Where are they going?

The global voyage is taking place on the recently refurbished Oosterschelde, a Dutch tall ship built in 1918 and spanning a length of 164 feet. The ship will support two hundred young conservationists in their research, joined by its sailors, the project management team, science coordinators and a camera crew to record newly discovered or endemic species.

The team departed from Plymouth in August last year and will travel a total of forty thousand nautical miles before terminating at Falmouth in July 2025. Currently in Sydney, Australia, the researchers will cover 32 legs in total, stopping at fifty ports including sites of great ecological significance: Tenerife, Carpe Verde, The Galapagos Islands, Easter Island, Tonga and Fiji.

DARWIN200 was cofounded by Andrew Fox, Chairman of its sponsoring companies: IMC/Bank of Telecom and Don Hanson Charitable Foundation and Stewart Mcpherson, natural history writer and presenter, who accompanies the team as project leader.

What's the mission?

The mission follows three key objectives:

Empower - the planets top two hundred young conservationists

The conservationists or "Darwin Leaders", ages 18-25 are each equipped with their own specialist skillset and individual area of expertise. Amongst those representing the UK are Isla Richards studying octopi Brazil, Alison Ashworth studying turtles in Cape Verde and Ben Jackson studying sea lions in the Galapagos.

Inspire - people all over to appreciate nature and conservation efforts through community engagement and teaching

Dubbed "The worlds most exciting classroom!", one hundred weeks of completely free lessons are being streamed directly from the ship for the general public and schools. The education programme involves: live experiments, interactive activities, lectures and interviews with Darwin leaders from remote biodiverse locations. The initiative is also providing two hundred pounds worth of prizes every week for experiments conducted at home or in schools.

Solve - conservation problems through citizen science, education and real-time data and results presentations of research as it takes place.

Research Projects underway

Monitoring air and sea temperatures

They will be detecting changes in temperature and testing the success of climate initiatives in reducing global warming. This research is more vital than ever before at the peak of climate awareness; It will help set scientific guidelines for projects discussed at COP26 and implement changes to the 2050 mission.  

Wildlife surveys and Transects

The Darwin Leaders will be conducting wildlife surveys on seabird, cetacean and marine megafauna populations by tracking migratory routes and participating in population counts. This data will give stability to the biodiversity framework and assess the success of existing species protection strategies. They will also carry out wildlife transects to compare biodiversity loss in restored vs degraded tropical forests and report on the results of recovery projects and identify new areas of conservation concern.

Microplastics and Pollution

The team will collect water samples for the analysis, classification and location of microplastic concentrations. Knowing the most common plastics found in areas of high biodiversity can redirect the sustainable focus to reducing usage of specific materials backed by scientific evidence. DARWIN200 is using advanced solar technology to automatically remove large floating ocean plastic and “Row-bots” which separate and consume oil waste to convert it back into fuel.

Coral Transects

Coral reef richness surveys will also be carried out for a comparison of the impacts of Anthropologic activities on the oceans most diverse habitats overtime. During the voyage, the level of bleaching, sedimentation and eutrophication will be determined for each reef. Additionally, the number of invasive species and diseases in corals are being monitored for restoration and conservation priority areas.

Continuing the work of Darwin

In Argentina, 1832, Darwin observed the strange behaviour and dispersion of hundreds of little red spiders on his ship. Amongst his observations was the idea that the spider silk contained electrostatic energy to allow them to repel themselves into the air with force and travel thousands of miles across the ocean.

This phenomenon was described as ballooning. Some suggested a charge was created during the spinning and weaving motions, whilst others put it down to the spider latching onto the wind with their silk. The Darwin Leaders aim to find out more about this process and hopefully discover the mechanism behind their dispersion method once and for all.

The conservationists have already visited Rapa Nui, Pitcairn and Mangareva where they tested the Canoe Bug hypothesis through surveys of cave restricted arthropods. The theory suggests these invertebrates dispersed in the soil of canoe plants which were commonly used by ancient Polynesians for food and medicinal purposes. The Darwin200 team are collecting rafting terrestrial insects to determine their extended range and modern methods of dispersal.

What is the point in all this?

This data will be used in scientific reports and studies for decades to come and beamed live from the ship for public access. Darwin’s infamous five year voyage in the 1830s stands as a remarkable research journey which paved the way for some of the greatest academic discoveries in ecological and evolutionary science.

DARWIN200 is providing young conservationists with a chance to replicate their success and make ground-breaking discoveries that could change the way we view the natural world, yet again. Additionally, the live classes and resources available for the public will encourage young children to appreciate conservation and the importance of scientific research in saving the planet.

More initiatives like this are needed to get everyone on board and fight for the protection and restoration of these biodiversity hotspots. Action cannot be enforced before education is accessible for all.