Saturday, March 23 marked the seventh year that Earth Hour took place across the globe. It also marks the very first year that SeaWorld San Diego held an official Earth Hour event. Created by the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF), Earth Hour challenges everyone around the world to turn their lights off for one hour to help raise awareness about the need to take action against climate change.

It's Feb. 27 -- do you know what that means? It's International Polar Bear Day!

To commemorate this amazing day at SeaWorld San Diego, my fellow Wild Arctic team members and I will be at the exhibit to celebrate with guests, as well as local elementary school students. I'll have a blog post ready for you about the celebration in the days to come.

Each year, we sponsor the SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment Outstanding Environmental Educator of the Year award. This award recognizes and rewards an exceptional educator who is working at the grassroots level to protect and preserve the environment.

Bottlenose dolphins have long called the warm waters of the Indian River Lagoon in central Florida home. However in recent years this area has become a hotspot of concern for those interested in protecting the much-loved mammals.

With less than 670 individuals left in the wild, the Rothschild’s giraffe is a rare breed indeed. Although their presence was once plentiful across Kenya, Uganda and Sudan, the Rothschild’s giraffe now only exists in a few small, isolated populations in Kenya and Uganda.

The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund was designed to offer funds, knowledge and assistance to wildlife conservation efforts across the globe. We believe that by sharing resources and information, we can protect and preserve the world’s most precious resources – its wildlife and wild places. This is rewarding work, and nowhere was this more evident than in the case of Chhouk, the baby elephant.

The black lion tamarin is a squirrel-sized primate living in the tropical forests of South Brazil. While it’s one of the world's most endangered mammals, populations appear to be slowly recovering after several successful conservation projects.

Madagascar is renowned for its diverse array of wildlife – yet many of these species have become increasingly threatened with extinction due to the loss of their habitats. This sad fact has made Madagascar an urgent conservation priority for the last two decades. Part of the problem stems from illegal logging, slash and burn agriculture and cattle pasture.

Humans have always had an affinity for animals, but our connection to bonobos runs much deeper than a simple affection - as we share 97.8 percent of the same DNA with this highly intelligent species.

In the ocean coral reefs provide safe havens for many species of beautiful exotic fish. But this beauty can have ugly consequences. Many of their colorful inhabitants are collected for home aquariums and displays in ways that are not environmentally friendly.

SeaWorld’s “Rising Tide” initiative is funding marine fish breeding research that will provide a sustainable tropical fish population and lessen the dependency on coral reefs for home aquariums.