A Future for Gorillas and Conservation
The Ellen DeGeneres Campus
of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund
The Future of Conservation is Here
"From the outset, the mission of this project has focused on creating a space to engage the many stakeholders in conservation — students, scientists, tourists, conservation partners, community members — to advance our collective goal of saving gorillas and more broadly, the planet. It is our hope that people who visit the Ellen DeGeneres Campus will leave inspired to make a difference, just as Dian Fossey did."
The Future is Here
For 55 years, the Fossey Fund has been working to help conserve wild gorilla populations and support the people who share the gorillas’ forest home. It all started with two tents that Dian Fossey erected in the forest in 1967. From there, we grew over the years, from one person to a staff of more than 300. Until 2022, we worked out of rented spaces with limited facilities, far from the gorilla habitat and surrounding communities we serve. We needed a home that could support a growing team and expanding programs. In 2018, as we celebrated our 50th anniversary, Fossey Fund leadership made a strategic decision to move forward on an ambitious, 20-year dream to create a purpose-built facility in Rwanda aimed at accelerating science and conservation work.
Within months of this decision, we received a lead gift from global icon Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi. Since that time, thousands of donors, large and small, have supported the project and helped to create a state-of-the-art research and learning facility – the Fossey Fund’s first permanent home in Rwanda. In February 2022, we opened the doors to the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
The Ellen Campus
The multi-acre, eco-friendly facility adjacent to the Volcanoes National Park includes three main buildings – the Sandy and Harold Price Research Center, the Rob and Melani Walton Education Center and the Cindy Broder Conservation Gallery – as well as housing for visiting students and researchers. The Ellen Campus is designed to serve as a gateway to conservation for the many stakeholders with whom we work as well as visitors from around the world, helping to create the next generation of conservationists.
Science is at the core of what we do at the Fossey Fund. The Sandy and Harold Price Research Center is a state-of-the-art facility aimed at advancing our research in areas like genetics, physiology and paleontology. The five-fold increase in lab space as compared to our prior facility provides new opportunities to work with scientific collaborators and students as well as more training opportunities for young African conservationists.
"The Ellen Campus represents a huge expansion of our teaching and laboratory spaces, enabling us to not just increase but transform our programs to study gorillas and their critical forest habitat and bring educational opportunities to early career African scientists and members of the local community."
Central to our mission is education. Expanded classroom space, combined with a science library and computer lab, enhance our teaching opportunities with local and international universities and enable us to host conferences, seminars and trainings. But the educational opportunities extend beyond the classroom – indeed, the whole Ellen Campus serves as an educational tool. For example, the campus is literally a living laboratory – the more than 250,000 native plants that make up the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Interpretive Trails provide a rich experience for field trips. In addition, the Cindy Broder Conservation Gallery contains an immersive public exhibit designed to tell the story of mountain gorilla research and conservation from Dian’s time to the present day. It includes original, never-before-seen artifacts from Dian Fossey’s nearly two decades living with the gorillas, stunning visual experiences, including virtual and augmented reality and a 360-degree immersive theater, and numerous engaging edu-tainment opportunities to learn more about the science and the people behind the conservation success of mountain gorillas.
Campus Construction
The Ellen Campus is the vision of the award-winning MASS Design Group and was named one of Africa’s 10 most-anticipated architectural projects. It has been featured on CBS “60 Minutes” and in Architectural Digest.
Built with locally sourced materials and supplies, the facility embodies the Fossey Fund’s mission to conserve and limit its impact on the environment through rainwater harvesting, green roofs, the reforestation of former agricultural land and a constructed wetland to treat wastewater and promote biodiversity. Ninety percent of the $15 million budget for the campus was spent in Rwanda, including 2,400 construction jobs for local community members.
Dian Fossey has always been a hero of mine, and so it’s been the honor of a lifetime to support this project. To see my name alongside hers on the walls of this beautiful campus, and to know I’m doing my part to protect endangered gorillas and continue Dian’s legacy, is simply amazing.
Visit Us
In addition to its role as a hub for scientific discovery, the Ellen Campus is also designed to support Rwanda’s ecotourism sector. Managed by the Rwandan government, tourism to see the gorillas plays a critical role in providing revenue for both the park and nearby communities through employment and revenue sharing. We are excited to add to the tourism experience by offering the opportunity to stop in for a tour, grab a cup of coffee at our Gorilla Café, peruse the gift shop and, most importantly, have a wonderful time while learning more about gorillas and our important work to help conserve them.
Contact us for more information about touring the Ellen Campus.
Watch CBS News’ Lesley Stahl and our CEO, Dr. Tara Stoinski, use our “gorilla chat” game from our exhibit.
The campus is open seven days a week from 9 a.m.- 5 p.m., with the last entry at 4 p.m. We are closed on April 7, in recognition of Genocide Remembrance Day. Temperatures at the campus can be chilly so visitors are encouraged to dress warmly.
Photo Gallery
Thank you to the donors who made this dream a reality.
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi
The Ellen Fund
Anonymous
Diane and Hal Brierley
Cindy Broder
Sandy and Harold Price
Sullivan Family Foundation
The Rob and Melani Walton Foundation
Chris, Margaret, Alyse, Kira, and Tess Bierly
The Abendshein Family
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Sharon and Par Chadha and Exela Technologies
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Corning® Gorilla® Glass
Dallas Zoo
George DiCaprio
Irmelin DiCaprio
Nick and Cheri Faust
The Dillon Fund
Endangered Species Chocolate, LLC
Waldo Fernandez
Judith Harris and Robert Singer, M.D.
Sean P. Hayes
Richard Horder
Robert Littman and Sully Bonnelly
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
Philip V. And Kim M. Petersen
Rebecca Finch Rooney
Sigourney Weaver
TTMMC Fund
Brown LaBonge Family
Sophie Bryan
Disney Conservation
Rita Grolitzer
Frank and Trish Hampton
Sharon Haugh and Alexis Stein Fund
Houston Zoo
Susan Nash McClellan
Nashville Zoo
Dr. Tara S.Stoinski
Volcanoes Safaris
Julie Vehrenkamp Berryhill
Stephanie Boyé
Jodi Carrigan
Dion F. Coakley
Michael and Eileen Crowther
Melanie L. Devore
Sue Chin and Lee Ehmke
Bill and Julie Evans
Nathan and Randi Foster
Charles R. Franz
Doug and Kay Ivester
In Memory of Barney Katzman
Risë L. Moody
Steven and Lisa Pite
Clare Richardson
Michael Ross
Sandra and Steven Seidenfeld
Dave Singer
Matt and Rachel Singerman
Thoiry Zoo Safari
Gail and Robert Boyd Tober, M.D.
Josef and Dana Volman
Brandee Wagner and Eric Bischoff
Burchell and Esten Walker
Sage and Doug Wicinski
In Memory of Kent Williams
Cathy Willis and Elliott and Charlie Zorn
William E. Wockner Foundation
Michael Zeldes
In Kind Gifts provided by:
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
Dallas Zoo
Derbigum
Duncan Fabrics
National Geographic Society
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
Spring Green Communications
Schüco International
Gorilla Champions
Just like the gorilla groups we protect every day, our Gorilla Champions represent an important collection of generous donors who came together to help make our new home possible. Their support is represented on our Gorilla Champions wall, which is on display at the campus.
For information on our Ellen Campus dedication please see our press kit or contact us at [email protected] .
Collaborating Partners
