Fellowship honours IrwinStefanie Balogh
in New York
January 30, 2007 11:00pm
THE hunt is on for the next generation of Steve Irwin-style conservationists with the launch of a joint US and Australian fellowship in the Crocodile Hunter's name.
The John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, with the help of some leading Australian businesses, has launched the Steve Irwin Fellowship as a way of honouring his legacy.
""We hope that through this fellowship we can maybe find the next American version of Steve Irwin,'' the aquarium's spokesman Roger Germann said.
""What he did, his legacy is just too important to stop now. We just thought it would be a great way to honour him.''
The annual fellowship will give a Chicago-based high school student interested in marine science the opportunity to work at Sydney's Taronga Zoo and Irwin's Australia Zoo on Queensland+s Sunshine Coast for two weeks.
The fellowship builds on the mentor program already in place at the Shedd Aquarium where the student will study for the summer.
""Steve was just like what we are. He was out there in conservation, education. He's trying to do good for the environment. He's trying to talk about animals in a different way,'' Mr Germann said.
""Steve was an amazing, amazing ambassador for the zoo and aquarium world, for the world.''

It is a joint initiative of the Sydney-based banking firm Macquarie Group's philanthropic arm the Macquarie Foundation, Qantas Airways, the Shedd Aquarium and the Australian Consulate-General in Chicago.
The first student will be chosen in the middle of March.
Irwin died last year from a stingray barb. His widow Terri Irwin and Bindi wowed the US last month (January) when they toured during the G'Day USA activities to promote Australian tourism and business to American audiences.
Mr Germann said Irwin had used footage of the aquarium's then Queensland Grouper called Bubba undergoing pioneering chemotherapy treatment in one of his Discovery Channel documentaries.