Over the past 50 years, service trips have given me the opportunity to help protect and restore vulnerable areas around the world. In 2007, I read an article about the Scottish non-profit, Trees for Life, in National Geographic Adventure magazine. Trees for Life has been working to reforest the Scottish Highlands since 1989. Sadly, much…
Hello from Peter Murphy. I’m the sometimes videography/sometimes still photography volunteer helping to document the work performed by volunteers with ConservationVIP. Working with the leadership, I’ve joined teams from Scotland to Machu Picchu and places in between. It’s been wonderful watching folks come together from all over to get dirty and create a metamorphosis of…
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…
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…
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…
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…
