OUR
FISCAL SPONSOR
The Paper Bear is a registered nonprofit. We have a fiscal sponsor so that we can accept tax-deductible donations while we wait for our final letter of determination. The core mission of the E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center is to educate on the importance of biodiversity, promote sustainability, and encourage the conservation, preservation, and restoration of ecosystems.
The Biophilia Center educates, on average, 100 students daily in fourth and seventh grades, Monday through Friday. Students visit the center free of charge for either two or four-day programs filled with over twenty different environmental science lessons.
Who Started
the Center?
Walton County conservationist M.C. Davis founded the E.O.Wilson Biophilia Center in 2009 on Nokuse Plantation, a 55,000-acre nature preserve.
The Center is named after and dedicated to world-renowned scientist Dr. Edward O. Wilson, whose life-long mission is to educate the public about the importance of conserving the world's biodiversity. Dr. Wilson coined "biophilia," which means "the love of all living things."
Where is
the Center?
Freeport, Florida - The Center is nestled within Nokuse Plantation, a 55,000-acre nature preserve composed of the Longleaf Pine ecosystem.
The Longleaf Pine ecosystem is considered the sixth most biodiverse area in the continental U.S. Less than 2% of the original longleaf pine ecosystem remains intact today. As such, Nokuse Plantation is the perfect place to educate students on the importance of biodiversity and to encourage conservation, preservation, and restoration.
How Can You Visit
the Center?
Fourth and seventh-grade students from the surrounding school districts are scheduled for visits during the school year. Schools or groups outside the surrounding districts can organize trips through our Naturalists Outdoors program.
During the school year, they are open to the public for special events and Members Only functions. During the summer, they host summer overnight adventures and hold public hours in June and July.
THEIR WORK IN
ACTION.
