Disney’s Animal Kingdom first opened its gates on Earth Day in 1998. This year, on the 45th anniversary of Earth Day, graduate students at the USF Patel College of Global Sustainability (PCGS) visited the park for its annual anniversary/Earth Day celebration: Party for the Planet!

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PCGS Students
Party for the
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Apr 24, 2015
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Disney’s Animal Kingdom first
opened its gates on Earth Day
in 1998. This year, on the 45th
anniversary of Earth Day, graduate students at the USF Patel College of Global Sustainability
(PCGS) visited the park for its annual anniversary/Earth Day celebration: Party for the Planet!
Earth Day sprouted as a grassroots event on college campuses and in local communities on
April 22, 1970. Over 20 million people participated in the first Earth Day, and it continues to be
celebrated around the world. Earth Day has evolved into a yearly celebration with Disney—in the
theaters, in the stores, and at Animal Kingdom’s Party for the Planet event. Party for the Planet
provides a unique opportunity for visitors to meet with Disney’s animal and science experts,
participate in interactive activities at educational stations around the park and learn more about a
number of conservation programs Disney is working on, all in hopes of inspiring a greater
connection with nature and promoting conservation and sustainability to park visitors.
This will be the second time PCGS students joined in celebrating Party for the Planet at Animal
Kingdom. In 2013, PCGS students received a sustainable tourism tour of the park. Organized by
Dr. Dave Randle, the tour focused on how Disney provides environmental messaging throughout the park, works toward sustainability operations, and promotes
environmental and sustainability education.
This year, PCGS focused specifically on climate change and ecosystem protection, while also looking into other planetary boundary concerns such as fertilizer
use, water conservation and waste management. Six PCGS students joined the tour including Justin Farrow, Bianca Cassouto, Sherish McCaskie, Marcela
Bonilla Llanes, Steffanie Agerkop, and Holly Prievo.
“We’ve been studying the 12 Blue Community Strategies all semester so one of the great opportunities we have here is for our students to actually see it in
action,” said Dr. Randle.
Disney co-developed the Blue Community Strategies, and utilizes all of them at the parks. There are six videos on the Blue Community website that PCGS co-
produced with Disney, which the students have seen on top of a lecture for each of the strategies.
During the day, students had the privilege of a private meeting with Disney’s Vice President of Animals, Science, and Environment- Dr. Jackie Ogden. They
specifically explored the programs underway addressing climate change, reducing waste to landfill, conserving water, and protecting ecosystems. After the park
closed, students dined at the Animal Kingdom Lodge where they had the opportunity to learn about additional conservation and education programs. They wanted
to explore Disney’s sustainability operations in their lodging, and so they got to look at how Disney manages the food issues, the energy issues, education
issues, and how they manage the wildlife at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Throughout the trip, Dr. Randle provided a wealth of knowledge about the company and all its initiatives to mitigate climate change, conserve resources, as well as
behind the scenes facts about Animal Kingdom.
Graduate student Marcela Bonilla was among the students who visited the park. She felt that the trip was a great experience and provided a new perspective on
how a company such as Disney is communicating sustainability through their attractions, cast members and signage.
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News » PCGS Students Party for the Planet
“The trip opened my eyes to how important it is to communicate sustainability, especially conservation, to young children,” said Marcela. “Disney does a great job
of inspiring children to appreciate each ecosystem service whether it is big or small. This sets the stage for their parents and other relatives to appreciate the
same values.”
Marcela said that for her, the best part of the trip was bonding with her fellow classmates. “It was so nice to have a break from the workload of finals and internship
proposal preparation so that we can have a day of fun. I really appreciate this opportunity to go to Animal Kingdom and celebrate Earth Day with my classmates.”
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