Our Philosophy

The Challenge We Face

We at the Holton Eco-Preserve believe that we are all trustees of our planet Earth. Thus, we are deeply concerned about the National Academy of Sciences’ findings that during the past century, the Earth's surface temperature has risen by about 1 degree Fahrenheit, and that during the past twenty years, this warming trend has accelerated. Moreover, we accept the evidence that suggests that we as human beings are responsible for most of this warming over the last 50 years, and that the heat-trapping "greenhouse gases" we release into the atmosphere are changing the atmosphere and contributing to global warming.

The Outlook for our Future

Because of global warming, our planet is at grave risk. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that "Rising global temperatures are expected to raise sea level, and change precipitation and other local climate conditions. Changing regional climate could alter forests, crop yields, and water supplies. It could also affect human health, animals, and many types of ecosystems. Deserts may expand into existing rangelands, and features of some of our National Parks may be permanently altered."

What We Can Do

There is hope. A major key to solving the problem of global warming is to help families love the earth and live lightly upon it. Therefore, our work at the preserve focuses on helping children and their parents experience together the joy and amazement of nature and on teaching families how to help save the earth. We engage families in direct, nature-loving and living-lightly learning experiences in the preserve, and we help families take advantage of the abundant ecology resources here in Southwest Florida. We provide family nature experiences at little or no charge and believe that these activities will help all families flourish and help them love and live with gentle respect upon their earth home. In addition, we encourage local churches and community groups to use our resources, trails and habitat, and our eco-education programs and materials.