Thanks to our amazing partners, community, and participants, 2022 was a year full of new opportunities, insights, and impacts in the field. Check out a few of the year's highlights and get a peak at what's to come in 2023!
Highlights of 2022:
Local youth programs are back in full swing! Helping to preserve the biodiversity, cultures, and communities of program sites is essential to EPI's mission and work. Getting youth involved in this mission is essential to protecting these elements for generations to come.
EPI Costa Rica programs operate in a region that is economically impoverished, but rich in nature and culture. Thanks to generous supporters of EPI, this year local students in the area had incredible opportunities that kept them engaged with and impacting their community and region’s ecosystem.
Thanks to a grant from the Mediterranean Shipping Company, students from two local schools got hands-on in protecting their region’s world-renowned wildlife. The groups visited Pacuare Reserve, where they assisted with the camera trap project, primate program, and sea turtle hatchery. They also dove into discussions about one of the most pressing issues facing the world today: climate change. Now, these students are taking the lead, developing their own research projects complete with action plans to solve environmental issues in their communities.
EPI has also teamed up with BAC Credomatic to provide in-school workshops, EPI's annual Biociencia Event, and mentoring to around 1,000 Costa Rican students!
EPI Professional Development opportunities continued to expand, both in the field and online! In addition to the new Colorado Educator Course, live synchronous workshops were introduced to connect teachers to resources, curriculum, and peer collaborations.
The Montana Science Teaching Institute (MSTI), a free professional development workshop series for Montana teachers, also launched this fall. The workshop structure emphasizes close collaboration between science teachers across the state and provides teachers with new tools and approaches for exploring with their students. These workshops will continue in 2023 with engaging new topics and resources!
What’s ahead in 2023:
A Reunion in the Jungle
EPI will be hosting its first-ever Alumni reunion in January! The reunion will take place at the incredible Pacuare Reserve, our research site and conservation site in Costa Rica. While there, participants will get back in the field and help The Reserve prepare for leatherback nesting season, connect with fellow alumni, and explore the surrounding forest, home to over 2,000 plant and animal species.
A Critical Collaboration
EPI Yellowstone is partnering with Fort Peck Community College, Montana State University, and a number of Tribal Buffalo Management programs to put on the Buffalo Nations Landmark Workshop, a K-12 educator training that focuses on the historic relationship between Native American tribes across North America and the landscape of Yellowstone National Park, with a particular emphasis on the iconic American bison. This workshop will help teachers implement curriculum that focuses on the history and revitalization of bison, as situated within the histories and knowledge systems of Indigenous Nations. We are currently accepting applications for two back-to-back week-long trainings in August 2023.
A Record Year
Enrollment in our 2023 programs has reached record levels! After two years of pandemic cancellations and closings, we are so grateful our programs were back in full swing this year, with more participants than ever getting involved next year.
Be sure to follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on new partnerships, impacts, and opportunities coming up in 2023!
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