Fausto Arellano has been a naturalist guide and dive master in the Galapagos for over 20 years. He took his first trip to the Galapagos Islands in 1982 as a graduation present from high school. Captivated by the beauty of the islands, innocence of the wildlife, and peacefulness of nature, Fausto discovered his future career and study path. He graduated from Catholic University Quito with a degree in biology specializing in the research of the Galapagos hawk and Darwin finches. After completing the Naturalist Guide’s course soon afterwards, he realized his dream and has been leading student, photography, nature, dive, and special interest trips in the Galapagos Islands ever since. This coming October, Fausto will visit northern Australia, where he has been invited to speak about the past, present, and future of the Galapagos at the Charles Darwin University celebration of Darwin’s 200th birthday.Read more

Pete is fascinated by the diversity of life and natural systems, from harsh arctic and desert landscapes to verdant tropical forests. He studied zoology as an undergraduate and completed his Master of Science degree in wildlife biology at Humboldt State University in California. He investigated waterfowl feeding ecology for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a graduate student. Read more

Born and raised in Canada, Karen received her B.Sc. in biology from the University of Waterloo, her M.D. from the University of Western Ontario and interned at McMaster University in Hamilton. Detouring from hospital hallways, Karen found herself in the American southwest where the joys of motherhood mingled with the thrills of volunteerism in the out-of-doors. Each discovery led to another adventure and Karen became a whitewater guide and published photographer. Looking at the details of the natural world through the lens of a camera stimulated a passion for knowledge that began with botany and led to geology and ornithology. Read more