Currently, I help supervise the Animal Ambassador Team (AAT) at SeaWorld Orlando. This is an area of the training department that many of you may not realize exists, but you’ve probably seen in action. You may have interacted with the animals at the SeaGarden, attend a school where we’ve made an educational visit, or seen animals on one of our many appearances on TV. I find our area to be exciting because we get to travel, provide unique, interactive opportunities in our parks as well as across the country, to educate people about the environment and how they can help to preserve our planet.
Who knew that the SeaGarden was not just SeaWorld’s hub of animal interaction, but also a collector’s paradise? As the home to many of the park’s animal ambassadors, the SeaGarden allows collectors of the free conservation cards a chance to collect several cards at one stop. A variety of birds, small mammals and reptiles make their daily appearances in the garden area for guests to get an up-close look at these amazing creatures. Guests can stop by several times throughout the day to meet a different set of animals, as well as collect our “Conservation Cards”.
There are currently 35 different conservation cards that you can collect that provide information about the animals at our parks and why it’s important to protect them. More importantly, they educate guests on how they can help keep these animals safe in the wild. These cards are distributed at each of the park’s animal attractions such as Pacific Point Preserve, Wild Arctic and the Shark Encounter. Just look for a member of our education team in the light blue shirts. There are even cards that are unique to the animals we have at Aquatica and Discovery Cove!
On Earth Day, which is this Sunday, April 22, SeaWorld Orlando will be giving out special keepsake sleeves to keep your conservation cards in. All you have to do if you're at the park is visit one of the locations listed above, participate in the appearance and the card holder will be yours -- as our way of saying thank you for taking part in conservation. Start your collection and you may learn something new and can share it with your friends and family, too!
