“Here we are, the most clever species ever to have lived. So how is it we can destroy the only planet we have?” ~ Jane Goodall
The world is in trouble. As human population continues to grow, hundreds of other species go extinct every day. Wild places are dwindling and the environment is suffering… the worst thing we can do is nothing at all.
Thankfully, there are good people out there working every single day to protect wildlife, clean up, solve problems, invent greener products and advocate for a better future. They need our help.
Here are some organizations we have taken the time to vet (each logo links to their site) and wholeheartedly support. We hope you will too!
It’s estimated that 14 billion pounds of trash (most of it plastic) enters the ocean every year. Since its inception in 2017, this company has cleaned up over 12 million pounds. Their efforts are funded by the sale of unisex bracelets and products that help us avoid single-use items. In the past, sale of themed bracelets have resulted in large cash donations to non-profits working to protect imperiled wildlife. For 2020 they just announced a promise to donate $50,000 every month to partner organizations working solely on ocean cleanup, which benefits all marine life. Be awesome… Buy something 4Ocean!
It’s difficult for me to describe how critical their work is without becoming a bit emotional. Mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, rhinos, hippos, elephants, giraffes, lions, cheetahs… all seriously threatened due to loss of habitat, poaching, unsustainable trophy hunting (WTF is wrong with people?!) and human/animal conflict.
African Wildlife Foundation works on many fronts to protect these beautiful creatures. Training rangers to prevent poaching, using sniffer dogs to interfere with trafficking, working to stop the demand, educating and empowering local communities, promoting sustainable agriculture and tourism… they do so much.
We give what we can now and have remembered AWF generously in our will. Who can imagine a world where iconic African animals exist only in photographs?
Scientists say we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction of plants and animals; meanwhile people are multiplying… expanding… consuming. CBD has some awesome programs but my personal favorite is Population & Sustainability. Nobody wants to be told they shouldn’t have a gaggle of babies; in fact, the topic of sustainable reproduction is taboo. CBD’s Endangered Species Condoms get people smiling and talking about the connection between human population growth and the wildlife extinction crisis. It’s brilliant! But it’s only a side program. Their most powerful weapon in the fight to protect wildlife has always been existing law, such as the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. As of fall 2019, CBD staff attorneys had filed 164 suits to oppose every attempt the Trump Administration has made to worsen climate change and strip protection from wildlife and wild spaces. Over 80% of their legal actions typically result in a favorable outcome. Their motto… “We want those who come after us to inherit a world where the wild is still alive.”
I always thought Jane Goodall was pretty cool until I read “In the Shadow of Man,” then she became possibly my favorite human of all time. Named a UN Messenger of Peace, she is so compassionate and seems to want little for herself, except to make a difference. After years of field research and sharing touching stories of chimp families and friendships with the world, she went on to found the Jane Goodall Institute to address the many threats to chimpanzees and other great apes… habitat loss, disease, human/animal conflict, and poaching for the bushmeat and exotic pet trade (so SO sad). Our closest living relatives, chimpanzees, have been listed as an endangered species since 1990, with less than ~350,000 remaining. That’s down from 1-2 million, 100 years ago. Heartbreaking.
JGI is our Amazon Smile charity of choice so they can benefit from our rampant consumerism, and will also receive a sizeable donation upon our deaths.
It is estimated that over 200,000 acres of rainforest is burned every day, driving endangered species closer to extinction. Deforestation for wood/paper products and farming/palm oil production is very profitable, and a big problem. Even worse, land is sometimes developed by big corporations without consultation or compensation to indigenous people. RAN’s mission is to preserve the rainforests, protect the climate and uphold human rights. In addition to forming partnerships with local communities, their strategy has always been to identify the biggest problems, find the targets and take action. They have called out Home Depot, Citicorp, Chevron and Burger King to name a few… and succeeded in having them change practices that threaten rainforests. Corporate Accountability! These guys are in our will too.
I fell in love with biologist and National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen when I happened upon his Facebook page and started clicking through his wildlife photos. He had taken the time to share the story behind each one, often including a description of the threats his subject may be facing. I could feel the respect, admiration and compassion in his words. I later realized he is the same man that had shared his now well-known story about an encounter with a leopard seal trying to feed him penguins in Antarctica. (National Geo may let you access the piece; non-subscribers get a few free views each month.) Together with fellow photographer and partner Christina Mittermeier, Paul co-founded Sea Legacy, which uses visual storytelling to engage the world in ocean conservation. People protect what they love; it’s why I like to share my scuba videos. These are beautiful people and I love what they are doing. We give monthly.
This is one badass bunch of passionate people working on the front lines to protect marine life. At the helm is Captain Paul Watson, originally a co-founder of Greenpeace. When Watson pushed for more “direct action” rather than passive tactics, he and Greenpeace parted ways and Sea Shepherds Conservation Society was born. With a cult following and some generous support from celebs such as Bob Barker, Brigitte Bardot, Martin Sheen, Sam Simon and Steve Irwin’s widow Terri (to name a few), Sea Shepherds is now the “largest private navy on the planet” conducting research, collaborating with communities and governments, stopping illegal activity and exposing the truth. Does it bother me that their non-lethal tactics to interfere with illegal fishing and whaling have been opposed by some? Nope, go Sea Shepherds! Doing what the “authorities” can’t or won’t. Yep, they are in our will too.
Here are some NEO’s we support because they are awesome. For the uninitiated, that’s Ingo’s TLA for “non-environmental organizations.”
Amazon Smile – If you Amazon and you’re not doing this yet… someone’s missing out! Such a great way to generate funds for a non-profit of your choice. Just log in to Smile.Amazon to shop (rather than just Amazon), choose a charity and proceed. The shopping experience is identical, except that your organization will benefit from every purchase you make. ($100 million total raised so far. You can change charities whenever you like.) When I was teaching and managing at Columbia Academy, I registered our small 501(c)(3) school with Amazon Smile and shared that with our enrolled families and others who wanted to support us. Once quarterly, money would just drop into the fundraising account I had provided. Easy peasy!
Big Cat Rescue – A highly rated non-profit providing sanctuary for big cats rescued from the entertainment industry and exotic pet trade. After being exploited for human greed and entertainment, BCR gives these majestic creatures peace, dignity and enrichment for the rest of their lives. It’s a lucky big kitty that ends up with these amazing people! BTW, So what if Carol Baskin fed her first husband to one of the cats? He probably had it coming plus the cat was well fed. Win-win. A better meal would have been Joe Exotic.
Fences for Fido – These wonderful souls have changed the lives of thousands of Portland-area dogs living outdoors by building doghouses and/or fences for them when the owner is unable to do so. They have even helped with vet care. “Un-chained… one dog at a time.” Love this!
Four Paws International – This organization helps wild animals kept in captivity to “live a dignified life in an environment suited to their species.” From deplorable conditions (in some cases for decades) they have rescued bears, lions, tigers, foxes, dogs and cats, and found refuge for them in sanctuaries or homes (for domestic animals). Their success stories are profoundly sad and wonderful at the same time – because of the outcome. When I support Four Paws, I think… “I can’t change the world, but I can change a single being’s whole world by helping in its rescue.”
The Animal Rescue Site / Greater Good – This is a pawesome place to “Shop To Give” for cute clothing, unique jewelry, and all sorts of other fun gift ideas. So many of their products support artisans in impoverished parts of the world and everything is certified fair trade, often with a backstory. Plus they give to partner organizations (over $60 million since 1999). I have made tons of purchases and 99% of the time, I am over the top happy with the products and often get compliments. I linked you to “The Animal Rescue Site” of Greater Good dot com, but if you go there and click on “The Animal Rescue Site by Greater Good” in the top left corner, you can choose instead to have your purchase support causes such as Hunger, Veterans, Diabetes, Breast Cancer, Autism, Literacy, Alzheimer’s or Rainforest. The product options may change slightly to be relevant to the cause, but the shopping experience is basically the same. Seriously, feel good about buying stuff!!
Humane Society of Cozumel Island – There will always be a special place in our heart for all the kind people who do so much for stray animals on this tiny island. They do an annual free spay/neuter event, find temporary foster homes on the island, and organize air transport with tourists so that adopted animals can reach their forever homes. They saved our precious Nube and cared for her until we brought her home to join our family.
Nonhuman Rights Project – It’s heartbreaking to me that people can be so indifferent and even cruel to animals that are just as capable of feeling loneliness, pain and fear as we are. Especially intelligent and social beings such as dolphins, elephants and chimpanzees who are torn from their families, treated as property, and often kept under horrendous conditions. This is the only organization I know of that has taken animal rights cases all the way to the Supreme Court in an effort to have their “clients” granted non-human personhood and released to a sanctuary so they can live out their lives in peace, with dignity and companionship. Maybe someday the laws will change; NHRP is breaking new ground… but for now I can only say that some people suck.
Old Dog Haven – These beautiful humans take abandoned senior dogs from western Washington shelters and ensure they live peacefully in their final years as members of a loving family. This warms my heart and restores a bit of my faith in humanity.
Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals – OFOSA saved my Callie girl from a high-kill shelter in southern California. They transport hundreds of animals every year, provide medical care, spay or neuter, and find them loving homes. Kind folks on a mission!
Oregon Humane Society – OHS is an amazing animal shelter in Portland. They adopt out over 10,000 animals a year, provide training both for owners and pets, and their Humane Special Agents respond to hundreds of cruelty and abuse reports every year. When I was teaching, an OHS volunteer happily visited my class with her canine partner during “Be Kind to Animals” week to do a presentation for the kids. They really are awesome!
Oregon Public Broadcasting – I think it’s incredibly important to support independent journalism and help ensure that everyone has access to programs not sponsored by corporations with an agenda or products to sell. When I was teaching at Columbia Academy, I used my OPB membership to log in at school and share nature programs with my students as part of our study units. We don’t watch a lot of TV at home and don’t find ourselves on PBS stations often but we still give a small amount monthly, just out of principle.
S.A.F.E. – Scuba Access for Everyone is a non-profit venture near and dear to our hearts; founded by our dive friends, Dale & Debbie Kleier. After experiencing for ourselves the peace and pleasure of diving, we were moved to learn of their mission to introduce scuba to individuals with disabilities. The goal is to build confidence, independence, freedom and self-esteem in the lives of adolescents, adults and veterans with disabilities through adapative diving programs using the certification and training curriculum of Diveheart. The Kleiers have put their heart and soul into making this happen; we are beyond impressed by their commitment and execution of the project — complete with an indoor pool designed and built on their property solely for this purpose.
Washington Scuba Alliance – If you are one of our dive friends in the Oregon/Washington area… you definitely want to be a member of WSA! Their mission is to enhance Washington waters to create sustainable marine environments through advocacy, conservation and education. Even if you don’t dive, these guys are big advocates for a healthy Puget Sound / Hood Canal. Who doesn’t want that?!!