Every bird of prey tells an important environmental story – as top predators in the ecosystem they shed light on the health and wellbeing of the world around them. To ensure the health of raptors and the world we share, The Olseth Family Foundation is committed to supporting the University of Minnesota’s Raptor Center and their mission.

Since 1974, The Raptor Center has been a world leader in raptor medicine, developing innovative clinical techniques and setting the standard for rehabilitation. The Raptor Center treats approximately 1,000 injured and ill raptors each year, ensuring that the birds recover and are returned to the wild flying healthy and free.

Education is the core of the Raptor Center’s mission, reaching over 150,000 people annually through its unique public education programs and events. America is in the midst of one of the most profound and rapid societal shifts in history. Today’s generation of children is the first to grow up indoors. Their plugged-in lives are often devoid of exploring the natural world. This detachment from the natural world comes at a time when complex environmental problems are taking center stage. As a leader in natural world education, the Raptor Center is equipped to embrace the challenge of expanding environmental literacy in the K–12 population. The Raptor Center instills knowledge about and positive attitudes toward the environment by seizing on children’s excitement to have a live encounter with one of the center’s educational bald eagles, owls, or falcons. In turn, their connection may affect future behaviors related to the environment. This is critical curricula for our young people who will soon be future citizens and leaders, determining how best to tend to the planet’s long-term health.