Learning and Conserving, an Adventure with Stonyfield

I speak a lot about compassion and empathy on my social media accounts, places online where I accidentally became a go-to destination for cute photos of a sweet rescue dog and his favorite humans. Both Justin and I were raised to love and care for animals and our planet from an early age, and so instilling those values in our children has natural and easy. Our many visits to the shelters during our various quests to find our pets opened up lots of conversations that might not have occurred otherwise.

Talking and teaching about conservation, we have found, has needed to be a bit more deliberate. Though we’ve visited Zoos, aquariums, preserves and parks since our children were babies, talking to them about the importance of sustainability and protecting endangered species has been something that we make a point of doing as a part of each visit, and even at home during the most casual times. I am conscientious about the products we buy and the resources used to maintain our everyday life, and so I am thrilled when our favorite brands launch campaigns that align with our overarching goals as parents, too. Stonyfield YoKids is sponsoring the AZA SAFE (Saving Animals from Extinction) program; together on a mission to help save endangered species. As part of a year-long effort, Stonyfield will not only be contributing funds to field work but aiming to drive kids and their families to see animals and conservation projects first hand at zoos, aquariums, and on the ground where the research is happening.

We’ve been buying Stonyfield YoKids and their line of products since our oldest was just a baby-for ten years. It’s always been USDA organic, non-GMO ingredients, and now Stonyfield YoKids yogurt features as much as 40% less sugar than the leading low-fat kids’ yogurt. As a part of the AZA SAFE campaign, the most endangered species are featured on the packaging in beautiful color photographs that my kids especially loved to see and talk about during snack and meal time. I took the girls to the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco to see their sea life and learn about their varios different conservation programs. Evvie and Zoe got to meet a friendly sting-ray and watch sea otters wrestling in their habitat-their favorite of the day! Spaced out through the program were different exhibits about conservation and and endangered species, something I could have open conversations about with them while keeping them engaged and interested in the animals themselves. It was a really special trip for all of us, and I’m thrilled to have been able to find a local AZA-accredited aquarium.

If you want to visit one yourself, Stonyfield YoKids is also featuring an on-pack offer to help get you out to visit any of the 131 participating AZA accredited member zoos and aquariums in your own community (click here for a list). Plus, now through the end of September, if you buy two specially-marked YoKids yogurt multipacks, you will receive a FREE kid’s admission to your local AZA-accredited zoo or aquarium with the purchase of an adult ticket.

I don’t expect that many conversations will be easy as my kids get older, but these are values that mean so much to our family, and I’m grateful for organizations and brands that value the same things that we do and make my job easier in so many ways.