CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Shedd Aquarium and The Morton Arboretum - have been named as Centers for Species Survival by the the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Shedd Aquarium has been designated as the first dedicated Center for Species Survival: Freshwater and The Morton Arboretum as the first Center for Species Survival: Trees.
Chuck Knapp with the Shedd said the goal of the centers is to advocate on behalf of both trees and freshwater ecosystems.
"And so that will entail doing assessments of key biodiversity areas, which will then inform conservation planning. we are going to be assessing the risk status of selected species of both freshwater mussels in our case and trees in the case of Morton Arboretum."
He said they'll then use that information to plan to conserve these species.
"Then we're going to act on behalf of these animals and habitats by doing research by doing capacity building, we're going to be training the local stakeholders and students in some of the work so that you can ensure that this type of work is sustainable over time."
This includes projects in Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Guatemala, where the Centers will be working with students to understand how to better protect these species.
The Shedd Aquarium and the Morton Arboretum have been selected to be two of 11 Centers for Species Survival in the world.
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