Santa Cruz Gardens Eco-community - A Symbiosis
The age of mass tourism or stock holiday homes - of unlimited growth and disregard for the environment, of standardised, rigidly packaged products and services - is all but over. A new breed of travellers - conservation-minded, independent, and respectful of cultures - now demand a paradigm shift. Santa Cruz Gardens (SCG) appeals to this kind of new tourism. One that is driven by the consumer wanting flexibility, insistent on value for money, but also wanting to feel good about sustainable, environmentally and socially responsible choices.
Knowing that it is not so much about taking a trip, as the trip taking your heart, having a plot or house in SCG means you’ll be able to take pride in being part of the solution for protecting the Galapagos’ great heritage. At the same time, you’ll also enjoy a prime location in one of the last unspoilt places in the world.
Though the Galapagos is still in near pristine condition, with the vast majority of its original animal and plant life remaining intact (unlike most of the world’s other islands), the risk of altering these oceanic islands' fragile ecosystems is ever-present. Most notably, with the introduction of foreign species, which can lead to the extinction of native species and thus alter the destination forever. Conservation efforts in the Galapagos have halted - and even reversed at times - several of these effects and by-products of man and carelessness in the islands. Many threats sadly remain though and are becoming ever-more ominous. These need to be addressed with strong commitment, and crucially, with action.
SCG’s action is to set new standards for a new green model. One that operates in an eco-responsible way for sustainable, socially responsible tourism that protects the islands whilst also providing opportunities for locals to improve their standard of living. Thus SCG’s answer is to work with the problem by helping all sides to work together to lay the foundation symbiotically for a mutually beneficial path for visitors and for the islands alike.