News: Parks offer relaxing way to rescue the reef

Posted at 5:22 PM EDT (2122 GMT)

Aug. 25th, 2008 -- Orlando, Fla. - Vacationers to SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks across the U.S. can now make an important contribution to wildlife conservation when they enter the water with sharks, beluga whales, sea lions and dolphins or traverse the Serengeti Plain with giraffes and antelopes. 

Don’t Leave the Water With Out It

Every time a guest uses an American Express card to purchase an animal interaction program at a SeaWorld or Busch Gardens park, American Express will match the price of the program by 50 percent and donate that money to the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, a non-profit charitable foundation dedicated to preserving endangered wildlife, expanding conservation education around the globe and supporting worthy conservation and research organizations.  Participating parks and programs include:

- SeaWorld Orlando - Beluga Interaction Program and Sharks Deep Dive.
- SeaWorld San Diego - Dolphin Interaction and Wild Arctic Interaction.
- SeaWorld San Antonio - Beluga Interaction Program and Sea Lion Interaction.
- Busch Gardens Tampa Bay - Keeper for a Day.

American Express will match the funds up to $100,000.  Guests can visit www.swbg-conservationfund.org for more information and www.seaworld.com or www.buschgardens.com to sign up for an interaction.

A Relaxing Way to Rescue the Reef

Discovery Cove in Orlando is donating $25 to The Nature Conservancy’s “Rescue the Reef” program when guests book their dolphin swim. In addition, guests will save an additional 15% off of their reservation to the all-inclusive park. 

“Rescue the Reef” aims to help protect and preserve the fragile warm water coral reef habitats in the Florida Keys, Caribbean Basin and Asia/Pacific regions with conservations efforts including underwater clean-ups and fish counts, and outreach programs to dive shops and fishermen, and working with community leaders. 

"We are delighted with Discovery Cove's generosity and commitment to protecting the spectacular yet highly threatened coral reefs of Palau," said Jackie Held, manager of The Nature Conservancy's Rescue the Reef program. "With support from the program, we are helping to establish a nation-wide network of marine protected areas in Palau that will ensure that people will be able to marvel at these underwater treasures for generations to come."

The promotion is valid September 3, 2008 – March 10, 2009 with several blackout dates. Guests booking at Discoverycove.com will be prompted to enter the promotional code TNC08.  For more information guests can visit discoverycove.com or www.nature.org.

Press Release submitted via: ThrillNetwork.com