Growing food at home

Harvesting maracuya (passionfruit) © Ashleigh Klingman

gardening together © Ashleigh Klingman

In the first few weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown, hundreds of thousands of people in the UK searched online for advice on how to start a vegetable patch or grow fruit in containers. At Galapagos Conservation Trust, we were no exception, with several staff members taking the opportunity to grow tomatoes, courgettes and other vegetables.

While for many people growing vegetables at home has become an increasingly popular hobby, the ability to cultivate your own food is so much more critical in isolated places like the Galapagos Islands. Due to the pandemic, residents in Galapagos have been feeling the burden of lost income since the shutdown of tourism, which makes up more than 80% of the local economy. The poverty rate on the Islands will likely climb in 2020 – before the pandemic 8% of families were already living below the poverty line – meaning homegrown food is more critical than ever. Hacienda Tranquila, SA (HTSA) “Peaceful Ranch” is a sustainable agricultural farm on San Cristobal. They noticed the need for increased food security and to support

local families during this difficult time. 97% of the Islands is designated as National Park, which leaves just 3% for community life including farming, and many families do not live in homes with accessible green space. Approximately 75% of the fresh food consumed in Galapagos is imported from the mainland. With transportation restrictions in place, access to food has been increasingly limited and significantly more expensive.

It is so important to encourage and support local people as they learn to grow their own food so they can become selfsufficient. In addition to the socio-economic benefits, there is substantial research which shows that people who connect with nature as children develop stronger conservation and sustainability values. They are more likely to protect the environment when they grow up. 40% of the 30,000 Galapagueños are under 15 years old and these young people are vital for building a culture of sustainable living and environmental awareness. With our project partners HTSA, the Urban Family Gardening for Tranquillity 2020 project is using gardening to tackle food security during COVID-19. The project will harness HTSA’s skill of building community through purposeful humannature interactions and deepen the respect for nature with local families. It will develop a network by providing teachers with educational gardening packs and take this opportunity to support families while they adjust to the post-COVID world by helping them make their patios into a tranquil garden refuge.

The educational gardening packs produced will contain fun yoga activity cards and creative character information cards that accompany two edible and two endemic plant seedlings. The project also looks to promote proper nutrition and creative cooking with a social media campaign to improve and vary diets, weekly recipe webinars and encourage sharing of recipes to inspire and motivate families. At the end of the project families will evaluate how their garden has performed and the connections they have forged with one another and nature. By facilitating the opportunity for families to grow their own food, we can help mitigate some of the financial hardship the Galapagos community faces from the sudden halt in tourism. Also, by increasing the accessibility of nature, we will inspire families and instil passion in the future ambassadors of Galapagos for the incredible wildlife that share their Islands. Without support and enthusiasm of the people who live in the Enchanted Isles, how will we ever be able to protect them?