In light of the devastation brought on by the Gulf Coast oil spill,
the E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center in Freeport is turning to our children for help, by way of education and awareness.
The hands on learning center will incorporate the disaster into next year's lessons plans and hopes in the future, America's youth will never let something like this ever happen again.

The giant catastrophe looming in the Gulf has everybody talking these days, and even our younger generation has something to say.
Fourteen year old Claire Chisholm says the whole thing is hard to watch.
"It's sad to see all the animals being killed and if it continues like this, our children won't be able to see it the same way we did."

Claire’s twelve year old sister Julia is trying to be optimistic.
"I think it already has had a very huge impact, but if we can do something about it quickly, then I think it will be okay."

The Chisholm girls are just a couple of the many visitors to the E.O.. Wilson Biophilia Center.
Here, environmental conservation is the mission being sent to the schools in the five counties it serves.
The hands-on learning center will promote awareness and follow the environmental impacts along the coastline in the new curriculum that's being presented next school year.

Christy Scally, the director of the Biophilia Center, says it’s a great place to start.
"We realize that these will be future leaders in the community; teachers, commissioners, governors, future people who will be leading the oil industries. If they take this knowledge about the environment and implement it in their career, then hopefully we can prevent catastrophes like this in the future"

The Biophilia Center is a $12 million dollar facility which caters to the public schools of Bay, Walton, Okaloosa, Holmes, and Leon counties .

The center is not open to the public at this time.