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Back to School Resources for Teachers from SeaWorld


August 27, 2010 by KellyMorales • No Comments »
Posted in Community, conservation

Now that summer is coming to a close and “Back to School” time is here, we would like to share some of the many resources we have for teachers.  From online materials to in-park programs, we provide resources that enable students and guests to develop a lifelong appreciation, understanding, and stewardship for our environment.

In-Park  Field Experiences:

Our Shamu University Programs are designed to connect your students with animals in meaningful and memorable ways. Whether you spend time with a SeaWorld Instructor or chart your own course with the curriculum we provide, you’ll find inspiration in SeaWorld’s animal presentations and habitats and pick up valuable lessons along the way.  Plus, our programs support Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.

ANIMALS Website:

SeaWorld also maintains the largest animal information website of any zoological organization.  ANIMALS features more that 4000 pages of zoological, ecological, and conservation-minded material – including multimedia- photo, video, and audio of species reference sources, conservation projects, zoological career information, and more.

Curriculum Guides:

Did you know that you can incorporate SeaWorld not only into your science curriculum, but across other content areas as well? Teacher’s Guides have been developed  for all grade levels at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens to help you teach your students – in an active, hands-on way – about how people interact with the environment and how we can best care for Earth’s resources. Each guide is free to download, and includes goals and objectives, information, vocabulary, a bibliography, and classroom activities. Activities strive to integrate science, mathematics, geography, art, and language.

 

Land Sea and Air Mail:

Still looking for even more up-to-date resources? Subscribe to Land, Sea, & Air.  Each month, we will flesh out a particular animal-related topic through four primary channels: Animal Activities, The Wild, Connections, and Currents. Land, Sea, & Air is offered as a monthly e-newsletter delivered via email.

Environmental Excellence Awards:

Is your school doing something great for the earth?  You could be qualified for the 2011 SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Environmental Excellence Awards. Since 1993, the awards have recognized the outstanding efforts of students and teachers across the country who are working at the grassroots level to protect and preserve the environment. Over the last 17 years, we’ve awarded $1.7 million to more than 150 schools in 35 U.S. states/territories.

 

Shamu TV:

Shamu TV, the Emmy award-winning environmental education series from the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Worlds of Discovery brings you face-to-face with the wonders of wildlife.  Each episode features unforgettable stories about amazing animals and the remarkable efforts of people working together to save some of the world’s most endangered and threatened species.  Airing via satellite, Shamu TV has an estimated viewership of over 42 million and is broadcast into schools and by local cable channels and PBS stations throughout the United States. Select episodes of Shamu TV also air frequently on Discovery Kids and Animal Planet.

Teacher Workshops and Teacher Camp:

Want to dive even deeper – while earning Texas State Board of Education credit hours? Choose between a half-day Teacher Workshop, or for the ultimate educator experience, our four-day Teacher Resident Camp. During the Teacher Workshop, we’ll discuss animal adaptations, natural history and behaviors. Then, we’ll gather multi-disciplinary tools to find out how to relate animals to the classroom with activities in math, writing, science, social studies, and more. Teacher workshops can be tailored to fit the interest of your group of at least five teachers.  For more information, contact me here.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work with animals at SeaWorld? Our four-day Teacher Resident Camp is a terrific way to earn continuing education units while having the time of your life. Our animal experts will work alongside you and bring you face to face with marine mammals. You’ll be amazed at the new experiences you’ll bring back to the classroom.

You know it better than anyone – the power of learning.  At SeaWorld, we share your passion and applaud what you do every day.  The curiosity and inquisitiveness you spark in your students are essential building blocks for a lifetime of learning and critical thinking.  It’s these skills that will take the students of today successfully into tomorrow.


 

Air Quality Stewardship Award Recipient


June 22, 2010 by AnnaLisaAguirre • 1 Comment »
Posted in Community, Earth Day Every Day, conservation

SeaWorld San Antonio was nominated for the Air Quality Stewardship Award through the Alamo Area Council of Governments. Honored by the nomination, we submitted our application for this prestigious distinction. Recently, we learned that SeaWorld was selected as an award recipient! Often times some of our conservation initiatives go unnoticed, but behind the scenes we are always looking for ways to be greener. Knowing that our decisions directly affect the environment we all live in makes our green decisions easy to make.

One of our green initiatives is fleet management. We have several pieces of equipment or vehicles that use alternative fuels. We use different types of electrical powered equipment such as forklifts, pallet jacks and segways. We also have vehicles that are powered with propane. We have several golf carts that are solar powered along with some pieces of equipment that are charged with solar panels.

Solar powered golf cart

And, we cannot forget the use of bicycles that our Security team often uses to get from place to place. For those pieces of equipment and vehicles that use diesel or gasoline, we have fueling practices that do not allow our team to refuel during the hottest parts of the day.

Many of our green initiatives allow our team members to play an active role. SeaWorld has a Team Member Recycling Center where team members can bring their clean and segregated recyclables from home. In the first year of our Team Member Recycling Center, we recycled over 10,000 pounds of recyclables!

Team Member Recycling Center

Team members who work in an office environment at the park have more efficient lighting than they had a few years ago. Some team members have even elected to work with less light fixtures in their offices. Less lighting saves on electrical consumption and also on the air conditioning demand in their area. Some team members are part of our SWEAT group – SeaWorld Environmental Action Team. SWEAT participates in different clean up activities as well as developing conservation initiatives that the park will undertake. The newest conservation initiative has the team going through the park and performing energy conservation audits by looking for ways to conserve energy throughout our facility.

Here are some community initiatives that you may not be aware of:

  • Parking location for Northwest Vista College
  • Location of VIA parking area
  • Participation in CPS Energy‘s Load Curtailment Program

SeaWorld San Antonio is extremely honored to be awarded by the Alamo Area Council of Governments with an Air Quality Stewardship Award.

Air Quality Stewardship Award - 2010

We definitely have our work cut out for us to continue to reduce our impact on the environment. Through the support of our team members, we will continue to make SeaWorld an even greener place to work and visit.


 

Paying it Forward the SeaWorld Way


January 26, 2010 by Katie Preuss • 1 Comment »
Posted in Christmas Miracles, Community

First of all, let me just take a moment to say thanks to all of your wonderful stories about Paying It Forward over the holidays (Check out the comments on our PIF page).

Just because the holiday season has come to an end, doesn’t mean holiday spirit doesn’t linger on.  SeaWorld San Antonio takes the opportunity to pay it forward to organizations regularly.  A few non-profit organizations that SeaWorld has relationships with are Big Brothers Big Sisters, San Antonio Food Bank, St. Vincent DePaul Soup Kitchen and United Way.

SeaWorld San Antonio compiled a team for Bowl for Kids' Sake, an annual Big Brothers Big Sisters event, to raise funds for the mentoring program.

In recent years, SeaWorld San Antonio compiled a team for Bowl for Kids' Sake, an annual Big Brothers Big Sisters event, to raise funds for the mentoring program.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas

Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas (also on Twitter and Facebook) is headquartered in San Antonio and serves the San Antonio community and surrounding counties by providing mentoring relationships for children, giving them a big brother or big sister to guide them to positive achievement as they grow.

Amy Persyn, Event Specialist at Big Brothers Big Sisters, helps raise money to support the matches between SeaWorld team members and the students. She said it’s most rewarding to see matches take place. “We hear feedback from struggling parents who are grateful to have their children in the program and from matches who have been paired up. It is great to hear the story behind the matches and how the bigs and littles were brought together.”

The San Antonio Food Bank

The San Antonio Food Bank (also on Twitter and Facebook) provides a supply of free food to 440 different agencies that help the needy in the San Antonio community and 16 surrounding counties. They lend a helping hand to families and individuals struck by homelessness, substance abuse, employment, broken families, and much more.

FoodBank

Team Members help out by boxing up food donations to the San Antonio Food Bank

The park is proud to help such a great organization. In fact, this last year we participated in San Antonio Food Bank’s “30 Ways in 30 Days” to fight hunger campaign, where we hosted a canned food drive offering admission discounts to park guests for every ten cans they donated.

Eric. S. Cooper, executive director of the San Antonio Food Bank said, “The San Antonio Food Bank is thrilled to be partnering with SeaWorld San Antonio, an organization committed to bettering the lives of those in our area struggling with hunger and food insecurity.”

The Society of St. Vincent DePaul

The Society of St. Vincent DePaul is a group of individuals who provide spiritual and physical assistance to those in need by serving nutritious meals to the hungry everyday.

Soup Kitchen

SeaWorld San Antonio sends a group of team members to volunteer at the St. Vincent DePaul Soup Kitchen several times throughout the year.

Sylvia Najera, kitchen manager at the soup kitchen, says volunteers are needed daily to prepare and serve the food, especially during the holidays; there is always something to be done. Sylvia describes sitting down for a meal as a small comfort in the day, “at least they can sit down for a meal and relax.”

United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County

The United Way (also on Twitter and Facebook) is a worldwide effort consisting of 45 countries and over 1,300 organizations right here in the United States. They work to improve education, income, health care and to build a stronger community.

SeaWorld San Antonio has partnered with the United Way and helped raise money for the community through projects, silent auctions and generous donations. This past year’s campaign was lead by the park’s Zoological Department who set a goal to raise $50,000, and in the end they exceeded their goal by more then 10 percent.  Suzanne Straw, a member of the Zoological Department, said she was personally proud of the department’s planning efforts.

I’m proud our park lends a helping hand whenever we can. Have you ever volunteered your time to any of these organizations or projects in your community? The donation of your time is worth a lot more than you might imagine.