Ecology Project International Costa Rica April 2015

Develop your familiarity with EPI’s approach to field research and education. Revitalize and celebrate your dedication to science education. Provide unique experiences and activities to take back to your classroom. Build a supportive network of educators working towards similar goals. Introduce you to EPI’s work and promote future student courses to our program sites.

This program puts you directly in contact with marine researchers and leatherback sea turtles in order to study population trends and protect turtle nests from tides, illegal harvesting, and other threats.

Conservation Impact In Costa Rica, you’ll work in one of the world’s most important nesting sites for Leatherback sea turtles. Each day, you’ll be face-to-face with the environmental, scientific, and cultural forces that shape the region. Each night, you’ll join instructors and researchers in search of leatherbacks and their nests as you study population trends and protect nests from tides, poachers, and other threats. Scientists will use your work to help improve leatherback conservation efforts around the world.

Academics and Education During your time in the field, you’ll conceive, develop, analyze and present a field-based research project based on the data you collect during your nightly leatherback sea turtle patrols. You’ll also learn about Costa Rica’s tropical ecology while hiking in the rain forest. Through games, art, journaling, guided lessons and lectures, you’ll learn about ongoing conservation efforts in the country.

Cultural Exchange Seeing an ecosystem through the eyes of the people who live there is an invaluable experience. More than half of our Sea Turtle Ecology program participants are Costa Rican, and they will shape your experience. You’ll share perspectives and ideas, learn how leatherback sea turtles fit into Costa Rican culture, and discover why these turtles were valued – historic, current, and future trends. The cultural interactions on course are often among the most memorable of student experiences.