NESCent’s Education and Outreach program sends ‘ambassadors’ to research organizations throughout the world who interested in exchanging knowledge and expertise with the US evolutionary science community. NESCent has recently posted some information about a very interesting visit a few colleagues and I made to Ecuador and the Galápagos in 2011 to teach a workshop at the University Universidad San Francisco de Quito and help celebrate Darwin Day within sight of the soon-to-open Galapagos Science Center on San Cristóbol in the Galápagos Islands. The center has strong ties to UNC.
I presented a public lecture on the unique role that the Galápagos have had, and continue to have, in our understanding of evolution. There was an impressive turnout — I estimated that around 1-2% of the population of the island of San Cristóbol was in attendance. The interest and engagement of the many natural history guides who attended was particularly inspirational, and I am hopeful that we can continue to do extension education with this key population.