Today is the day before Earth Day, and the Disney Parks Blog is using this “Earth Week” to celebrate the milestone of the Disney Conservation Fund reaching 25 years of recognizing and supporting conservationists and conservation communities!
What’s Happening:
- As Dr. Mark Penning recently wrote, during these unprecedented times, we can look to nature to bring us hope and inspiration. This Earth Day, the Disney Conservation Fund (DCF) marks a milestone — 25 years of recognizing and supporting conservationists and communities that embody that hope and inspiration.
- One inspiring anniversary message was given by one such conservationist, world-renowned primatologist, Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute & U.N. Messenger of Peace.You can learn more about Dr. Goodall’s inspiring story with a new documentary called Jane Goodall: The Hope, premiering on April 22, at 9/8c on Nat Geo, Nat Geo WILD, and streaming beginning Earth Day on Disney+ and Hulu. The message she sent can be seen below.
- Thanks to generous donations from people around the world, the support of Disney employees and cast members, and funding from The Walt Disney Company, the DCF has directed $100 million to protect the magic of nature since 1995. They have supported 600 respected nonprofit organizations –and counting – that are working with communities to save wildlife, inspire action and protect the planet. Grants directed to these organizations have helped protect more than 315 million acres of habitat and 1,000 species globally from lions and leopards, to butterflies and bees.
- These achievements are made possible by strong collaborations and dedicated people, who continue to inspire us and provide hope for our planet. We’re grateful to the members of the Disney Conservation Team Wildlife staff, who lead best-in-class scientific programs to conserve wildlife in Disney’s backyard and beyond, connect people to build a network for nature, and care for the planet through everyday actions. We’re also grateful to the hundreds of Disney employees and cast members who review funding proposals, raise and monitor funds, share stories that inspire people to make a difference, and expertly care for animals and our planet each day.
- Anyone can read more about Disney Conservation projects in a new FREE digital book: The Disney Conservation Fund: Carrying Forward a Conservation Legacy. Inside you will find some incredible stories highlighting organizations like the International Crane Foundation and its partners in East Asia, who have increased habitat protection for critically endangered Siberian cranes by 19,000 square miles. Or Associação Mico-Leão Dourado, Save the Golden Lion Tamarin, and Proyecto Tití, who have collectively planted more than 900,000 trees to create forest habitat for tiny golden lion and cotton-top tamarin monkeys in Brazil and Colombia, while benefitting more than 165 families through forest-friendly income-generating programs.
- Disney invites us all to learn more about the amazing work some of their Disney Conservation Fund grantees and 180 Disney Conservation Heroes are doing. Their devotion to furthering conservation in their communities and making the world a better place is truly admirable and inspires everyone every day.
- The folks at the DCF want to thank everyone for their continued commitment to do what they can do to save resources, recycle and support nature organizations with time or donations. There is no better way to help honor the 25th anniversary of the Disney Conservation Fund! We can’t wait to see what we accomplish together in the next 25 years!