The Environmental Awareness Academy provides intensive, hands-on, outdoor science education, alongside classroom courses, with the goal of creating pathways to secondary education, college education, entrepreneurship, and economic stability for under-served, under-resourced youth.
Our Story
The Environmental Awareness Academy, Inc. seeks to empower youth around the world to become more resilient and self-sufficient through environmental education. Created in 2019 to meet the non-traditional, educational needs of a young workforce at Patch of Heaven Sanctury, EAA was founded by National Geographic Explorer and environmental engineer, Linda P. Freeman, science educator, humanitarian, and environmental horticulturalist, Frederick Hubbard, and youth development leader Rhonda Smith. EAA brings together expertise in science, education, and community building to create lasting impact.
GEN2050/Honduras Project
Since 2019, EAA has partnered with GEN2050 at multiple Miami-Dade County Public Schools to deliver innovative STEAM-based environmental programming. What began in local classrooms expanded in 2021 to an international effort in Honduras. At our site in Cantarranas, EAA provides educational, nutritional, and social support for youth at risk of migration. By 2022, students in Miami were stepping outside traditional classrooms and into living laboratories through immersive field trips at Patch of Heaven Sanctuary—exploring botany, pollinators, and the stewardship of nature. As students from GEN2050 Summer Camp learned to rear queen bees through a grant generously provided by National Geographic, EAA co-created the Ninas and Ninos Apiculturas program with our collaborative partner, Ricardo Diaz of Trigona. Ricardo provided a yearlong entrepreneurial program to help students learn how to manage Africanized bees for honey production.
Forest Keepers Program
In 2023, EAA launched the Forest Keepers program with support from The Children’s Trust. This initiative brings students, families, and community members together to restore and protect South Florida’s native forests. Through activities like removing invasive plants, monitoring local wildlife, and documenting biodiversity, Forest Keepers not only safeguard natural ecosystems but also cultivate a new generation of environmental leaders. The program collaborates closely with the GEN2050 Youth Biodiversity Network, ensuring that young people have real opportunities to contribute to science and conservation. At GEN2050 school affiliates such as Ojus Elementary, our Forest Keepers help instructional staff in setting up schoolwide compost facilities, creating urban gardens, pollinator gardens, and support rewilding activities.
Turf to Nature Project
Building on that momentum, the Turf to Nature project invites homeowners to become part of the solution. By transforming traditional lawns into thriving native habitats, participants create safe havens for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife, while reducing the environmental costs of turfgrass. This grassroots effort directly connects neighborhoods to the global “30×30” movement, which calls for conserving 30% of land and oceans by 2030. Each yard that shifts from turf to nature becomes a living example of how small changes at home can make a big difference for our planet.
If your school or youth organization is interested in scheduling an EAA Outdoor Science Field Trip, please email EAA at: info@environmentalawarenessacademy.org