The Gorilla - largest of all primates, know for its majesty and intelligence - has faced challenges that have reduced them to an endangered species. In partnership with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Envirokidz seeks to help the monitoring and protection of gorillas and the environments in which they live. Read on to learn more about these intelligent animals and what the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund is doing to ensure they have a stable future.

Did you know?

• Gorillas are herbivores, and the largest living primates.
• Gorilla DNA is 98 percent similar to that of a human, and gorillas are the next closest living relatives of humans after the bonobo and chimpanzee.
• Just like humans, the mountain gorilla has unique fingerprints.
• Similar to a fingerprint, gorillas have a unique nose print! Researchers use this unique nose print to identify gorillas in the field.
• Like humans, gorillas go through two sets of teeth in their lifetime (baby teeth and permanent teeth).

Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

An EnviroKidz partner since 2001, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund has been on the ground in Africa monitoring and protecting endangered gorillas and their habitats for 50 years. Ever since founder Dian Fossey’s first groundbreaking interaction with the gentle apes, her organization has sought to save our silver-backed ambassadors from the rainforest. They are committed to promoting continued research on the gorillas and their threatened ecosystems and to providing education about their relevance to the world in which we live. They also provide assistance to local communities through education, health, training, and development initiatives. The Fossey Fund’s ultimate vision is that gorillas and people thrive together in sustainable forests – that’s definitely something we’re on board with!

Our Support

EnviroKidz funding helps the Gorilla Fund educate communities in the African rainforest, many of whom still don’t have electricity. The two main threats to gorillas are poaching and loss of habitat, and when the lives of local people improve, they have a reason to defend the gorillas. Some of our support also goes to fund community patrols that protect the gorillas, but the Gorilla Fund’s unique brand of citizen science – with support from EnviroKidz – empowers children and teens to become stewards of the rainforest through creative conservation lesson plans and hands-on activities. So far, we’ve helped reach over 700 students per year by providing training in “citizen science” to their teachers. We’ve also helped reach over 4,000 community members of all ages with local screenings of conservation movies. Each year, we help provide conservation education to over 12,000 local Rwandans, including primary and secondary school students, and adults. We’ve even heard from one proud mother whose daughter is studying primatology at university thanks to the messages on the Gorilla Munch box.

How can you save the gorillas?

• Set up your own online fundraising page through the Gorilla Fund. Share with friends and family, and encourage them to support your cause.
• Invite friends over for a “gorilla gathering” and learn about gorillas and their habitat. The Gorilla Fund has a wealth of tools to support you.
• Adopt a gorilla. From babies to full-grown silverbacks, adoptions start at $40 and help support these endangered primates in their native habitats.
• Enjoy EnviroKidz Gorilla Munch cereals knowing that 1 per cent of sales goes to support these great programs.

Every time you buy one of Nature’s Path’s EnviroKidz products, 1% of the sales are donated to support endangered species, habitat conservation, and environmental education for kids worldwide. To date, we have raised over $3 million to help our partnering organizations with their educational and protection efforts!

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