This year, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums has awarded Party for the Planet grants totaling $95,000 to 12 projects led by AZA-accredited facilities. AZA is in its sixth year of the Party for the Planet campaign with support from the Disney Conservation Fund.

The OdySea Aquarium in Scottsdale received $10,000. It will use the money to introduce local Title 1 Schools to the Sustainable Habitats and Remote Knowledge Mobile during Party for the Planet in 2024, according to a press release. The Mobile will visit schools to provide free educational opportunities as well as host on-site campus cleanups and pollinator plant placements.

“From Earth Day to World Ocean Day, this campaign, with the generous support of the Disney Conservation Fund, leverages the reach and resources of AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums to clean, connect, and conserve by providing family-friendly volunteer and conservation action opportunities that focus on creating healthy habitats to improve our planet, like planting a pollinator garden or cleaning up a nearby waterway,” Dan Ashe, president and chief executive officer of AZA said in the release.

For the past 25 years, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums community has celebrated the planet with Party For The Planet events in the largest combined Earth Day (April 22), Endangered Species Day (May 20), and World Ocean Day (June 8) celebration in North America.

Party for the Planet offers families unique opportunities to visit their local association-accredited zoo and aquarium, celebrate the Earth’s biodiversity, and learn how they can take action to make a difference.

Scheduled Party for the Planet events include education and conservation presentations, keeper talks, and environmental activities.

More information about AZA’s Party For The Planet: Spring Into Action efforts can be found at www.aza.org/party-for-the-planet.