Founded in 2010, the Florida Youth Conservation Centers Network, or FYCCN, is a groundbreaking public-private partnership initiative whose goal is to inspire in youth a lifelong delight in and passion for conserving Florida’s natural resources.
To make this happen, we aim to help young people experience the best that wild Florida has to offer, and then educate and empower them with practical conservation principals. That’s why our slogan is, “Creating the Next Generation That Cares.”
Practically, we do this in two ways:
Operate four year-round youth conservation centers in Tallahassee, Ocala, West Palm Beach, and Apollo Beach, which convert to summer camps May-August.
Maintain thriving partnerships with over 350 public and private organizations around the state, empowering them with resources, training, education, equipment, and support.
It is our hope that the next decade will allow us to offer more outdoor opportunities to Florida’s under-reached children and families, especially those in areas with little or no access to the outdoors.
To find a family-friendly outdoor space near you, click here.
For information on becoming a partner, click here.
In effort to help youth have positive early experiences in the outdoors, we’ve carefully designed a program that focuses on four outdoor recreational experiences: paddle sports, shooting sports, fishing, and wildlife discovery. Although campers and visitors experience many more outdoor adventures than these, including swimming, bonfires, survival skills, orienteering, knot-tying, and much more, these four are the “pillars” on which our educational efforts rest.
You’ll see the pillars reflected in our logo: blue for paddle sports, red for shooting sports, orange for fishing, and green for wildlife discovery.
We can’t wait to share our amazing summer camp adventures with your family! We have four camps (but shh.. there may be more coming soon!) in Tallahassee, Ocala, Apollo Beach, and West Palm Beach. Visit our Summer Camps page for all the details.
Our Youth Conservation Centers are busy all year round with field trips, public fishing, seminars, trainings, after-school programs, private events, spring break camps, fall break camps, and much, much more. Each center manages their own calendar independently, and not all centers offer the same activities or public hours, so be sure to call or email email before you visit!
Joe Budd Youth Conservation Center
We partner with an ever-increasing group of over 350 public and private organizations, community centers, churches, museums, zoos, aquariums, and more! Check out our new partner search feature where you can search by activities offered, amenities offered, and region. Tell ‘em we sent you!
Thank you so much for partnering with us as we “Create the Next Generation That Cares”!
Monetary donations may be made through the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida.
Equipment donations may be facilitated via our Donate Equipment page.
FYCCN partners with over 350 of Florida’s public and private parks, community centers, camps, clubs, museums, zoos, and aquariums, all working together to create the next generation that cares. We would love to have your organization join us! Check out our Becoming a Partner page for more information and to get started.
Thank you for wanting to partner with us as we aim to Create the Next Generation That Cares! Check out our How You Can Help page for five amazing ways to bridge the gap between today’s youth and Florida’s amazing natural resources.
Welcome, and thank you for all you do for Florida’s youth and families. We have a few options for you:
-A whole page of free downloadable educational materials for kids from preschool to high school.
-An introduction to Project WILD, a free environmental education program that uses wildlife as a gateway to teach about habitats, human-wildlife conflict, personal action, wildlife in artwork and more!
-Education Kit loans - FYCCN loans custom-designed, hands-on education kits, complete with curricula, to our partners for the purpose of immersive programs for youth of all ages.
While we have a few staff at a headquarters office in Tallahassee, the majority of our staff are spread out around the state, with staff at each of our four youth centers/summer camps and then one partnership coordinator in each of FYCCN’s eight regions, to assist and support our 350+ partners.
Click here to find and contact a partnership coordinator in your area.
Click here to contact a youth center/summer camp staff member.
Drop us a line at fyccn@myfwc.com or fill out our contact form and someone will respond shortly. We look forward to helping you!