Submitted by the SeaDoc Society.

Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders and his wife Valerie surprised the SeaDoc Society with a $50,000 donation in support of Salish Sea research last week. The Anders family made the donation in the days leading up to Give BIG Day, an online day of giving in support of nonprofits in the greater Seattle region.

The SeaDoc Society entered the campaign with a goal of raising $40,000, but the surprise donation spurred several other large gifts and a wave of grassroots support online, resulting in a total of $101,000 that will go toward science in the Salish Sea, including conservation efforts around endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales.

Bill Anders was among the first people to orbit the moon and he took the famous photo, Earthrise, which has been called the most influential environmental photo in history.

“Bill has literally been out of this world,” said SeaDoc Science Director Joe Gaydos. “And yet he and Valerie have chosen to invest in this small but fragile slice of paradise we are lucky to call home. We can’t thank them enough.”

The SeaDoc Society, which is based in West Sound, works to ensure the health of marine wildlife and their ecosystems through science and education.

In addition to the $101,000 raised through Give BIG, SeaDoc also hit their $3,500 goal through the Orcas Island Community Foundation’s GiveOrcas campaign last week. That will help bring their Ocean Night series back to the SeaView Theatre once again this winter.