Ellen DeGeneres is opting for a very productive way to celebrate Earth Day 2021.
On Thursday, April 22, the star's conservation-minded organization The Ellen Fund launched its Endangered Campaign to provide funding for nonprofits working toward supporting endangered animal species.
Through the initiative, an organization called The Elephant Cooperation has donated $250,000 to aid in creating awareness of endangered animals, including increased protection for elephants and their habitats.
The Ellen Fund was initially established for the 63-year-old daytime talk show host as a gift from wife Portia de Rossi in 2018. Its first project was to set up a 12-acre campus for wild mountain gorillas in Northern Rwanda, which is scheduled to open later this year.
The launch is also timed to coincide with the release of Endangered, a documentary film narrated by Ellen, which debuts on Earth Day via streaming platform Discovery+. The film was produced in partnership with Discovery and the BBC Natural History Unit.
As the first project from Ellen's multi-year Discovery deal announced in March, the documentary focuses on conservation efforts to save seven highly endangered species, including gorillas, giraffes, lemurs, sharks, clouded leopards and Indonesian songbirds.
"Ten thousand scientists, united by the most ambitious conservation effort ever attempted," Ellen shared in voiceover during the Endangered trailer. "These are the people who risk everything to save the endangered animals they love."
On April 22, Ellen posted the trailer to her social media channels with the message, "I am so honored to be a part of #Endangered – streaming now on @DiscoveryPlus. #EarthDay."