Around 600 guests spent a wonderful evening celebrating GCT's Galapagos Day on 24th September at the Royal Geographical Society. More than £40,000 was raised from the event and the raffle, with a record-breaking £4,000 taken on the night!
'This is such an important fundraising event in GCT's calendar,' said GCT's Chief Executive, Toni Darton. 'Without the dedicated efforts and contribution of members and friends, we would not be able to support those projects in Galapagos that are crucial to its conservation.'
Guests listened to the challenging exploits of keynote speaker, Ben Fogle. A life-changing trip to Galapagos with his father while he was still a teenager, was the inspiration for his whole career, he told the audience. His adventures since have included a year as a castaway on a remote Hebridean island, rowing across the Atlantic, taking park in the gruelling Marathon des Sables in the Sahara and a 100,000 mile journeying through the world's remotest places.
His fellow speaker, Dr Graham Watkins, Executive Director of the Charles Darwin Foundation gave the audience food for thought with his talk - Galapagos, Two sides of the Coin - speaking about the dangers inherent in the indirect effects of the growth of tourism and the threats posed. You can read a short synopsis of Dr Watkins's talk. The full list of raffle winners.
| 
