Conservation

Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris applaud your interest in conservation of the special places that you visit. We encourage you to participate in efforts around the world and also in your own backyard. These are just a few of the organizations and efforts that we promote and support.

Climate Change

CarbonTree Conservation Fund. Help Reverse a Climate Crisis. Make your trip carbon neutral by purchasing carbon offsets from CarbonTree. Their mission is is to help stop global warming and protect biodiversity by saving endangered tropical forests. In partnership with Fundación Yuchan in northern Argentina, they are working to save forests that are actively being destroyed. 100% of all donations and carbon offset purchases go directly to saving tropical rainforests since all administrative costs are donated by Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris.

Africa

African Wildlife Foundation. AWF is the leading international conservation organization focused solely on Africa. They believe that protecting Africa's wildlife and wild landscapes is the key to the future prosperity of Africa and its people. They fund wildlife research, education and park patrols.

East African Wild Life Society. Publishes a quarterly wildlife and conservation magazine that enjoys global readership, and is recognised as among the best wildlife magazines in the world, and certainly the best in the region. To receive a copy of Swara every month, you must be a member of the East African Wild Life Society, visit their website to join and for more information.

Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. The DFGFI is dedicated to the conservation and protection of gorillas and their habitats in Africa. In collaboration with government agencies and other international partners, they also provide assistance to local communities through education, health, training and economic development initiatives.

Mara Conservancy. In April 2008, just as the Mara Conservancy was running out of funds due to the collapse of tourism in Kenya, Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris and their generous clients stepped in and raised over $7,000 to help pay the salaries of anti-poaching rangers. The Mara Conservancy is a non-profit organization and 100% of its share of park entrance fees must be allocated to the management and development of the Trans-Mara and projects undertaken with the neighboring Maasai communities.

African Environmental Film Foundation. While traveling in Kenya in August 2008, Doug Cheeseman met Trevor Simon, a famous filmmaker who was in the Mara filming cheetahs for AEFF. Trevor described his current work and we were impressed! AEFF was founded ten years ago, with a bold vision for the future, AEFF's inspirational films about environmental issues, narrated in local African dialects, offer people from all walks of life the chance to learn about their precious natural heritage. AEFF films document the negative, and celebrate the positive. Using local role models and working examples, they illustrate how it is possible to accumulate wealth without destroying or depleting the very natural resources on which - ultimately - we all rely for survival.

Bhutan

Royal Society for the Protection of Nature. The leader of our Bhutan trip, Hishey Tsering, is an active volunteer and Board Member of this organization located in Bhutan. Founded as a citizen based non-profit environment organization in 1986, RSPN works on environment conservation and sustainable development throughout Bhutan. Their mission is to inspire personal responsibility and actively involve the people of Bhutan in the conservation of the Kingdom's environment through education, applied research and information dissemination.

Galapagos

Charles Darwin Foundation. Their mission is to provide knowledge and assistance through scientific research and complementary action to ensure the conservation of the environment and biodiversity in the Galapagos Archipelago.

Antarctic Regions

Albatross protection. Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris promotes protection of the Wandering Albatross and other species of albatross, especially during our voyages to the Antarctic. On our 2008-09 Antarctic expedition we held an auction to benefit albatross conservation that raised $4100, which will be divided between Birds Australia and the American Bird Conservancy, the two organizations that do the most for effective albatross protection. We wish to thank all our kind travelers who participated, donated items, organized, and especially to Craig Poore for making the auction so entertaining.

Alaska

Arctic Refuge Action Coalition. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a national treasure in great peril of being opened for oil extraction. Please help us stop this wasteful disregard of our natural heritage by taking action through the Arctic Refuge Action Coalition. We further urge you to join a conservation organization to help protect Alaskan wildlife, such as Defenders of Wildlife, the Wilderness Society, and the Audubon Society.

California

Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society. CES is a major supporter of the environmental conservation and education efforts of SCVAS. This chapter is one of the largest National Audubon Society chapters in California. Their mission is to preserve, enjoy, restore and foster public awareness of native birds and their ecosystems in the Bay Area.

"The Cheeseman family has been supporting the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society for decades; day-to-day involvement from bird banding to education to steering our conservation efforts. The success of our chapter's education and conservation efforts over the past 30 years, is owed in large part to the significant contributions of Doug, Gail, and Ted Cheeseman."
—from Bob Power, SCVAS Executive Director

San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory. SFBBO is dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats through science and outreach, and to contributing to informed resource management decisions in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Updated February 2009

All material © Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris.
All photos © Doug or Ted Cheeseman, unless otherwise credited.
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