As you might already be aware, this will be the last week of posting for these CU students. In order to make this a happy ending, as a group we decided to deem this week’s theme as author’s choice. Throughout this journey you have read a lot about how Disney is trying to establish a smaller eco-footprint.  Today I would like to pay a tribute to Walt Disney, who respected the environment greatly. He was quoted saying:

“Landscapes of great wonder and beauty lie under our feet and all around us. They are discovered in tunnels in the ground, the heart of flowers, the hollows of trees, fresh-water ponds, seaweed jungles between tides and even drops of water. Life in these hidden worlds is more startling in reality than anything we can imagine. How could this earth of ours, which is only a speck in the heavens, have so much variety of life, so many curious and exciting creatures?” – Walter Disney

Walt Disney became interested in personalizing animals’ characters after carelessly killing a small owl as a young boy. He felt deeply remorseful and guilty and vowed never again to kill a living creature. Personally, I forget that most of Disney’s characters are modeled after animals. And for that reason, it is no surprise that Disney plays a large role in ensuring nature conservation and animal care. Disney is such an inspiring business because they choose to act on their late founders values to this day. To act on Walt’s values, the company founded their very own organization, the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, in 1995 (on Earth Day), to help scientists and communities worldwide study animals and their habitats. The fund supports the study of wildlife and the protection of habitats and the development of community conservation and education programs in critical ecosystems around the world. Recently the organization has expanded their focus to help connect kids and nature through exploration and discovery. The goal of this program is to help educate kids to ensure they will have lifelong conservation values.

In addition to hands-on learning, they inspire kids through Disneynature films. These films share a wide variety of wildlife stories, hoping to engage and educate everyone, not just children. Through donations for these films, Disneynature, through the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, has planted three million trees in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, established 40,000 acres of marine protected area in The Bahamas, protected 65,000 acres of savanna in Kenya, protected nearly 130,000 acres of wild chimpanzee habitat, educated 60,000 school children about chimpanzee conservation and cared for chimpanzees.

In case you had any doubts, it is true that 100 percent of every dollar goes directly to DWCF projects. In addition, The Walt Disney Company matches all guest contributions to the DWCF and covers all overhead costs associated with the Fund. Projects are reviewed and evaluated by Disney’s Environment staff which includes, scientists, animal keepers, and educators to ensure the funds will truly make a difference for wildlife. Not only is this process efficient, but it is extremely self-less of Disney to put their values before their profits.  Disney is able to do this successfully because they structure their business to achieve their desired goals and targets by creating strategies and solutions. Disney recognizes the importance of ensuring that their values last much longer than the business itself. Walt Disney was a smart, imaginative man.