The Current: EPI's Newsletter Fall 2017 EPI Newsletter

The Current
C onservation
for the
N ext G eneration • F all 2017
It Really Is All About
DIVERSITY
A variety of life is on display in this colorful coral reef - an ecosystem with the highest biodiversity on Earth.
Born in California and raised in Mexico, Olivia grew up in a family of avid naturalists. She joined EPI on course
as a high school student in Mexico, then volunteered as an intern in our Mexico Program, and has since
worked as an instructor in our Mexico, Yellowstone, and Hawaii programs.
C over story by O livia A ngell
Not long after being introduced to EPI as a high school student
and participating in a field course, I joined EPI as an intern. I put
college on hold to get what people call “life experience” (a nice
way of saying I didn’t want to be in a classroom anymore).
I moved to La Paz, México, the “big city,” and I remember meeting
the staff for the first time. During our first lunch together (tacos!), I
remember thinking, “This is where I am supposed to be right now;
this group of people is amazing!”
I never quite understood what made this group so dynamic and
engaging until I returned to school...after all, “life experience” is
essential to an open mind, but academic experience is invaluable
for exposure to new ideas. Over the course of my studies and
interactions at school, I learned an invaluable lesson: I felt so
comfortable, happy, and energized with that first group of EPI staff
because (drumroll, please!)...it really is all about diversity.
In life, on the level of whole species, diversity is the key to survival.
If all of the organisms of a species are exactly the same and a
change occurs that they are ill-equipped to handle, the whole
species may well perish. However, if there is some variability
among individuals in shape, size, behavior, etc., then maybe a few
of the organisms will be able to deal with the changes.
They will survive and carry the species forward.
I believe that this is also true in our personal lives. Diversity
is important – not just in humans (our looks, ethnicities, and
backgrounds) but in how these things influence our ideas, points
of view, interactions, and ideologies. If we do not think, explore,
create, and share, we risk stagnation. This is where EPI came into
my life (and hopefully into many others).
As EPI grows, it evolves, as do we all. When I am instructing, I
am constantly striving to make the experience for myself, the
team, and our students one of learning, teaching, sharing, and
supporting our unique selves. Teaching in this environment is not
a static experience – the methods and information change with
the needs of the individual or group and with current events or
discoveries.
Ignacio Estrada of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
once said, “If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we
should teach the way they learn.” I strongly believe that only
through exposing ourselves and our students to a variety of
situations, places, and opinions, can we evolve as humans to be
knowledgeable, compassionate, and fair stewards of the diverse
world we live in.
Your support of local students, like Olivia once was, strengthens
our diversity and means more young people gain the skills to
make a difference in conservation.
ecologyproject.org/give
E C O L O G Y P R O J E C T I N T E R N AT I O N A L • W W W. E C O L O G Y P R O J E C T.O R G • 4 0 6 . 7 2 1 . 8 7 8 4