Outdoor News Daily

The National Wildlife Federation and the Turner Foundation hosted a workshop in partnership with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) at the Beau Turner Youth Conservation Center (BTYCC) on Wednesday.

The workshop brought together staff from the three partnering organizations, along with members of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, BASS, the Conservation Fund, Ducks Unlimited, Get Outdoors Florida!, the National Wild Turkey Federation, the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, various universities and others. They all came with one mission in mind: to help make BTYCC the model outdoor facility for getting youths outdoors and reconnected with nature.

“This center is the starting point for something quite momentous, and we are excited that conservation, sportsmen and outdoor recreation leaders from across the nation have come here to experience the center firsthand,” said FWC Commissioner Brian Yablonski. “Truly this center is the blueprint for what can happen all over Florida and the United States if we all work together to bring youths back outdoors.”

This center is the first of its kind in Florida, but the FWC hopes it is not the last. Beau Turner, son of CNN founder and philanthropist Ted Turner, generously donated 160-acres of land and developed state-of-the-art facilities where young people can connect with the outdoors. He leased these facilities at no cost to the FWC, establishing the state’s first public/private conservation effort aimed at young people and resource conservation.

“The youth center addresses the challenge of getting children involved in the outdoors and away from computers and video games,” Turner said. “It’s a place where they can participate in exciting outdoor activities and also learn about the environment, land use and alternative energy. Wednesday’s meeting included voices from all over the country demonstrating that the outdoor community is dedicated to this idea and building toward the future.”

Turner not only donated the property and facilities at BTYCC, but he also opened up 900 acres adjacent to the youth center for the FWC’s Youth Hunting Program, which encourages landowners to share their land to preserve hunting traditions in Florida for future generations.

“Every American child should have the opportunity to understand and enjoy the natural world,” said Michael Finley, president of the Turner Foundation. “The example set by the FWC and Beau Turner at the Beau Turner Youth Conservation Center is a model that can be easily adopted and adapted to the rest of Florida and other states.”

The workshop focused on using BTYCC as a template for making other such facilities available across the state and nation. The participants agreed that the center can be the prototype for other venues. The new Get Outdoors Florida! coalition, which brings together partners to encourage youth and family participation in active outdoor recreation is one way to create opportunities to drive more kids to BTYCC as well as using it as a model throughout Florida.

Future plans include compiling research on landowner liability and good Samaritan protections nationally, so other landowners can make property available for outdoor recreation and outreach. An effort also is in the works to study and compare behavioral changes associated with personal health, school grades, conservation stewardship and social behaviors between those who participate in outdoor activities and those who do not participate.

“Today we set in place the blueprint for other private landowners in Florida to donate land so that more youths can experience the wonders of nature while learning the importance of conservation stewardship,” said Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “This center embodies everything that the National Wildlife Federation’s BE OUT THERE campaign is all about, and we hope to expand this model into other areas of the state and potentially across the country.”

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