01/25/2024 – 15:20
Aboard a century-old sailboat, the scientific project Darwin200 is inspired by the English naturalist and will cover 74,000 km in two years to form new leaders. Charles Darwin was just 22 years old when, in 1831, he began a journey that would mark his life and form how he understood nature. This same adventure is now being republished by the Darwin200 project.
The century-old Dutch schooner Oosterschelde set sail last August from Plymouth, England, heading for an expedition that is expected to cover 40,000 nautical miles (74,000 km) in two years – almost six times the diameter of the earth.
The initiative brings together 200 young environmentalists – called Darwin leaders – who participate in activities, research and exchanges on board the sailboat and at calls in 32 ports around the world.
In the words of biologist and documentary filmmaker Stewart McPherson, founder and director of the project, the goal is “to create an equally transformative experience for the public and for 200 of the world's brightest young environmentalists, who have the potential to be leaders in science, technology, engineering , mathematics and the conservation of tomorrow, and the catalysts for changing the future of the planet for the better.”
After traveling along the Atlantic coast of South America, the Falkland Islands, and sailing through the Strait of Magellan, the ship is currently in Punta Arenas, in the extreme south of Chile. One of the crew is Argentine photographer Nicolás Marín, 24 years old.
See to care
Aboard the sailboat, Marín spoke to DW by phone. “My mission is to bring nature to as many eyes as possible so I can connect it with them. And from this connection, start caring for her and loving her,” he explains.
Marín's career in nature photography was meteoric: he began at the age of 18, after leaving professional tennis, and, with camera in hand, he reached the Galápagos, Aruba and the North Pole, among other destinations.
Marín specialized as an underwater photographer, working for National Geographic and UN programs. In 2023, he was also one of the winners of the Best Nature Photography award, given by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM).
“What I like most about my work is being able to share it with more people, especially reaching out to children, because of the role they will play in the coming years in conserving the planet,” he says.
A fundamental issue, almost two centuries after Darwin's voyage aboard HMS Beagle, is the conservation status of species and threats to the environment. “In addition to natural beauty, I always document the other side: environmental disasters caused by human action”, says Marín.
In this sense, the Argentine warns of a growing threat: “We are fighting an almost invisible enemy. Before we saw plastics and bags, which continue to be a major problem, and today we are talking about microplastics, measuring less than six millimeters, which have started to enter the animal food chain. Studies state that we consume the equivalent of a credit card per week. It’s alarming.”
Hope in young people
While passing through the Falklands and the South Seas, Nicolás Marín records the biodiversity of one of the most preserved areas on the planet. “It’s not just a pretty picture. In my career and my work, there is a mission – not only as a photographer, but also as an activist.”
The young people who participate in the expedition remain on board for a period of time, carry out activities on the stopovers and take turns with selected others. Many of them have previous histories of acting in favor of the environment, helping to reforest, create natural reserves, rehabilitate ecosystems and promote conservation initiatives.
In Punta Arenas, the ninth port visited by the expedition, there are also leaders from Brazil, South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom and Uruguay. Together with local researchers, they cover topics such as kelp forests, the impact of invasive species, whale and dolphin feeding areas in the Strait of Magellan, the protection of the region's native people and the conservation of the huemul, an endangered native deer.
For logistical reasons, the route differs slightly from Darwin's original, although it maintains all the ports where the English naturalist disembarked. After advancing through the Pacific Ocean heading north, along the Chilean coast, the scientific mission will continue towards Peru and the Galápagos Islands, in Ecuador.
Anyone who wants to follow the adventure, which ends in England in July 2025, can access the project website, which hosts live broadcasts of interactive experiences, research projects, conferences and question and answer sessions every week.
#Young #environmentalists #retrace #Darwin39s #maritime #expedition #years