![]() ![]() Says DeGeneres, who is ending her long-running TV show this year: “As soon as I tape my last program, I’m headed to Rwanda. But whatever they evoke, if they help save gorillas from disease, poaching, and habitat loss, they will be among the most important buildings in the world. To some people, the buildings, with their thick, curved roofs and circular skylights, suggest pebbles in a river to others, clouds gathering around the peak of a volcano, or the volcanoes themselves. “It’s something farmers have to get out of their fields,” notes Goldenberg. Other green moves included a rainwater--harvesting system, a constructed wetland for wastewater treatment, and the use of mainly local materials, such as the volcanic stone that clads exterior walls. Ten x Ten, a landscape-architecture firm in Minneapolis, collaborated with MASS’s own landscape team on the grounds and green roofs, which together required some 250,000 plants (all native). Another was that the roofs be lushly planted, to complement their surroundings. One was that the complex include a market for local artisans. ![]() Courtesy of the Dian Fossey Gorilla FundĭeGeneres, a design lover known for her spectacular homes in Southern California, did make a few suggestions. “Now my name is next to Fossey’s and I have a legacy that to me is more important than anything I’ve done in show business.” DeGeneres has considered Fossey a hero since childhood, when she saw her on the cover of National Geographic. 15 million project represents investment in conservation, capacity building, equity and tourism Pictured left to right: MASS Design CEO Michael Murphy, Dian Fossey Gorilla. It is named for both the TV star and her idol, the self-taught naturalist, who may have single-handedly saved the mountain gorillas from extinction before she was murdered in 1985. Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Dedicates the New Ellen DeGeneres Campus. Now a 60th-birthday present from her wife, Portia de Rossi, has helped underwrite what is known as the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund: a 12-acre complex dedicated to gorilla conservation. Building on Dian Fosseys pioneering work, now that gorilla populations of the Virunga Volcanoes are slowly increasing and their habitats are being protected, this centre is a highly recommended, remarkable place to visit. “It’s thrilling to be that close to them but knowing they don’t want to hurt you.” To visit the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund is to see gorilla conservation in action. Visitors aren’t allowed to approach the animals, but a silverback (mature male) once bumped into her sister-in-law by accident. But for those who do, “it’s the most life-changing experience,” says Ellen DeGeneres, who first visited the region in 2015. Fewer than 100 people a day are permitted to trek into the mountain gorilla habitat in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |