I am travelling to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands on an expedition in July with my school for four weeks, organised by Camps International.

The expedition will offer me a unique chance to live and work as part of the community in three distinct regions of Ecuador: the highlands, the Amazonian rainforest and the coast.

The main purpose of the trip is to help local adults and children within a rural district of Ecuador to improve their educational and living standards and quality of life in a sustainable way, and also support various environmental projects to safeguard the future of Ecuador’s native species and culture of rural communities.

We have been told about a few specific projects we will be working on:

1. Ethnobotanical Garden (Amazonia)
We will be establishing and maintaining an ethnobotanical garden and tree nursery for the community that can be used for reforestation and preserving cultural medicinal knowledge.

2. School Kitchen Improvement (Kuri Kucho)
We will be continuing the alterations on this building to provide the school with a safe and hygienic kitchen. Our group are only allowed to build structures up to one metre tall, so most of the money raised goes to local builders who finish the projects we start. This greatly benefits the local businesses of the areas we work within.

Part of the requirement for signing up for the expedition is to raise the money through sponsorship. I am running the Manchester 10k on May and I would very much appreciate your support.

Thank you,
Harry.