Disney Shines Spotlight on Organizations Receiving Disney Conservation Fund Grants

Disney is shining a spotlight on several of the organizations that are doing great work thanks to grants from the Disney Conservation Fund.

What's Happening:

• April marks Earth Month, and as we round the corner into it, Disney is shining a spotlight on a number of organizations that the Disney Conservation Fund (DCF) will be supporting.
• For more than 30 years, the DCF has supported conservation efforts globally, combining philanthropic grants and Disney expertise to protect wildlife, restore ecosystems, and inspire action for the planet.
• This year, DCF is ready to support 25 organizations across 16 countries, bringing their total investment to more than $141 million since its inception in 1995.
• Today, Disney is sharing five of the latest Disney Conservation Fund grant recipients, who work to protect, restore, and rewild more than 120,000 square miles of corridor habitat.
• With support from DCF this year, Save the Elephants is partnering with a community bordering Tsavo East National Park, Kenya, and organizations across Africa to establish a Community Conservancy protecting a critical 12.5 square mile corridor to enable elephants to move safely between protected areas, including through a critical railway underpass, within the rapidly developing Tsavo Landscape. The initiative will deliver tangible benefits to the local people, including employment opportunities, livelihood programs and sustainable long-term human-elephant management strategies, helping this community see the value of conserving their land for wildlife and elephant migration and future security.
• Bat Conservation International is helping protect threatened and endangered nectar-feeding bats across Mexico and the U.S. Southwest by restoring critical migratory pathways these species depend on. Over the next two years, the organization will work with landowner and organizational partners to implement sustainable agriculture practices, restore and reconnect eight key stopover sites spanning 675 miles, and plant nearly 140,000 native agave plants to create a connected “nectar corridor.” These climate-resilient habitats support important pollinators like the greater long-nosed bat, lesser long-nosed bat and Mexican long-tongued bat, while also strengthening land health and local livelihoods.
• Ocean First Institute is advancing conservation of great hammerhead sharks — one of the ocean’s most iconic and critically endangered species — in the Florida Keys, through research and education. Using tools such as satellite tagging and remote underwater video systems, the team is working to better understand the marine corridors these sharks use and inspire stewardship for oceans globally. Over the next two years, the team is working to protect approximately 60 nautical miles of marine corridors within the Upper Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, including critical pathways connecting offshore reefs with inshore nursery areas.  
• Monarch Joint Venture is restoring and connecting 15 miles of monarch butterfly habitat across important migratory routes in California’s Bay Area and Central Valley over the next two years by distributing and installing approximately 6,000 native plants and engaging participants from homeowners to farmers to students to establish community-led habitat corridors.
• This year, Proyecto Tití and Wildlife Conservation Network are extending protected areas for cotton-top tamarins by approximately 6 square miles — an important step toward a longer-term goal of building a 20-mile regional forest corridor between two critical areas. This work builds on a decades-long commitment to engaging Colombian communities in education programs, forest restoration and sustainable agriculture practices to create a brighter future for this species and the people who share their home.  
• More environmental updates and stories are expected in the coming weeks as we go through Earth Month, with Earth Day taking place on April 22.

What They're Saying:

• Yalmaz Siddiqui, vice president of environmental sustainability at The Walt Disney Company: “The Disney Conservation Fund embodies our Disney Planet Possible commitment to take meaningful and measurable action for a healthier, happier planet. These projects were selected for their ability to connect critical spaces for people and wildlife, backed by strong science, meaningful collaboration, and conservation programs co-developed with local communities, helping ensure restoration and rewilding efforts deliver real benefits for the people who depend on them today and for future generations to come.”

A Park Connection:

• Those who read the stories and efforts above might notice a recurring theme throughout each out of the DCF beneficiaries.
• Many of these animals represented by these different groups are featured at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World. African elephants, like those protected by Save the Elephants, can be spotted aboard the signature attraction of that park - Kilimanjaro Safaris.
• Additionally, guests can find flying foxes (a type of bat) at the park, in the Maharajah Jungle Trek, where guests can see their impressive wingspans, and how they keep ecosystems healthy.
• Some of the animals can even be found at EPCOT in The Seas with Nemo & Friends. There, guests can see various shark species and how they support marine ecosystems and keep them in balance.
• EPCOT is also the home (at least seasonally) of Monarch butterflies during the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival. Just outside of The Land pavilion, guests can see them in the enclosed Butterfly garden.
• Back at Disney's Animal Kingdom, guests can find Cotton-Top Tamarins and see how they move together as a family and how they play an essential role in a healthy ecosystem.