The Starkey Environmental Education Center is located in Pasco County’s J.B. Starkey Wilderness Park in New Port Richey, Florida.  This facility is  open from dawn to dusk and is 8,069.0 Acres in size.  This facility is ideal for activities involving, wetlands, temperate deciduous forest, and prairie environments.   Pine flatwoods, sandhills, hardwood hammock, cypress and river swamp, and freshwater marshes are only a few of the dozen plant communities that occur on this site. The park is bordered on the northwest and south by the Pithlachascottee (Cottee) and Anclote rivers. There is a 1.3-mile self-guided trail, eight miles of horse trails, thirteen miles of hiking trails, and a three mile bike path. The Cottee River runs through the park on its way to the Gulf of Mexico providing comparisons between different aquatic systems.  Frequent visitors to the center outside of its normal load of students, include raccoons, foxes, turtles and tortoises, white tail deer, armadillos, possums, egrets, herons, and much much more.

Starkey Environmental Education Center currently supports our Middle School program (Watershed Ambassador Program) for all 7th graders within the district and is also used for the EcoResearchers High School Programs.  The center also hosts our annual Wild Weekend Training.

Starkey Directions.pdf