Olivia and Chloe Green warriors!

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An eco-catastrophe in the world's most precious wildlife refuge - and Livvy was off to help. The Aussie star and daughter Chloe were close to tears when they witnessed the results of a disastrous oil spill

Avid conservationist Olivia Newton-John was horrified when she read of another ecological disaster, this time on one of the most precious places on earth. A huge oil slick was threatening the flora and fauna in the Galapagos Islands, where Charles Darwin formulated his theory of evolution.

Ecuador's unique wildlife refuge is one of the most protected and fragile habitats in the world, with some of our rarest creatures, including the only marine iguana, tropical penguins and the endangered giant Galapagos tortoise.

The disaster began in January, when the oil tanker Jessica ran aground near San Cristobal, the easternmost island in the chain, off the coast of Ecuador. The ship spilt 900,000 litres of oil, which turned 1200 square kilometres of ocean into a death trap. Ironically, it was carrying fuel for boats to take the annual 60,000 tourists sightseeing.

So Olivia teamed up with Emmy award-winning documentary film-maker Michael Harris to record a three-part series called Our Only World. But, in mid-June, when she arrived with a Discovery Channel film crew, long-time partner Patrick McDermott and her daughter, Chloe Lattanzi, 15, she was surprised that rescue operations from around the world were cleaning up.

Olivia went on camera to say, Here in the Galapagos, the animals are in the majority and they rule. It's how the rest of the world could and should be.

Olivia was delighted to be surrounded by completely fearless creatures. There were many blue-footed booby birds, as it was the height of mating season, and one actually sat on a branch within a metre of Olivia and sang to her!

Our Livvy also watched lizards swimming in the water alongside sea lions, which were so plentiful, they crowded out the film crew's dinghy. And, at times, crew members thought they were looking at rocks, only to find they were formations of hundreds of seals. Olivia even went swimming with sharks!

Despite the beauty, the team discovered a dark side, as armed guards patrolled beaches and waterways for poachers who steal creatures and plants for profit.

As the fisheries along the Ecuadorian coastline decline, more fishermen are making their way to the rich waters of the Galapagos, putting enormous pressures on this newly established marine reserve, Olivia reports.

Adding to the problems are the booming prices paid by Asian markets for non-traditional fisheries like sea cucumbers and shark fins, both considered aphrodisiacs and both disappearing fast.

Just weeks before the oil disaster threatened the natural wildlife, the Charles Darwin Research Station on the tiny island of Isabella was broken into and dozens of baby tortoises, being reared to save them from extinction, were stolen. The attack was part of a campaign by local fishermen to improve their quota of lobster fishing, which is already abused.

Olivia and Chloe were also saddened at the sight of a baby seal whose mother had died. It was trying to suckle on other females who rejected it. They were so upset they've launched a jeans company called Galapagos Jeans, playing on Darwin's genes, and intend to give half the profits to a marine rehabilitation sanctuary to help save abandoned seals and other threatened creatures.

Story: Alan Shadrake. Pictures: Fred Felleman/WAVE Photography