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The Dutch ship Oosterschelde is on a two-year mission to work with future scientists who will study species discovered by Charles Darwin and develop projects to save them. The journey is retracing Darwin’s famous travels onboard the HMS Beagle, from 1831-1836.
Two hundred young naturalists from around the world are expected to participate in the project over the course of two years.
Here, 11 of the 200 participants, known as Darwin 200 leaders, spent time studying the environment and its flora and fauna, big and small, like scavenging beetles and sea turtles. And they were joined by Sarah Darwin, the great-great-granddaughter of Charles Darwin, herself a botanist.
“The Darwin 200 project is a really innovative project,” she says. “They are empowering young people from all over the world… These people will then go back to their own countries with this newfound knowledge and this incredibly supportive network of fellow Darwin 200 leaders, as well as scientists and conservationists.”
Darwin set sail aboard the HMS Beagle in 1831 on a five-year voyage that passed around South America and went to Australia and New Zealand. The visit to the Galápagos Islands was one of the most famous stops during his journey.
“Charles Darwin was 22 when he left the coast of the UK on HMS Beagle on this five-year voyage. So he was quite similar in a way to a lot of these young people,” says Sarah Darwin.
“He was enthusiastic. He wasn’t a trained scientist, but he was very, very passionate about nature, and nature was his inspiration. And so actually he shares a lot of characteristics with these Darwin 200 leaders,” she adds.
Sarah Darwin worked with the young conservationists on the islands for two weeks, studying the Galápagos tomato.
The exchange of skills and knowledge between all the participants of the Darwin 200 project is inspiring, she says: “The idea is, is that we’ll be educating these young people. But of course, in actual fact, they also educate us. I mean, I learned so much about communication. They’re so skilled at how to communicate to their peer groups. ”
It will run until July 20, 2025, when the ship will return to the UK.
This article was provided by The Associated Press.