I live on a volcano...make that 1,000 volcanoes to be exact.

El Hierro, the smallest Canary Island, is made up of more than 1,000 volcanoes that span its 268.51 square kilometers. The island experienced it's most recent volcanic eruption back in 2011, the year many of my students were born, and resulted in the evacuation of one of the three major regions of the island, "La Frontera". Today the land is made up of the sediments of previous volcanic eruptions resulting in "black sand" beaches and a multitude of geological and volcanic education centers.

On a typical clear day, this Canary Island experiences temperatures varying anywhere from 10 °- 24° celsius. More times than not, I find myself leaving my house in the morning with a jacket, sweater, and scarf to keep warm, just to return home from school with nothing but a t-shirt because of how hot it sometimes gets in the afternoon.

Whereas most people would bulk at the idea of living on a volcanic island, my students seem intrigued by the opportunity to learn about the natural sciences of El Hierro. The students I teach in my classes have expressed no fear for previous seismic and volcanic activity the island has experienced and enjoy learning about volcanic eruptions! Their enthusiasm has replaced my own apprehension with excitement and curiosity for how the island was formed and continues to form!

That being said, there are currently no active volcanoes on El Hierro.