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Ten Indiana teachers had their own summer adventure this July with a trip to the Galápagos Islands as part of a new environmental education initiative. The Galápagos Islands International ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Collaborative Project provided a select group of Indiana educators with the opportunity to work alongside faculty from the Universidad San Francisco de Quito and K-12 teachers from the Tomás de Berlanga School on Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos. 

Led by the IU School of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø’s Educating for Environmental Change (EfEC), the Environmental Resilience Institute, and the Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, the week was spent doing collaborative teaching, cross-cultural exchange, and environmental learning.

The teachers were selected for the program from a highly competitive pool of more than 50 applicants, reflecting strong interest from educators eager to participate in international environmental collaboration and experiential learning. 

“This project creates a rare opportunity for teachers to learn from one another across cultures while exploring one of the most environmentally significant regions in the world,” said Adam Scribner, Director of STEM ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Initiatives at Indiana University and co-leader of the EfEC program. “The Galápagos offers the perfect natural laboratory for educators to think deeply about biodiversity, conservation, and innovative ways to engage students in meaningful environmental learning.”

Billie Carlton, an eighth grade science and biology teacher at Danville Community Middle School, called the trip the best adventure. It was also the first time she traveled overseas. She was drawn to the experience by a desire to challenge my pedagogical approach and observe how impactful science education functions in a unique, resource-sensitive environment.

Carlton said a specific moment that stood out was observing how teachers from Tomás de Berlanga delivered such an enriched education with remarkably little technology: “Instead of relying on screen-based simulations or pre-packaged digital lab software, the learning at TDB is grounded in direct observation, critical inquiry, and age-appropriate outdoor activities. Seeing students engage in rigorous, hands-on scientific thinking simply by interacting with their immediate ecosystem highlighted how powerful context-driven learning can be,” Carlton added.

Lori Parker teaches seventh grade science at Danville Middle School. For her, experiencing the Galápagos Islands has been a dream since she sat in biology class in high school. During the trip, she got to snorkel at the Darwin Research Center and Las Grietas and see wild birds up close on North Seymour Island.

“The moments that I appreciated the most were getting to talk to the students at TdB School, and their friendliness and openness to meeting us,” Parker said. “They showed excitement about us being there, and especially when we talked about our plans to get the students connected.”

The collaboration builds on an ongoing partnership between Indiana University, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, and educators and scientists in Ecuador. Through previous exchanges and planning visits, EfEC leaders have worked closely with faculty from Universidad San Francisco de Quito to help develop a sustainable model for international environmental education.

But the initiative didn’t end when everyone returned to Indiana. The teachers will be working with educators they met in Ecuador on year-long on projects that involve monitoring seismic activity, waste management, and water quality, amongst other topics. Carlton and Parker also plan on creating a digital pen pal program to foster connections between the students at both schools.