Your Choice Matters
At Kayak Adventures, we are proud to be members of 1% For The Planet, a pledge to commit at least 1% of our annual sales to nonprofit environmental organizations. We specifically choose to partner with Alaskan nonprofits that benefit the local community, ecosystems, and wildlife, through their work to address pressing environmental issues in Alaska. With your help, Kayak Adventures has donated over $90,000 to our nonprofit partners.
Through our program “Kayak. Pick. Give.”, we invite our guests to be active stewards by choosing which nonprofit in our program most connects to their personal core values. On your tour you will learn a bit about what each of these organizations does to protect our planet. Then at the end of your tour, you will have the choice of which nonprofit resonates most with you. We use small wooden tokens to keep track of your choice and when we donate 1% of our annual sales to these nonprofits, we will divvy them up accordingly.
Working with our amazing nonprofit partners, we have the opportunity to lead, to be fearless, and to fully embody our belief that when dollars and doers come together, we are unstoppable.
Native Conservancy
Native Conservancy protects and restores ecosystems for Alaska Native coastal communities. For over 20 years, they have worked to empower Alaska Natives to permanently protect and preserve endangered habitats and create resilient futures by empowering Indigenous conservation efforts, reclaiming traditional food sources and revitalizing Native culture.
Their signature initiative, OceanBack, uplifts Indigenous communities by helping them jumpstart their own kelp farms and reconnect with their ancestral waters. Kelp are large brown algae that provide food and shelter for thousands of fish, invertebrates, and marine mammal species. Growing kelp will be revolutionary for Alaskan native villages and community as it will help (1) restore their ecosystem, (2) alleviate food insecurity by promoting food sovereignty, and (3) bolster the economy with environmentally friendly jobs.
Alaska Conservation Foundation
Founded in 1980, the Alaska Conservation Foundation is the only public foundation dedicated to conservation in Alaska, connecting thousands of committed donors and businesses worldwide with more than a hundred grassroots conservation organizations in Alaska.
ACF serves as a funder and supportive resource for a diverse community of nonprofits working to protect and wisely manage Alaska’s natural resources. Over the last 35 years, ACF has awarded more than $50 million in grants to hundreds of Alaskan organizations and individuals. Through strategic funding, ACF supports Alaska’s most critical issues, fosters problem-solving and innovation, and protects Alaska’s incredible yet vulnerable ecosystems, communities, and economies.
North Gulf Oceanic Society
The North Gulf Oceanic Society was formed in 1984 as a research and education non-profit, dedicated to long-term monitoring and the overall health of whale populations in Alaska. Studies involve investigations into diet, contaminants, population dynamics, distribution, and acoustics. NGOS maintains a catalogue of approximately 800 individual killer whales, and also maintains a catalogue of a few hundred humpback whales that visit Kenai Fjords.
In 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef, and spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound. Two of our killer whale pods swam straight through the spill. One pod lost 11 of 37 whales, but is now recovering. The other pod, the AT1 or ‘Chugach’ transients, lost 9 individuals in the few months after the spill, and now only have 7 of the original 22 whales remaining. Long term research is critical to understand the effects of oil spills, warming oceans, ocean acidification, contaminants, noise, and other anthropogenic issues.
Thanks to the support of Kayak Adventures Worldwide, NGOS will be extending their outreach and education program into local Alaskan schools, with a focus on whale education and ocean conservation.
Thank You
Thank you for kayaking with us – and therefore helping to support the environment, the wildlife we visit, and these incredible resources. We take our commitment to our employees, environment, and community seriously. From our extensive guide training to supporting local nonprofits, we continually strive towards sustainable practices that are good for our planet.
