Tourism Cares awarded $60,000 in grants to six non-profit organizations as part of its Worldwide Grant Program for summer 2008. With matching funds from nearly all recipients, a total of $115,500 will be presented to the organizations for projects varying from brick-and-mortar improvements to conservation and sustainable tourism initiatives. This season, grant recipients included international programs in Tanzania and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR).
Friends of the Big Bend National Park (Big Bend National Park, TX): Project to Restore Rio Grande Riparian Bird Habitat - $10,000
The Friends of the Big Bend National Park supports, promotes and raises funds for Big Bend National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and one of the 10 most endangered parks in the National Park System. The Tourism Cares Worldwide Grant will help the organization restore the Rio Grande habitat, a region that has suffered severe environmental degradation over the last century. The project aims to make the area more livable for the riparian bird species native to the region and serve as a model for other similar disturbed sites to initiate conservation projects. The Brown Foundation will match the Tourism Cares funds.
Historic Denver, Inc. (Denver, CO): Historic Interpretation Project for Denver Heritage Trail - $10,000
Historic Denver, Inc. and the City of Denver have partnered to unite five heritage tourism sites: the Black American West Museum, the Byers Evans House Museum, Four Mile Historic Park, the Kirkland Museum, and the Molly Brown Museum. The Denver Heritage Trail project seeks to highlight these historic landmarks and build capacity for the sites’ continued preservation. The Tourism Cares Worldwide Grant will help the heritage trail project create interpretive tours and signage to educate visitors about the history of these landmarks, the City of Denver and the American West. The Federal Preserve America Initiative will match the Tourism Cares funds.
Institute of American Indian Arts (Santa Fe, NM): Museum Roof Restoration Project - $10,000
The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) – a multi-tribal center of higher education dedicated to the preservation, study, creative application, and the contemporary expression of American Indian and Alaska Native arts and cultures – is one of only two congressionally chartered museums devoted to Native American art and culture. The Tourism Cares Worldwide Grant funds will assist in making urgent roof leak repairs to this historic Pueblo Revival-style building that houses galleries for nationally important exhibitions.
Mississippi River Trail, Inc. (Fayetteville, AR for 10 states): Traveling Interpretive Display Project for National Park Service Centennial Project - $10,000
The Mississippi River Trail, Inc. is dedicated to promoting and developing the Mississippi River Trail, a 3,000-mile system connecting 10 states from Minnesota to Louisiana with bicycle-friendly roads and multi-use pathways. The Tourism Cares Worldwide Grant will help develop an interpretive display to be exhibited in 16 national parks and focus on educating visitors and locals about the Mississippi River experience. The organization hopes to increase awareness, appreciation and tourism at lesser-visited sites surrounding the Mississippi River Trail. The McKnight Foundation will match funds.
The Pennsylvania State University (University Park, PA for Lushoto, Tanzania): Restoration of Sambaa Cultural Tourism Center and Indigenous Guide Training for Nature Conservation at the Gateway to the Usambara Mountains
The Pennsylvania State University’s Tourism Research Lab has partnered with Sebastian Kolowa University College, a branch of Tumaini University in Lushoto, Tanzania, for a conservation project to directly benefit the indigenous Sambaa people in the Usambara Mountain region. The Tourism Cares Worldwide Grant funds will help restore the Sambaa Cultural Tourism Center and train local guides in best practices for sharing their natural and cultural heritage to the thousands of independent travelers who visit annually. By doing so, the project aims to develop culturally authentic tourism that also protects and conserves the indigenous heritage. Sebastian Kolowa University College will match funds.
Wildlife Conservation Society (Bronx, NY for Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area, LAO People’s Democratic Republic): Interpretive Visitor Center Development with Local Community Through Pro-Poor Sustainable Tourism for Tiger Conservation
The Wildlife Conservation Society, which works to protect wild landscapes and develop education about conservation and sustainability, is charged with developing an Interpretive Visitor’s Center in the Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area. The Visitor’s Center is situated in a region in the northern highlands of Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), a country known for its high level of biodiversity. It aims to teach both travelers and locals about wildlife tourism and community-based tourism in order to fulfill its vision to become a sustainable and conservation-centered destination. The Tourism Cares Worldwide Grant will assist with the costs of development and construction.