Oakland Nature Preserve will be central Florida’s leading conservation education facility dedicated to preserving a healthy, life-sustaining ecosystem in the Lake Apopka and surrounding area watersheds for future generations. Oakland Nature Preserve will achieve this through direct and indirect education. Direct education will include programs for all ages encompassing preschoolers, school-age children including homeschool, summer camps, onsite public education for families and adults, and community outreach including at schools, festivals, civic organizations, clubs. Indirect education will occur via the Preserve providing a living example of how mankind and ecosystems can coexist to the benefit of both. Healthy, restored sandhill and wetland ecosystems will showcase how communities can work together to improve their surroundings. Oakland Nature Preserve will serve as a resource to guide future land use decisions, as well as for successful restoration efforts. Oakland Nature Preserve is a repository of cultural history of the region, particularly as related to land-use.