PROTECTED 2021 • EXPANSION FUNDED 2023
Dracula Youth Reserve: THE WORLD’S FIRST ENTIRELY YOUTH-FUNDED NATURE RESERVE
Carchi Andes Toad (EN), Rhaebo colomai. Photo by Callie Broaddus
Carchi Province, Ecuador | Dracula Youth Reserve is a 244-acre private protected area in the Tropical Andes cloud forest of northwestern Ecuador, owned and managed by our Ecuadorian partner, Fundación EcoMinga. Located in one of the most biodiverse and threatened ecosystems on the planet, Dracula Youth Reserve protects more than a dozen at-risk species found on the IUCN Red List, such as the Brown-headed Spider Monkey (CR), Black-and-chestnut Eagle (EN), Rio Faisanes Stubfoot Toad (CR), Mantled Howler Monkey (VU), and Spectacled Bear (VU). This site is also the site of numerous recent discoveries, including new species of frogs and orchids, and a new genus of rodent announced in November 2020. Dracula Youth Reserve is an expansion of the larger Dracula Reserve wildlife corridor, which EcoMinga and partners Rainforest Trust, University of Basel Botanical Garden & friends, and the Orchid Conservation Alliance have been building since 2013, now over 5,300 acres in size (and growing!).
Henry and Alice (USA) raised money by selling cookies and lemonade—a classic!
Dracula Youth Reserve was established in 2021 after a two-year fundraising effort between Reserva: The Youth Land Trust, Rainforest Trust, and EcoMinga, and is celebrated as a conservation first—an entirely youth-funded nature reserve. All funds for Dracula Youth Reserve were generated by people 26 or younger—whether given from their own personal finances (or gifts made in their honor), raised through youth-led fundraising initiatives like Run for the Rainforest, or earned as matching funds through Reserva’s youth empowerment campaign, 1 Million Letters #ForNature. Every dollar raised was matched by the Rainforest Trust SAVES challenge, and we reached fundraising goal of $178,000 in June, 2021.
2022–2023 Expansion with Orchid Conservation Alliance | Even as much of this precious ecosystem remains unexplored, Dracula Reserve is constantly under threat from deforestation for agriculture and cattle ranching and gold mining exploration. After our August 2021 expedition discovered active gold mining exploration illegally trespassing through the reserve and onto a neighboring 1,050-acre property that local farmers had intended for conservation, Reserva and Orchid Conservation Alliance teamed up to fund EcoMinga’s purchase of this site. In June 2023, we hit our fundraising goal, and processes to complete the purchase are ongoing. Stay tuned for news!
Youth Engagement in Science & Exploration | In addition to working virtually to fundraise for conservation, our work also includes youth engagement at the site, in conservation research, exploration, and storytelling. Reserva’s youth scientists and storytellers have become integral members of the teams documenting threatened species, new species to science, and the continued expansion of gold mining exploration in the region. Our expeditions are conducted jointly with EcoMinga and INABIO (the National Institute of Biodiversity in Quito), and have resulted in dozens of significant discoveries that will help us defend and conserve the reserve corridor in the long term.
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Help us spread the word: Purchasing the land is just part of protecting it. Currently Dracula Reserve is threatened by gold mining exploration, and it’s going to take a strong storytelling campaign to rally support for the reserve. Your unrestricted donation will help us finish our upcoming documentary, Otra Cosa, which follows youth scientists and storytellers through an expedition of discovery—from new species to new threats in Dracula Reserve. We’ve already shot the film—now it’s just down to the editing phase. Will you help?
Natalia Espinoza and Darío Loza admire the newly-published Lepanthes tulcanensis on the 2021 Dracula Transect Expedition. Photo by Callie Broaddus
Research at Dracula Reserve
Scientific papers
Two extremely rare new species of fossorial salamanders of the genus Oedipina (Plethodontidae) from northwestern Ecuador [PeerJ] Published October 2, 2020
A new genus of oryzomyine rodents (Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae) with three new species from montane cloud forests, western Andean cordillera of Colombia and Ecuador [PeerJ] Published November 10, 2020
A new tall and exceptional species of Lepanthes from north-west Ecuador (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae) [ResearchGate] Published November 17, 2020
A new Andean treefrog (Amphibia: Hyloscirtus bogotensis group) from Ecuador: an example of community involvement for conservation [PeerJ] Published August 6, 2021
A new and very spiny lizard (Gymnophthalmidae: Echinosaura) from the Andes in northwestern Ecuador [PeerJ] Published December 10, 2021
Books
Anfibios en los Ecosistemas Andino-Tropicales de la Provincia del Carchi - (Spanish)
Field Notes
Reserva Expedition 2019: Read daily field notes from our youth storytelling team starting here.
Dracula Youth Reserve Expedition 2020: Read daily field notes from our youth storytelling team starting here.
Dracula Transect Expedition 2021 (Explorers Club Flag Report - available as PDF download)
Photo Gallery
Need photographs for your Reserva fundraiser?
We’ve compiled a few images from Dracula Youth Reserve in Ecuador that YOU can use if you are creating a fundraiser for this project, doing a school report or presentation, or simply trying to spread the word about Reserva!
However you choose to use them, please remember to provide photo credit to the photographer, Callie Broaddus (@calliebroaddus on Instagram).
