Wednesday 18 March 2009
A Cambridge University fund-raising dinner on the 12th February 2009, organised by the Galapagos Conservation Trust (GCT) and Charles Darwin's alma mater, Christ's College, Cambridge, has raised £250,000 towards the creation of the new Charles Darwin and Galapagos Islands Fund.
The new fund, which aims to raise £1.5m, will enable an academic exchange programme, the first of its type, to start between researchers in the Galapagos and those in Christ's College and the University of Cambridge more broadly. Research areas to be supported will include climate change, socio-economic investigations, species biology, taxonomy and systematics, ecology and conservation, and geology.
Hosted by Frank Kelly, Master of Christ's College Cambridge, the dinner was held in the college's Great Hall on the bicentenary of Charles Darwin's birth. Guests included the Duke of Edinburgh (Chancellor of the University and Patron of the Charles Darwin Foundation), broadcaster Andrew Marr (President of the Galapagos Conservation Trust), Gabriel Lopez (Director of Galapagos-based Charles Darwin Foundation), and Sir David Attenborough.
Toni Darton (GCT's chief executive) reported that: "The guests at the dinner can feel justifiably proud of donating such a generous amount, which will contribute to the creation of a lasting academic link between Cambridge and the Galapagos Islands."
Frank Kelly (Christ's College's Master) said: "I am very proud that Cambridge, as one of the world's leading scientific institutions, is the first university to develop a permanent and supportive research link with the Galapagos Islands generally, and the Charles Darwin Research Station specifically."
