Someone asked me what I was going to do in the Galapagos: "since you are working for the Charles Darwin Foundation, are you a biologist?" Remembering my failed attempt to understand freshman biology, I had to laugh. I don't like to admit it, but I am confounded by the finer points of "natural selection" and "adaptation." I suspect that Darwin would be disappointed in me.

As the greatest evolutionary biologist, he certainly had humble beginnings. He was a liberal artsy type (a divinity student) who, for five weeks in the Galapagos, came upon many variations among the finch population and recorded what he saw. He realized that the birds underwent countless adaptations so as to take advantage of the limited supply of seeds and berries. He proposed the revolutionary notion that all species evolve over millions of years, and that they are not fixed, as fundamentalists often assert. He hesitated until 1859, fearing what he knew was a direct challenge to Church and what has become "creationism."

This year is the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Origin of Species, the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth, and the 50th anniversary of the place where I will work, the Charles Darwin Foundation.

As the Galapagos morphed from desolate isles to tourist mecca, the scientists saw a need to reach out to the mushrooming immigrant population. The three Galapagos villages have doubled in size every ten years, and now over 30,000 people inhabit the islands. The local folks want creature comforts, and field biology does not put food on the table. Some say that the CDF's careful research studies are famous worldwide but almost unknown in Ecuador.

Basically, it turns out that that is THE reason I was offered a slot at the CDF wants to expand the work of science to include loads of contact with local folks. It seems that Darwin's world is threatened by a population explosion that brought the usual social problems plus tough issues concerning over-fishing, feral animals, and a controversy about who is going to enforce the law.

With a small team of educators, I will write curricula on the history of the Galapagos, with an eye to helping the communities of residents take charge of some of the tough social problems facing each village. The CDF now is focusing on the humans (along with the tortoises and sea lions), hoping to foster mentors, radio programs, blogs, and clubs. Could the CDF help to document the founding of a culture in the midst of the Tourist Rush? Could it nurture some social seeds that might flower some day as great schools, clinics and community centers?

So, who are the humans with whom I will work? Some of the original settlers were prisoners dropped unceremoniously on their desert island. Later, Norwegian fishermen built canneries, but how do you sell your catch when buyers are 1,000 km away? Nowadays, a few are born on the inhabited islands and are true Galapaguenos (gah-lah-pah-gen'-yos) , but almost all of the others are immigrants, eager to profit from the tourist rush. The immigrants arrive from mainland Ecuador and seek their fortune. The 3% of the land that is allocated for humans is filling up with cars, stores, and smoke. I have not even arrived but apparently the utopian Islas Encantadas are having a big, fat crisis.

The sudden influx of folks reminds me of the Yukon and Call of the Wild. The Galapagos is having its own rush. "A Gold Rush is a period of feverish migration of workers... Gold rushes were typically marked by a general buoyant feeling of a "free for all" in income mobility, in which any single individual might become abundantly wealthy almost instantly."(Wikipedia)

In the hearts of most immigrants, there is a longing for home, fear they might never see their village or city again, and a desire to belong to something in their new home. Like immigrants who went through Ellis Island, they had dreams of success and comfort, but many hopes remain unrealized. All have a longing to belong to a new community where they know almost no one and where the biggest industry is turismo.

Cut off from their ancestral neighborhoods, foods and folkways, they want to continue what made them feel at home. This means looking for people from home, using the slang from their province, preparing recipes from Loja or Esmeraldas. The differences within Ecuador, however, are akin to the distance between a small southern USA town and New York City. For example, the serrano immigrants, those from the sierra highlands, are conservative in dress and habits. The coastal people, costenos, love louder music, use less clothing and are physically more affectionate. Before coming to the islands, the mountain folks had a nickname for Guayaquil's residents: monos or monkeys. The coastal residents labeled the highlanders paisanos, or peasants, due to their farming on hillsides. But now they all have to live together. And the CDF and I are right there, in the middle of this turbulence.

Anticipation: what is the most ignored Galapagos species?

July 22

One week before heading to Ecuador, I am filled with sadness at leaving friends and family, fear of Ecuador's corruption and chaos, and eager to live on the islas encantadas, the Enchanted Islands of the Galapagos. 2009 is the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's Origin of the Species, and the his legacy is threatened. The Darwin Foundation asked a small team of folks to counter this threat and I am a member of this team.

I was a blissful tourist once. When son Marco was 8 (14 years ago), we visited the Galapagos. He frolicked with sea lions, seals and boobies. We were astonished by the sea iguanas, tame albatrosses and turbulent Humboldt Current. Our home was shiny cruise boat, outfitted with luxurious conveniences and staffed by knowledgeable guides.

Starting in August, as a volunteer at the Charles Darwin Foundation, I will have a role that is quite different from being a camera-toting tourist. I will not be on a boat and there will be no chance to eat Alaskan crab legs at a captain's table. Instead, I will report to an office and figure out a curriculum for the children of the Galapagos. Our focus will not be on Darwin's finches but on the human beings who lack schooling and even a rudimentary awareness of the world they inhabit. Not surprisingly, many of the immigrants' teenagers have problems, from unanticipated pregnancies to STDs to being HIV+. The adults, who hail from every province except the Galapagos, are rootless and many are scared that, 600 miles from the mainland, they could be stranded if they have no work. They gave up a home, often in a village and always close to extended family members. They arrived in this desert-like world without a safety net, dependent on charm, wit and luck. No wonder they exploit every chance they get to earn an income, even if it might threaten a bit of the world-famous environment. Darwin worried about this fragile world and his words are prophetic.

The Charles Darwin Foundation, in its 50th anniversary year, has been hugely successful in documenting the environment of the islands and in assisting the development of a tourism industry. In 1959, when both the CDF and the Galapagos National Park were founded, there were few tourists and few residents. Today, almost 150,000 tourists arrive each year. Approximately 30,000 immigrants live in the three principal villages, Puerto Ayora, Puerto Baquerizo and Villamil. Although 97% of the islands' surfaces are park land and cannot be developed, the 3% left over is heavily affected by humans.

In recent years, the CDF reviewed its historic role, and it is making some major changes. While it is proud of its work with flora and fauna, the staff realized that one kind of animal was left out of most investigations: the homo sapiens. This species is now threatening to undo the conservationists' careful work to preserve native plants and animals.

Much of the CDF's money and staff focused on the ecology of the islands and how to keep feral/non-native species at bay. Of the many threats to flora and fauna, the worst ones originate in the clothing and belongings of immigrants and tourists. Newcomers bring seeds and animals to the islands, which, in turn, take over native plant habitats and destroy the food source for native animals. Most destructive are the goats, pigs, rats, cats and dogs, but fire ants and bees have a huge impact, as well. Of course, the real cause of the environmental degradation is the human species who bring non-native species on to the islands. Darwin might have been amused to see the rapid evolution of life on the Galapagos and the inability of native species to adapt. More like, though, he would be appalled to witness the ruin facing his finches.

But the humans rarely see the environmental questions as their concern. For the residents, getting the means to survive is a more important focus. To them, the islands provide a way to put food on the table, send junior to school, and get a ticket to the mainland from time to time. The immigrants are fishermen, ship maintenance people and those who run the businesses serving tourism and shipping. These residents vote elect their mayors plus a governor. They cast their votes for whomever will help them make a living. Needless to say, preserving the Galapagos has little to do with their income.