Welcome

We are Nokuse Education, Inc., a 501 (c)(3) organization doing business as the E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center. The center is an environmental facility serving students, teachers and professional audiences. The center is nestled in the Longleaf
Pine ecosystem, which is considered the 6th most biodiverse area in the continental U.S. and less than 2% of it remains intact today. As such, it is the perfect place to educate students on the
importance of biodiversity and to encourage conservation, preservation and restoration. This ecological "hot-spot" is available as a gathering
place where local and regional scientists can
conduct ecological research and participate in symposia that disseminates this research to the public through the Florida Educational Channel.

Developed by Walton County conservationist and resident,
M.C. Davis, on his 48,000-acre conservation land named Nokuse Plantation, the E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center is named after and dedicated to world renowned scientist Dr. Edward O. Wilson. As Pellegrino University Professor Emeritus and
Honorary Curator in Entomology at Harvard University, Dr. Wilson has made it his life-long mission to educate the public about the importance of conserving the world's biodiversity. This two-time Pulitzer Prize winner spent his formative years and performed his earliest scientific investigations in NW Florida and SW Alabama, and developed the term "biophilia" - the connections that human beings subconsciously seek with the rest of life.

Students in fourth, seventh and tenth grades who visit the E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center have an opportunity to learn about the natural environment through interpretive exhibits as well as an extensive trail system through natural areas undergoing ecological restoration on the nature preserve. By offering five days of curriculum that coincides with the Florida's Next Generation Sunshine State Standards, our young citizens have a better understanding and knowledge for science portions of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). While promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic (STEM) subjects, students are provided opportunities for inquiry, investigation and innovation.

The Walton County School District considers our facility to be an extension of their classroom as we ARE their science education project-based learning facility, the place that schooling becomes applicable. In the first 7 months of operation, the E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center will have taught over 4000 students in a 5-county area, averaging more than 140 students every school day.

Important Notice: We are serving the schools of the Florida Panhandle; as a result, the E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center is only open to the public for special events.

Click here to view the E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center booklet.   (PDF)

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