For Mother’s Day, Give Back to Mother Earth!

For Mother’s Day, let’s all give Mother Earth a gift!  There are so many deserving organizations out there, I don’t know where to start.  I guess I will start with organizations I regularly support, which are animal conservation and protection, and urge you to give our Mother Earth a gift for Mother’s Day!

Marine Megafauna Foundation: MMF was started in 2009 to protect, research, and conserve megafauna species (Manta Rays, Whale Sharks, Sharks, and Turtles) along the coast of Mozambique.  The reach of the organization has gone global:  from attending CITES conferences advocating the legal conservation of these animals to researching them all over the world, MMF is a worldwide organization.  You can volunteer, you can donate, or you can adopt or sponsor an animal.  I am going to Ecuador in September with Dr. Andrea Marshall and a team of scientists to volunteer with the largest Manta Ray population on earth!  I am so excited to go on this trip! I support this organization wholeheartedly.  I volunteered in Tofo, Mozambique in 2012 and met several members of MMF, and these dedicated and inspiring people are crucial to conservation efforts everywhere!

Elephants World in Thailand: In 1900 there were 100,000 elephants in Thailand.  Today, there are 2000 in the wild, and 3000 in captivity.  The main reason for the drop in number is the reduction of living space and as a result of illegal logging. A smaller living area means less food for elephants. Wild elephants are still taken from the forest for trading, tusks, or breeding.  Elephants World takes these sick, aged, disabled and abused elephants from the cruelty of the lives they have known and gives them a sanctuary where they can live out the rest of their lives in peace.

African Wildlife Foundation: The African Wildlife Foundation protects the endangered species on the African savannahs by Wild Life conservation, Land and Habitat Protection, Community Empowerment and Economic Development.  These animals are precious natural resources, our own fellow creatures.  Time is running out, and we must all take action to stop the extinction of many species.  Read about their programs, and donate!

Wolves in Yellowstone:  Yellowstone has served as a recovery place for the resurgence of the species.  Wolf packs once roamed from the Arctic tundra to Mexico, but loss of habitat and extermination programs by humans led to their demise throughout most of the United States by 1900.  Yosemite is raising 11 million dollars to protect North American species.  The link above will take you to our National Parks site where you can choose to donate to any project you wish.  Happy Mother’s Day to Mother Earth!

REEF:  The mission: Reef Environmental Education Foundation is a grass-roots organization that seeks to conserve marine ecosystems by educating, enlisting and enabling divers and other marine enthusiasts to become active ocean stewards and citizen scientists. They have 3 main projects:  Grouper Moon Project (studying and repopulating Groupers); Survey Project (when I dive I fill out surveys for this organization.  It tracks important fish populations in order to determine the health of reefs all over the world), and the Lionfish Project.  Sadly, the Lionfish Project seeks to rid our waters of the invasive Lionfish species, which does not belong in the Atlantic ocean.  These lionfish threaten the ecosystem, so REEF puts together Lionfish Derby series all over the Atlantic ocean to rid the environment of these dangerous fish.

There are many, many deserving organizations out there, organizations making every effort to make Mother Earth a better place for all creatures.  These are just a few, but they are absolutely worthy of support.

Make a difference for Mother’s Day by giving Mother Earth a precious gift!