EPI: 25 Years of Hope Through Youth-Led Conservation
- Luis Diego Molina
- May 14
- 7 min read
Updated: May 22
In the 1990s, Scott Pankratz, the founder of Ecology Project International (EPI), would hike up to 18 kilometers to reach a remote beach on Costa Rica's Pacific coast, where thousands of sea turtles came ashore to nest in the phenomenon known as arribadas.
He didn’t know it then, but that journey would become the seed of an international organization that has spent the last 25 years inspiring young people through science to become environmental leaders!
"I'd spend three weeks at a time on that beach. Scientists came there to see these turtles' nests because it was such an amazing phenomenon, and through that experience, I got to meet researchers from Canada, Europe and the United States doing amazing work and studying all kinds of cool things and publishing papers and getting grants and degrees. And I saw very few Costa Ricans there that would come through to do these same things, to study the natural environment, help preserve, protect, and forward their own career path," Scott recalls.
That disconnect between local communities and conservation sites became the inspiration for launching EPI in 2000. As a high school science teacher, Scott envisioned a way to bring local students into direct contact with conservation and scientific research happening in their own backyards.
To bring the idea to life, he reached out to Julie Osborn, who at the time was studying Tropical Ecology in Costa Rica, in an experience she describes as life-changing.
"I really was excited about the idea of creating these opportunities for kids in Costa Rica, as well as in the U.S., to have these same kind of life-changing experiences, but at a younger age, because when I did it, I was, you know, a junior in college, and if I had been a junior in high school, it would have made even more of a difference in my life," Julie says.
Together, they launched the first courses, despite doubts from others, who told them: "high school kids, they're going to get in trouble, they're not going to follow the rules, you know, they're going to mess up the research." But with the support of key allies, EPI was born.
EPI's first steps
The very first EPI group consisted of 61 local students who visited Pacuare Reserve, a crucial conservation site in Costa Rica with one of the world's most important leatherback turtle nesting beaches. That visit marked the beginning of a powerful partnership that would later lead the organization to assume the reserve's management in 2016.
By 2001, EPI welcomed its first group of students from the U.S., and by 2003, the Galapagos program launched.
"After we had worked in Costa Rica for a couple of years and had some challenges but a lot of help along the way as well and a lot of enthusiasm for the idea and the feedback from the participants was so infectious that we started thinking where should we do this next? And we thought about what's the most biologically famous place on the planet, and the Galapagos Islands was what came up," Julie explains.
They discovered that although over 40,000 people lived on the islands, many had never set foot in the National Park that is home to the famed giant tortoises.
"And so it was just another validating factor in what we were wanting to do was to bring locals out to participate, and then have this international exchange that's part of the experience. And then once we started working there, we had people approaching us. Had somebody approach us about La Paz, and somebody approach us about working in Yellowstone. And so we just started to talk to research scientists that were interested in engaging with the local population and working with kids, and it just kept growing from there," Julie adds.
Originally created for local students, the programs soon expanded to include participants from the U.S. through the Visiting Students Program, allowing them to visit sites in other countries.
"Well, you know, since we are from the US, it is kind of in these problems that we're facing like a sea turtle, a sea turtle doesn't just live in Costa Rica, it lives across the globe. And Leatherbacks in particular, they travel so far, and they feed off the coast of the United States, and we all have to work together if we're going to solve these problems," says Julie.
That’s why in 2001, Scott reached out to two high schools in Montana and invited them to participate.
"It was also a great opportunity for the host country kids to meet somebody from another country, but on a real peer-to-peer basis because they had this shared experience working with sea turtles on a beach at night, collecting data, and it was a really fun way. They didn't need to speak the same language, but they could get to know each other and bond and become friends and see how much they actually had in common, and then that kept growing from there, too," Scott shares.
"We wanted to create something that's durable, and we wanted to make kind of a commitment when we moved into an area like we have in Costa Rica, that we want to be there for the long term and really collaborate and work in a very fundamental and profound way with the local communities as best we could," Scott explains.
25 years of inspiring youth through science
"I had an amazing experience as a student on a trip to Costa Rica. When I found an EPI internship being offered when I was in college, I took a semester off and moved to Mexico for it. When I returned from my internship, I actually switched my college major to Environmental Studies," shared EPI alumna Kelsie DeFrancia.
"I have worked in the environmental field/sustainability ever since, including moving back to Costa Rica to work with sea turtles, getting a master's degree in Environmental Science & Policy, working on sustainability projects internationally, and now working in environmental policy for my local government", Kelsie adds
Gabriela Baker, who attended a course in Costa Rica in 2005, said it gave her "a lasting interest in environmental issues, Latin America, and sustainable development that impacted my decisions for years to come."
Gabriela also studied climate change and agriculture in Vietnam, which led to user-focused environmental projects and her current work improving mental health access in the U.S.
“I truly believe that this initial experience with EPI catalyzed a chain of interests, curiosities, questions, and experiences that are all linked to where I am today. I hope to continue to use my skills in service of building things that help make the world better in various ways, wherever that takes me next".
For Costa Rican Ana Beatriz Hernández, attending an EPI course at Pacuare Reserve at age 14 was life-changing:
“I remember it was a moment of vocational awakening. It was like that first real contact with researchers, with science happening in the field, with knowing that it is a possibility, a path that we can choose as young Costa Ricans.”
Ana is now the coordinator for EPI’s Belize and Galapagos programs, but before that, she was an EPI field instructor for several years. “For me, returning to the Reserve to work as an instructor and as part of EPI has been a complete cycle. It was very motivating, very inspiring.”
For Executive Director Miguel Fuentes, these stories are EPI’s greatest proof of impact:
"I constantly hear the phrase life-changing experience when people reach out to me, alumni, and teachers that have been with our programs, they throw out that phrase constantly as a way to describe what they have gone through with our programs. And so I think that the biggest testimony to our impact is getting those stories and understanding how we are helping to change the world one participant at a time."
From education to direct conservation
In 2016, EPI took a major step forward, transitioning from purely environmental education to also managing conservation and research directly by assuming stewardship of Pacuare Reserve. After 16 years of collaboration, the reserve’s founder, John Denham, asked EPI to take full responsibility for its future.
"When the opportunity arose in 2016 to work more closely with the reserve or to assume the reserve's management and leadership, it was a relatively simple decision for EPI, as it was a natural alliance,” says Miguel.
Bringing together two organizations with different working cultures wasn’t easy, but the results speak for themselves. For Miguel, one of the greatest achievements has been strengthening ties with the local community through hiring, partnerships, and outreach.
"Pacuare Reserve has really come to expand EPI's mission, it has come to expand the heart and work of EPI. And it has also given us a lot in terms of organizational culture, in terms of learning a lot from the people who are in the reserve."
A seed that keeps growing
For Julie and Scott, EPI is more than a project. It’s been a life journey. What began as a spark of inspiration has grown into a movement led by people with the passion and capacity to take it even further.
"This was the dream that we had when we started this," says Julie. "And to see other people take it on beyond what we could have done is super fulfilling."
Twenty-five years after that first course at Pacuare Reserve, EPI continues to thrive, leaving its mark on people and ecosystems alike. For Scott, that is the most rewarding part:
"We’ve created something that’s like cycling up – people, inspiratxion, and hopefully bringing value to the world and the places that we operate in."
And the future holds promise. As Miguel Fuentes explains, EPI is uniquely positioned to lead in environmental education:
"Most organizations focus on how people feel about nature and what they know. But at EPI, we also ask: what skills have they developed? That’s part of our uniqueness: how thorough we take our programming and how focused we are on its quality."
With this foundation, EPI is aligning its efforts with next-generation science standards and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, aiming to build leadership rooted in conservation values across all fields of life.
The work isn’t over. But the network of students, educators, scientists, communities, and allies that have joined this journey proves that when an idea is born from commitment and collaboration, its impact can be deep and long-lasting.
Because one experience can change a life. And thousands of transformed lives can change the world.
