
2022 Ambassador Meha
“Throughout the whole trip, I felt a sense of belonging to a community that I had only been a part of for a few days. The way [other high school students] welcomed all these foreign high school students to be able to understand and learn their culture was something that made [us all] feel very special.”
-2022 Ambassador Olivia