Pembrokeshire schoolchildren will be able to link up with the voyage of a tall ship which is retracing naturalist Charles Darwin’s famous voyage on the HMS Beagle from 1831-6.
The initiative, named Darwin200, will take two years to complete, and will give an amazing opportunity to 200 young conservationists from all over the world who are being selected to join in part of the expeditition.
Pembrokeshire’s Darwin Centre attended the launch of Darwin200 in Charles Darwin’s hometown of Shrewsbury.
The voyage will be on board the Dutch tall ship, the Oosterschelde which sets sail on August 15 from Plymouth.
Darwin Centre manager Samantha Williams is looking forward to give Pembrokeshire schoolchildren the opportunity to link up with the voyage through live streams and sessions delivered by the Darwin Centre.
She said: "It was a privilege to support Darwin200 at its launch and we look forward to working with them further over the duration of the voyage."
Samantha also encouraged local young conservatioinists, aged between 18 and 25, to apply to become a Darwin Leader in the expedition.
A Darwin Leader will join the Oosterschelde on a fully-funded placement at one of its ports and will conduct a scientific investigation on a species that Darwin studied, to see how it has changed in the last 200 years.
Samantha addedL "It would be fantastic to have a Darwin Leader from Pembrokeshire onboard, applications are still open, and I encourage any keen young conservationists to go to the Darwin200 website to apply."
The launch event was hosted by Andrew Fox, one of the founders of Darwin200 and a key supporter.
Stewart McPherson, project leader and founder of Darwin200, said of the upcoming voyage: "Conservation is not about what we have lost but what we still have.
"Countless species and even entire eco-systems can be brought back from the brink.
"Darwin200 will empower tomorrow’s conservation leaders and the global public to change the world for the better to build a brighter future."
Anthropologist Felix Padel, who is Darwin’s great-great grandson, recounted anecdotes about the naturalist's work and he gave his support to the aims of Darwin200 and the opportunities it will bring to all those involved.
Shrewsbury’s very own Doodle Boy, Joe Whale, created a giant Darwin- inspired canvas which will feature at the sail away event in Plymouth, with Joe also creating his famous doodles at each of the main ports over the course of the voyage.
Patrons of Darwin200 include Charles Darwin’s great-great granddaughter, Dr Sarah Darwin, a renowned botanist; Dr Jane Goodall, an ethologist and conservationist, known for her ground-breaking research into the wild chimpanzees of Tanzania and Dr Sylvia Earle, a marine biologist and conservationist who was awarded the Hero of the Planet’by Time Magazine.
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