Welcome to the Florida Youth Conservation Centers Network (FYCCN) website. The network is a work in progress aimed at establishing outdoor centers for children throughout the state. The FYCCN was created by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and is supported by the Wildlife Foundation of Florida (WFF) and its partners. Some centers already exist, while others are still in the planning stages.
The FWC and Wildlife Foundation of Florida know that when children become less connected to nature, as an adult they are less likely to have an interest in saving fish and wildlife and the habitats of both.
To save nature, it is necessary to expose children to positive experiences in nature.
The FWC and the Foundation and its partners want to help create the next generation that cares about Florida’s great outdoors, fish and wildlife. They hope to get youth to care by getting them to the Florida youth centers. In return, children get an improved quality of life.
Over the last decade, children have become increasingly more engaged in television, computers and other forms of entertainment media. This lifestyle has resulted in higher rates of obesity, depression and other physical, psychological and emotional problems. A growing body of evidence suggests that all these areas of a child’s life can improve by exposing a child to nature.
Imagine gathering kids together around a campfire. There is no television, no computer, nothing to distract the child from the actual experience of one-on-one storytelling with fellow campers as marshmallows are roasted over the fire, shooting stars are sighted, crickets and tree frogs are heard. This enhances a child’s quality of life. He establishes fond memories, is brought closer to his family and friends, and he learns to value and love the outdoors.
A distracted, depressed child may feel greater self-esteem as she experiences the sense of accomplishment after she baits her hook, casts her line into a pond and lands a fish. Or perhaps her accomplishment is felt when she is able to pull back an arrow against the taut line of a bow and accurately hit her mark on a target.
Society may have underestimated the power of nature on each of us as individuals. Getting children away from the virtual and the electronic, and plugged into nature instead is what the FWC, the Wildlife Foundation of Florida and their numerous partners intend to do. Nature itself benefits from this redirection, because it creates the next generation that cares.
But to make this happen, we need more partners. Network partners are people who simply have an interest and want to get involved. If you would like to make a donation to this cause, volunteer, get your youth group or classroom to participate, or if you have land (public or private) that may be suitable for a youth center, contact us. We are ready to get children involved!
News and Highlights
Wednesday, April 28, 2010Creating the Next Generation That CaresWe have to develop breakthrough approaches for understanding and overcoming the barriers to youth participation in traditional outdoor activities, then create destinations that are magnets for our young people. In other words, make them want to go outside. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) has designed a program, the Florida Youth Conservation Centers Network (FYCC) that will do that.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010Welcome to the FYCCN WebsiteThe Wildlife Foundation of Florida, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC), and scores of dedicate partners are undertaking one of the most ambitious—and important—projects we have ever undertaken, The Florida Youth Conservation Center Network (FYCC). We are proud to be spearheading the fundraising efforts for this crucial public/private partnership designed to reconnect Florida’s youth with nature and traditional outdoor activities.