Satch Krantz Conservation Fund :: Riverbanks Zoo & Garden

Committed to taking actions to preserve the earth’s biodiversity.

Since 1996, Riverbanks has invested more than a million dollars in conservation efforts in South Carolina and around the globe with nearly half of those investments taking place since 2015.

Originally stewarded by now retired Chief Life Sciences Officer Ed Diebold and later renamed in honor of Riverbanks’ past President & CEO, the Satch Krantz Conservation Fund has grown to support more than 200 projects in over 36 countries in the last two decades. Today, it remains a resource for responding to environmental crises, like the devastating fires in the Pantanal, as well as supporting research into conservation issues, like the extent of illegal trade of wildlife occurring in the United States.

Satch Krantz Conservation Fund Guidelines

It is the mission of Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden to create meaningful connections and inspire actions that will have a lasting impact on conservation. Riverbanks supports this mission in many ways including conserving biodiversity through careful utilization of available resources. The Satch Krantz Conservation Fund was created to provide financial assistance for conservation-oriented projects/programs that promote preservation of Earth’s biodiversity. Riverbanks encourages the submission of projects that have the potential for broad-based conservation and/or management impact.

For more information on funding preferences and application procedure, please review “2022 Satch Krantz Conservation Fund Grant Application”:

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Sampling of Funded Projects

Anteaters and Highways

Instituto de Conservacao de Animais Silvestress — Campo Grande, Brazil

Riverbanks’ support helps to expand the understanding of female anteater reproduction, pup and juvenile survival and dispersal. This knowledge will help identify and quantify the impacts of roads on giant anteater populations which can serve as an indicator of impact more broadly on other species that share their range.

Enabling High Animal Welfare Standards at Cikananga Wildlife Rescue Center

Yayasan Cikananga Konservasi Terpadu (Cikananga Integrated Conservation Society) — West Java, Indonesia

The Cikananga Integrated Conservation Society supports the Indonesian government in its efforts to reduce the impact of widespread wildlife trade and benefit Indonesian wildlife through a variety of conservation approaches.

White-Rumped Shama: A Case Study to Understand the Trade within the U.S.

Lincoln Park Zoo — Chicago, Illinois

The white-rumped shama is a popular songbird that is heavily traded in Southeast Asia for the pet trade and increasingly popular in the U.S. in online marketplaces. This research seeks to understand the prevalence of the white-rumped shama trade in the U.S. to further expand our understanding of how international trade is affecting this species, how the U.S. is contributing to the trade, and make recommendations for additional species protections due to international trade.

Construction of Two Ranger Posts, Murchison Falls National Park Recovery Program

International Elephant Foundation — Masindi, Uganda

The Murchison Falls National Park Recovery Program constructs strategically located ranger posts to reduce the risk of poaching and encourage a return of wildlife. Riverbanks’ funds support the construction of additional ranger posts to increase protections for wildlife in Murchison Falls National Park.

The African Penguin Chick Bolstering Program

South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) — Table View, South Africa

The African Chick Bolstering Program is an attempt to arrest and reverse the decline of the African penguin population by releasing hand-reared chicks back into wild and conducting related research. Riverbanks’ funds are used to care for chicks and juveniles until they are ready to be released back into the wild.

Satch Krantz Conservation Fund

Annual Conservation Investments Over Time

Fund Allocation Trends Since 2015