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Reminiscing
Editor’s Note: As this blog goes to print, Machu Picchu is closed to visitors due to COVID-19. Together with Peter Murphy, we are reminiscing about Machu Picchu, waiting for the day when we can return. Hello from Peter Murphy (again). I’m the sometimes videographer/photo volunteer helping to document the work performed by volunteers with ConservationVIP. Working…
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Traveling to the Ends of the Earth
I feel very blessed to have been able to travel with purpose with ConservationVIP to the ends of the earth, also known as Torres Del Paine National Park in the Patagonia region of Chile. First, I will talk about the joys experienced followed by some of the practical aspects of the trip. The joys were…
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Return to Virgin Islands National Park
My relationship with the US Virgin Islands National Park began when I worked with the National Park Service (NPS) at San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico. In 1996 Hurricane Marilyn struck the US Virgin Islands, devastating homes, stripping the islands of most roofs, all electrical systems and water, leaving residents and NPS employees…
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Remembering Saturnino
It saddened me to learn that Saturnino had passed on. He was someone special I met on a Machu Picchu volunteer trip. Saturnino…just his name was mystical. Named perhaps for the 6th planet from the sun or the Roman god of agriculture. We were clearly working on what he considered to be his plot of…
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Volunteering in Yosemite
There is no place like Yosemite. I first visited there in 2011. I had just finished a photography class at UCLA and decided to drive up to the famous park and test out my newly acquired skills. I entered the Valley on Highway 120 and was immediately awestruck by the golden granite cliffs and sparkling…
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Thinking about the Boardwalk Project
In 2015, CONAF – the Chilean agency entrusted to manage Torres del Paine National Park – asked ConservationVIP® about the viability of converting a horse trail in the park into a hiking trail. A new trail would relieve severe overcrowding on a section of the hiking trail known as “the W”. We responded that it…
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