Sakhalin Energy's Tatyana Luzan has just returned from an 'Earthwatch' project in Puerto Rico.and says it's changed her life! Tatyana, who works as a Communications Specialist in SEIC's External Affairs department, says she's always been interested in environmental and social issues. She applied to join Shell's Better World Fellowship programme, in collaboration with 'Earthwatch', hoping to monitor whales off Canada. but instead ended up measuring mahogany trees in South America!

Tatyana describes what her jungle journey meant to her.

"I was helping to locate and measure some of the thousands of mahogany trees that have been planted in Patillas, Puerto Rico since 1984, to plot their growth and progress. In the process of doing this I hiked through very old, beautiful, tropical rainforest areas, climbed up steep hillsides and followed fast flowing, tropical waterways.

It was an amazing experience! I think I experienced more activities and more feelings in ten short days, than some might experience in a whole year.

We not only hiked a lot, we measured trees, studied frogs and helped to plant vegetables in the organic garden; we toured a Shell refinery, washed dishes, visited a Frida Kahlo exhibition, learnt how to salsa dance, and even cried when the project was over and we had to leave for the airport!

You can't attend the project and then forget about it - it's just not possible. I've changed my attitude to future holidays. know it will be difficult to spend days lying on sunny beaches when I know I can devote my time to something more sustainable.

Since coming back from my trip I have published a story on the Sakhalin Energy intranet site, written an article for a local newspaper, given presentations to local NGOs and 60 pupils of the local "Green Island" environmental school. And still I continue to talk a lot about the project to friends and acquaintances! In fact I often feel like the informal Earthwatch ambassador on the Island - a role I am enjoying very much."

If you are interested in learning more about the volunteer environmental group Earthwatch, Tatyana would encourage you to go to their website at www.earthwatch.org or the Shell website, and take a look. Who knows where YOU might end up!!