SDTTS Awarded SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund Grant
The San Diego Turtle & Tortoise Society has been awarded a $2000 grant from the 2019 SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund. SeaWorld received 335 grant proposals from around the world this year and we were one of the 29 that were awarded funding. We were notified on 3/18/19 of our award of $2000 for our “SDTTS Tortoise Rehabilitation and Placement Program” $2400 grant proposal. Our program’s mission is the protection of native desert tortoises and focuses on education of the general public about the tortoise and managing a captive population that will not threaten native populations. SeaWorld’s continued support of our efforts is validation of the importance of our mission and the effectiveness of our work.
For over 50 years, SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment which includes the SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove parks, have been leaders in wildlife conservation, research and conservation education. The parks provide a unique environment to connect with animals and inspire audiences to help protect the natural spaces we all depend on, and the 1,500+ park ambassadors that care for these animals have a tremendous responsibility and honor to care for the endangered and threatened species, identify strategies to help them recover in the wild, and share our passion of animals with the people we encounter every day, to inspire them to make a difference.
ABOUT
The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund was established as a 501 (c)(3) non-profit private foundation in 2003 - created to raise support for grassroots conservation projects that are truly making a difference. It supports a wide range of programs, from reintroducing cheetah to their native ranges in Namibia, to hiring guards to protect elephants from poachers, to saving sea turtle nests along the coasts of Central America from feral animals, to cleaning up North American beaches littered with marine debris.
Since its creation, the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund has awarded well over $16 million in conservation grants to over 800 organizations. Currently, the Fund provides over $1 million each year to conservation programs aligned with key focus areas (rescue & rehabilitation, conservation education, habitat protection, species research).
Thanks to SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment's administrative support, 100% of the funding we raise (EVERY SINGLE PENNY) goes toward these conservation projects.