Hey, all! As you may know, I donate a portion of the proceeds from my artwork and book sales to nonprofit organizations that benefit wildlife and their habitats. Between sales at Kumoricon, and online sales, I was able to contribute to two different organizations recently.
I’ve been to the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport before, but this time around I went ahead and purchased a membership for me and my partner (plus we can take someone with us when we visit!) Along with offering a high-quality selection of displays featuring hundreds of marine animals, the Aquarium also does a great deal of outreach to area schools and the community at large. As they say on their website, “Our mission is to inspire the public to better understand, cherish and conserve marine and coastal ecosystems”, and considering how little most people know about the oceans, these folks are doing valuable work!
I also renewed my membership with the Nature Conservancy. It’s one of the larger international organizations, and they have a multi-pronged approach to environmental work. This includes everything from buying land for the purpose of protecting delicate habitats, to outreach with communities worldwide about local environmental issues and engagement. They even have volunteers who spend time with hikers and other visitors on Conservancy-owned land, talking about the places that are protected and the flora and fauna living there.
Please consider contributing to these and other organizations working to protect wilderness habitats and the beings who live there!