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LOOKING FOR A WAY TO HELP THE PLANET THIS SEASON?
It’s that time of year again–the gift giving season! This year, why not give a gift that keeps giving? If you are looking for something that will benefit wildlife and wild places, here are a few shopping tips.
Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund (DWCF) Disney shops offer a wide array of products to help you make the eco-friendly choice when buying gifts for friends and loved ones.
- For $1 – Give a donation to the DWCF, and receive a collector’s button to show your good deed.
- Under $5 – Reusable bags, including the popular “Every Tree has Character“ bag, are available at various Walt
Disney World Resort merchandise and food and beverage areas. Great for stocking stuffers or for use as gift bags. They are also available at Disneyland Resort in California. - Under $20 – Cuddly plush animals including elephants, tigers, and hippos, are waiting for adoption. Ten percent of
the proceeds from the sale of these plush will benefit the DWCF. - Under $30 – Organic cotton tees, totes and hats featuring animal designs and friends like Kermit the Frog, pandas
and of course, Mickey Mouse.The DWCF supports a variety of conservation-focused organizations around the world. Below are some DWCF recipients that offer their own unique shopping opportunities that benefit their organizations.
Bat Conservation International (BCI) is working to help bats around the world. Gifts purchased from the BCI Web site aid in protecting lands and caves where bats live.
- Most children grow up with a fear of bats. Help them combat this and learn something as well by purchasing one of BCI’s DVDs – “Kids Discover Bats” or “Bats of America.”
- For those who are interested in keeping bats around because of their importance to the wild, BCI offers bats houses that are easy to install.
- Is the office secret Santa party coming up and you aren’t sure what to get the hard-to-shop for co-worker? How about BCI post-it notes, key chain or calculator?
- www.batcon.org
Caribbean Conservation Corporation (CCC) defends our friends in the oceans-endangered sea turtles. These sea turtle themed gifts are not only an attractive way to show that special someone you care but are also for a very good cause.
- If you ever dreamed of taking a sea turtle home with you, now you can with the CCC’s bronze turtle statue.
- Send your post holiday thank you notes on sea turtle stationery.
- The CCC also assists communities where sea turtles live by selling locally hand-crafted Tagua Nut carvings. These nuts (often called vegetable ivory) are found in northwest Ecuador and provide a livelihood for local people through the sustainable harvest of the tagua palm nut.
- www.cccturtle.org
Proyecto Titi is a conservation program that studies cotton-top tamarins in their natural habitat and educates the local communities about the need to protect biodiversity in Colombia.
- Eco-Mochilas are made by the local community in Columbia by recycling plastic bags. These traditional bags can come customized in colors or with special phrases.
- If jewelry is your passion, Proyecto Titi now creates eco-mochila bracelets in a variety of colors.
- Want to show your support for the cotton-top tamarin wherever you go? You can now purchase the cotton-top tamarin key chain, handcrafted by Columbian artisans and show your support for Proyecto Titi.
- www.proyectotiti.com
The International Snow Leopard Trust (ISLT) focuses on not only saving the endangered snow leopard but also helping the local communities where these animals live. By purchasing a holiday gift from the ISLT Web site, you can benefit the local craftsmen and help them understand that conservation of the big cats can be beneficial.
- Hand woven home goods can be found in the ISLT shop–anything from rugs, to coasters, to napkins.
- Woven personal wear is also available in the form of booties, slippers, hats, handbags and cell phone cases.
- Handcrafted toys and ornaments are sure to make the little ones happy.
- www.snowleopard.org
The Nature Conservancy offers a way to spread holiday cheer by helping to protect the places that plants and animals rely upon for survival:
- The Plant a Billion Trees Campaign—Plant ten trees for only $10 in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. Visit www.plantabillion.org and click onPlant a Tree to make your donation.
- The Adopt-an-Acre Program—Adopt an acre in the United States, Africa, Australia or Costa Rica
- The Adopt-a-Coral Reef Program— If the present rate of destruction continues, 70 percent of the world’s coral reefs will be destroyed by the year 2050. Help protect threatened reefs in the Dominican Republic, Palau and Papua New Guinea by Adopting a Coral Reef.
- http://www.nature.org
The Peregrine Fund was established in 1970 to help the Peregrine Falcon escape almost certain extinction. Today the Peregrine has come back and the organization helps all birds of prey. All of the items in their internet store benefit the birds in breeding programs and provide educational materials.
- A variety of wearable items are available in the store, ranging from t-shirts and tote bags to hats to necklaces and pins.
- If you are looking for something to pass the time, The Peregrine Fund offers puzzles and “Bird-Opoly.”
- For those who feel like they live at the office, there are calendars, posters, mugs and mouse pads.
- When you have the little one who has everything, why not give them an eagle puppet or how about a barn owl puppet? While they are having fun, they can gain an awareness of raptors.
- www.peregrinefund.org
Photo captions (from left to right, top to bottom):
The International Snow Leopard Trust, unique hand woven rugs from Central Asia; the International Rhino Foundation, Rosa, part of the Adopt a Rhino program; the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, mother and baby, part of the Adopt-a-Gorilla program; The Peregrine Fund, bird-themed stuffed animals; Bat Conservation International, bat-themed jewelry benefits BCI; Proyecto Titi, eco-mochilas are traditional bags made in Columbia; The International Snow Leopard Trust, baby snow leopard, part of the Adopt-a-Snow Leopard Project; the Disney Stores, Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund receives 10 percent of the sale of the reusable Every Tree Has Character bags; Caribbean Conservation Corporation, Sea turtle ornaments; The Nature Conservancy, donations to Plant-a-Billion Trees benefits the reforestation of The Atlantic Forest in Brazil;Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, donations are used to benefit a multitude of projects worldwide that study protect wildlife and wild places.
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