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New Conservation Fund Continues the Anheuser-Busch Legacy of Supporting Wildlife Conservation and Research Worldwide
National Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy and Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute are Among Dozens of Beneficiaries
St. Louis, Mo., May 7, 2003 - On the surface, a marine biologist studying the behavior of sea lions on California's rugged Channel Islands has little in common with students at a Sewickley, Pa. middle school.
But both -- Brent Stewart, Ph.D. of the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute (H-SWRI) and the students at Quaker Valley School who spent much of last term working to restore a native fish species -- received financial support from SeaWorld and Busch Gardens last year.
Conservation and research organizations worldwide, as well as individual researchers and students honored as part of the SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Environmental Excellence Awards, benefit from Busch Entertainment Corporation's long-standing commitment to environmental philanthropy. Before taking into account the value of in-kind support such as facilities, material and personnel, BEC through the Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks has contributed more than $1 million to these programs and organizations each year for more than a decade. Since 1993, through the SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Environmental Excellent Awards, nearly $1 million has been awarded to schools in 35 U.S. states and territories to honor school groups that have studied or worked to resolve specific environmental issues.
Many international conservation, education and research organizations have worked with BEC, including Conservation International, Izaak Walton League of America, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National Geographic Society, National Science Teachers Association, National Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, National Audubon Society and H-SWRI, a non-profit research foundation with facilities in California and Florida. Conservation partners assist BEC in judging the hundreds of applications received each year for the SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Environmental Excellence Awards.
Today, BEC announced the formation of SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, an initiative designed to expand and strengthen BEC's long-standing commitment to the cause of wildlife conservation. This new non-profit charitable organization will enable guests at the Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks, BEC's corporate partners and the general public to join with BEC in supporting wildlife conservation around the globe. SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund will make grants in support of wildlife conservation projects conducted by recognized charitable organizations and noted scientists throughout the world, and it will administer the SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Environmental Excellence Awards.
"We applaud Anheuser-Busch's ongoing commitment to preserving our planet's greatest treasures, and thank them for their support over the last 40 years," said Don Kent, president of the H-SWRI. "The creation of the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund is another example of . [BEC's] corporate leadership and serves as an example of natural resource stewardship for all to emulate.. Funding . toward conservation research today will help secure the wealth of our planet's wild resources for many generations to come."
Sheila Sullivan Voss, BEC's director of environmental and educational programs, said support for conservation is part of a conservation ethic at Anheuser-Busch that traces its roots to the 19th century.
"SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and the new Conservation Fund are the most obvious evidence of this company's commitment to conservation, but BEC is simply carrying on an Anheuser-Busch tradition that spans almost 150 years," Voss said. "Recycling grain used in the brewing process as animal feed was the modest beginning of an environmental program that today benefits countless animals and habitats, and has an impact on every continent."
Wildlife conservation and research have been key parts of BEC's mission since the opening of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in the late 1950s. Today, BEC operates the five Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks, each with an active research and education component.
For more information about the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, visit the Fund Web site at www.swbg-conservationfund.org.
Contact: Fred Jacobs, Communications Director, 314/613-6077.
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Busch Gardens Tampa Bay welcomes the birth of baby Geri into the park's black rhino population. Busch Gardens' veterinarians conduct blood studies on the black rhino both in the park and out in the wild to better understand the health of the endangered species.
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