Today, I find myself here, by the sea, writing about my experience living on an island. It all started when I was searching for an opportunity, and I found a living dream instead: volunteering in the Galápagos. I applied to the Landbird Conservation Program of the Charles Darwin Foundation and had the privilege of becoming part of their team.Today, I find myself here, by the sea, writing about my experience living on an island. It all started when I was searching for an opportunity, and I found a living dream instead: volunteering in the Galápagos. I applied to the Landbird Conservation Program of the Charles Darwin Foundation and had the privilege of becoming part of their team.

With a heart-shaped face and silent wings, the Galapagos barn owl is a quiet force of balance in the archipelago’s ecosystems. Endemic to the Islands, this elusive predator controls invasive rodent populations, supporting the survival of critically endangered species and ongoing ecological restoration. In the shadows of lava tunnels and forest canopies, it hunts with precision—and reminds us that even the smallest wings can carry the weight of conservation.

A Quito Photographer's Chronicles in the Enchanted Islands

Silky shark's record-breaking migration of more than 27,000 km on the Tropical Eastern Pacific sheds light on urgent conservation need

Lessons from the Field: A Five-Day Expedition with Galapagos Waved Albatross on Española Island

Phil van Haarlem was truly a force of nature. In celebration of his life, and to honour his time with us over the last 10 years, we have asked colleagues and friends to tell us their unique experience with Phil, whom we miss dearly.

Park rangers from the Galapagos National Park Directorate (GNPD), in collaboration with scientists from the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF), have discovered two new areas of Scalesia cordata on Sierra Negra volcano, located in southern Isabela Island. This discovery marks a significant milestone in the ongoing efforts to preserve this critically endangered species, which has seen its natural habitat severely reduced.