Biophilia Center puts students in touch with nature

 FREEPORT — A new nature center wants to get kids into the environment.

The E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center at Nokuse Plantation will help teach children about the science behind nature, said Christy Scally, the center’s director.

“The center will help promote the natural connection between humans and nature,” she said.

The groundbreaking for the center is at 9 a.m. Tuesday on State Road 20, about four miles east of U.S. Highway 331.

The center will consist of several buildings with about 40,000 square feet under roof, including about 14,000 square feet heated and cooled. The complex includes outdoor screened classrooms, exhibits and a theater.

Nature trails will twist through the 48,000-acre plantation. Students from local schools can investigate swamps, forests and a beaver dam.

That’s important, said M.C. Davis, the conservationist and businessman behind the center. Getting first-hand knowledge of nature and the environment is crucial for students today, he said.

“By interacting with nature, you can learn through osmosis almost,” he said. “We need to get kids in the wilderness and to fall in love with nature.”

Davis said it’s easier for children to learn about the science behind natural processes such as photosynthesis when they can feel and hold a leaf in the forest while a teacher explains it to them. He added that students will handle live frogs and insects for other experiments and lessons.

Davis said Northwest Florida is a “hot spot” for biodiversity; an unusually large number of plant and animal species thrive in the region.

Scally said the center will offer students weeklong programs before the FCATs to help boost scores. Science is one subject that is slipping with today’s children, and the center hopes to reverse that trend, she said.