Year 9 Warwick Academy student Sydney Bucci had the chance to travel to the Galapagos Islands for a two-week trip during the summer with her family and a friend.

Sydney took three flights through Miami and Ecuador to reach the collection of islands in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of South America.

The Bucci family had been in contact with an agent in the Galapagos who was helping them to organise their trip and asked if they had any books that Sydney and her friend could bring with them.

The girls took some books from their personal collections with them on the trip, and donated them to a local library, “It’s an outdoor library, so all the books get mouldy,” Sydney said.

Though they did not get to visit the library themselves, their agent took a picture for them of some children at the library, who were very happy to receive the new books.

Sydney and her family enjoyed a very adventurous trip, and stayed on two islands, including one that was uninhabited. “We mainly went for the wildlife,” Sydney said.

She saw many animals including sea lions, sharks, manta rays and even a penguin. In addition to donating books, Sydney went scuba diving, hiking, kayaking, biking and snorkelling. “It’s a nice feeling to know that you are doing something for someone else. I’m pretty sure they liked the books and these people aren’t as fortunate as us and I could help them by giving them something that gave them joy,” said Sydney of her experience.