About
Environmental Education & Outreach includes hands-on activities such as bug walks, plant walks, plant hikes, trail cleanups, walk & talks, paddles and paddling trips, and preserve openings. Participants take part in birding with local Audubon members, fish ID, spider and bug ID, pumpkin carving, ice cream in the park, catching bugs with a sweep net in grass fields, and dipnetting for invertebrates in a creek. The program also includes guided nature hikes where students identify different species of plants and animals, work within nature to learn about decomposition and the carbon cycle, and catalog discoveries in a science journal, along with educational outdoor adventures, volunteering in the community, workshops with leaders in the community, student-led community projects, a day of volunteering, a day of advocacy, and a celebration swimming day.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Monthly outdoor events and outings, with most events in spring and fall; Young Leaders for Wild Florida is a two-week environmental immersive camp, and the 2026 Young Leaders for Wild Florida Summit is a three-day event
• Price: Young Leaders for Wild Florida is a donation-based program, and the organization states that it does not want finances to prevent participation in the program
Alachua Conservation Trust (ACT), which runs Environmental Education & Outreach, was incorporated in 1988 and reports having helped preserve more than 56,000 acres of land in North Central Florida, directly participating in the purchase of nearly 24,000 of those acres. ACT describes itself as Florida’s natural leader since 1988 and notes celebrating 38 years of ACT Conservation, and in 2009 it became accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, a program of the Land Trust Alliance. ACT is described as an accredited nonprofit regional land trust and as one of only two local land trusts in Florida that are in the Top 50 nationwide in both acres and value of lands protected. Pegeen Hanrahan is identified as ACT’s Executive Director at the time of the first Conservation Steward’s banquet.
ACT states that its mission is to protect the natural, historic, scenic and recreational resources in and around North Central Florida. The organization partners with local groups to provide environmental education to K–12 school children from Title-I schools and summer camps through the Creekside Environmental Ed for Kids (CrEEK) program, and it supports busing and supplies and offers consultation on strategies and topics for teaching. ACT notes that CrEEK is hosted with the City of Hawthorne and supported by several organizations, and that a CrEEK program coordinator oversees logistics and planning for CrEEK events. ACT also reports partnerships with conservation organizations and local supporters, collaboration with private landowners through conservation easements, and monthly outreach and volunteer events on preserves and in the community. Additional features mentioned by ACT include immersive educational outdoor experiences for all ages, integration of outdoor learning compatible with education standards in the CrEEK Program, the Tuscawilla Learning Center providing environmental education opportunities to children staffed by volunteers, an ACT Events calendar and photo gallery for past events, Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery being certified as a Conservation Burial Ground by the Green Burial Council, and a Registry of Protected Public Places mechanism to ensure parks cannot be sold or converted without voter approval.
A 2022 Young Leaders for Wild Florida participant, Carlos A., describes the program as an amazing experience and mentions thriving in knowledge every day, looking forward to putting on closed-toed shoes, pants, and a hat to start each workday, and keeping memories from the camp for life. Another 2022 participant, Delena N., states that the program deepened their connection and dedication to the environment in many new ways and describes interacting, sharing, and learning with others who shared a love for conservationism and nature as one of the greatest experiences of their life, with lasting memories of the program.
Last updated August 1, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Monthly outdoor events and outings, with most events in spring and fall; Young Leaders for Wild Florida is a two-week environmental immersive camp, and the 2026 Young Leaders for Wild Florida Summit is a three-day event
• Price: Young Leaders for Wild Florida is a donation-based program, and the organization states that it does not want finances to prevent participation in the program
Alachua Conservation Trust (ACT), which runs Environmental Education & Outreach, was incorporated in 1988 and reports having helped preserve more than 56,000 acres of land in North Central Florida, directly participating in the purchase of nearly 24,000 of those acres. ACT describes itself as Florida’s natural leader since 1988 and notes celebrating 38 years of ACT Conservation, and in 2009 it became accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, a program of the Land Trust Alliance. ACT is described as an accredited nonprofit regional land trust and as one of only two local land trusts in Florida that are in the Top 50 nationwide in both acres and value of lands protected. Pegeen Hanrahan is identified as ACT’s Executive Director at the time of the first Conservation Steward’s banquet.
ACT states that its mission is to protect the natural, historic, scenic and recreational resources in and around North Central Florida. The organization partners with local groups to provide environmental education to K–12 school children from Title-I schools and summer camps through the Creekside Environmental Ed for Kids (CrEEK) program, and it supports busing and supplies and offers consultation on strategies and topics for teaching. ACT notes that CrEEK is hosted with the City of Hawthorne and supported by several organizations, and that a CrEEK program coordinator oversees logistics and planning for CrEEK events. ACT also reports partnerships with conservation organizations and local supporters, collaboration with private landowners through conservation easements, and monthly outreach and volunteer events on preserves and in the community. Additional features mentioned by ACT include immersive educational outdoor experiences for all ages, integration of outdoor learning compatible with education standards in the CrEEK Program, the Tuscawilla Learning Center providing environmental education opportunities to children staffed by volunteers, an ACT Events calendar and photo gallery for past events, Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery being certified as a Conservation Burial Ground by the Green Burial Council, and a Registry of Protected Public Places mechanism to ensure parks cannot be sold or converted without voter approval.
A 2022 Young Leaders for Wild Florida participant, Carlos A., describes the program as an amazing experience and mentions thriving in knowledge every day, looking forward to putting on closed-toed shoes, pants, and a hat to start each workday, and keeping memories from the camp for life. Another 2022 participant, Delena N., states that the program deepened their connection and dedication to the environment in many new ways and describes interacting, sharing, and learning with others who shared a love for conservationism and nature as one of the greatest experiences of their life, with lasting memories of the program.
Last updated August 1, 2026.
Is this your business? There is no cost, but you will be asked to sign up or log in.