In July 2015, I volunteered for a month on the island of San Cristóbal, the most eastern of the Galápagos Islands. The project, organized through Projects Abroad, focused on environmental conservation. It partnered with local national park authorities to help with various tasks: monitor sea lion populations, aid staff at the local tortoise breeding centre, collect trash from beaches, and remove invasive plant species from various areas around the island. Human interaction with the environment can often have negative repercussions; this is seen all over the world, and highlighted in this post with examples of invasive plant species introduction and risk to wildlife. So let’s talk specifically about marine life, and the thing that affected me most during my stay on San Cristóbal: the sea lions, and the effects of human interaction. By Leandra Rhodes

via Human Impact on the Galápagos Islands — Words Over Water