Eco Adventures
Mei Len Sanchez-Barr
ecoadventures.org
What is your business best known for?
We’re in the business to make a difference! We have exciting and educational, hands-on conservation and enrichment programs for kids and families in hopes to create a connection between nature and people. We have rescued many animals in which we have on exhibit and also use as ambassadors for their species with hands-on interactions.
What do you love most about what you do?
I love seeing kids faces brighten up as they get up and close with an animal they used to fear. I love enpowering people to connect with nature and not only empowering them to do better for our environment, but encouraging them to be better people. I love knowing that I may have made a difference in someone’s life and future as well as knowing we are saving animals and their habitats by being active in our community and through conservation education.
What was the hardest thing about getting your business off the ground?
The hardest thing about getting my business off the ground, was learning everything that comes with running a business. My background was in Marine Biology, so I had a lot to learn. Having a knowledgeable husband and initial partners and support helped a whole lot. Getting the word out and building a great and respectable reputation took time.
How is your business invested in the community?
Our business reaches families from all surrounding communities. We have a vested interest in the children of our local communities as they are lietrally our future! We have watched children come to our camps at the Severna Park Community Center when we first started and watched them grow with us since they were kindergartners. They have since become volunteers and now either work for us, or moved on to become vets and gone to off to college. That is the most rewarding part is knowing how many people we have touched and reached.
What’s next for you and your business?
Eco Adventures is working on a rainforest reforestation project in Costa Rica, called “Pastures to Paradise”. ECO travel student trips, and perhaps an official rescue center in the future. We can’t wait for what ever life brings!
What sets your business apart?
We are unique business like no other. We are a hands-on conservation, education, and enrichment facility that allows up close and personal encounters with ambassador animals in hopes of connecting people with nature. Meaning, we offer patrons an up close and personal encounter with animals, something rarely found in this day and age. The connection is what gets people to care. If people care, they will act. Our organization is in the business of teaching people to love and become stewards of our environment.
How has your business evolved?
We have had our shares of ups and downs but in the end we have learned from our mistakes and flourished. Without them, we wouldn’t be who we are today. Almost closing during Covid and losing most of my staff was a very humbling and scary time. Since then, we have have never taken a moment for granted. We look forward to every program.
What inspired you to start your business?
Several years ago I started seeing an alarming trend, where living animals and plants were disappearing from school classrooms. Today, it’s almost impossible to find living things (other than kids) in classrooms, and that is disturbing. In this spirit, Eco Adventures was born, to fill that void.
How do you balance a business with family demands?
That is a very difficult thing to do but doable. Family does come first so having my own business allows me to take off when I need off. I am grateful to have an amazing staff now that can run the business on its own when I am gone! However, it also comes with a lot of sacrifices for my own personal time. But I am Ok with that. I love what I do and that gives me my personal fullfillment which is criticial in owning a business.