Protecting endangered birds in the Galapagos and more beach cleaning on Svalbard are among the projects receiving 2022’s last round of grants from Hurtigruten Foundation. The adventure travel company reiterates its promise to supporting initiatives in the areas it operates and urges more organizations to apply in the future.

– We are truly showing the global scope of our commitments with this round of grants, with projects spanning from Svalbard and Galapagos to mainland Norway, Alaska, and Antarctica. All donations are targeted towards concrete, science-based local efforts to protect places and animals with urgent needs, securing a real positive impact. That makes me proud, says Henrik A. Lund, Managing director of Hurtigruten Foundation.

Fundación de Conservación Jocotoco, one of the largest benefactors, has initiated an ambitious project to preserve nesting sites of the critically endangered Petrel birds on San Cristobal Island in the Galapagos. Having established its first bird reserve in 1998, the Ecuadorian organization has a long and respected track record of protecting the many precious birds living in that area.

– Hurtigruten Foundation is helping Fundación Jocotoco to protect the critically endangered Galapagos Petrel and its threatened native forest. This support is essential for these seabirds to be able to breed successfully. Planting native trees restores the habitats this and many other species depend on, says Martin Schaefer CEO, Fundación Jocotoco.

On the arctic archipelago Svalbard, the organization Aktiv i Friluft is setting in motion their beach cleaning effort ‘Prosjekt Isfjorden’. Isfjorden is one of Norway’s largest fjords, and there has been a need for cleaning litter throughout the fjord for many years.

– Aktiv i Friluft will reach the least accessible nooks, where cleaning requires more than a glove and a bag. This is precisely the type of projects we love to support, where the funds can go to efforts that are both ambitious, challenging, and necessary. We have supported them before, and our renewed donations shows the faith we have in their ability to get the job done, says Lund.

In addition to the aforementioned organizations, six projects receive grants from Hurtigruten Foundation in this round.

• Bruktikken Longyearbyen – A volunteer second-hand store on Svalbard
• Charles Darwin Foundation – Population studies of the waved albatross in Galapagos.
• Lofotrådet – Ecosystem accounting in Lofoten, Norway
• Prince William Sound Science Center – Studying and prevent plastic ingestion by migrant shorebirds, Alaska
• Tarevokterne – Restoring kelp forest in Northern Norway
• Universidad de Los Andes – Engaging adventurer travelers in citizen science to study humpback whales and leopard seals in Antarctica