North Florida Land Trust has received the Joe Hixon Champion of Conservation Award

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Nov. 19, 2019 - PRLog -- North Florida Land Trust has been awarded the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens' Joe Hixon Champion of Conservation Award. The award was presented to NFLT President Jim McCarthy at the annual Toast to Conservation event at the Zoo on Saturday, Nov. 16. John Lukas, curator of wildlife conservation, presented the award to McCarthy and said the nonprofit land conservation organization was chosen for the award because of the work they have done to "secure and protect important blocks of sensitive habitat for future generations to enjoy."

"This award means so much to us because it comes as North Florida Land Trust is celebrating our 20^th year of working to protect lands and wildlife habitats in north Florida," said McCarthy. "The Zoo and NFLT share a common goal; the protection of wildlife. We are truly honored to receive an award from this awarding winning and world-class organization."

The Joe Hixon Champion of Conservation Award was established in 2018 to honor an individual or organization that has made an outstanding contribution to the conservation of wild lands or native species in north Florida. NFLT has been a champion for environmental protection since 1999 and through the years has conserved nearly 20,000 acres of land.

The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens Toast to Conservation was established in 2017 to celebrate their commitment to animal and plant conservation around the world and to generate awareness and funding for the Zoo and its global wildlife conservation programs. The Zoo works with more than 45 organizations both locally and globally on their wildlife conservation programs.

Joel Sartore, National Geographic photographer and leader of the Photo Ark program, was the guest speaker for the event. The Photo Ark program also made its debut at Saturday's event.

About North Florida Land Trust

North Florida Land Trust is a not-for-profit organization that seeks to protect the natural resources, historic places and working lands (farms and ranches) throughout north Florida. Founded in 1999, NFLT has preserved tens of thousands of acres of land through donation or purchase of land as well as conservation easements.  NFLT is funded largely by private and corporate contributions and works closely with willing landowners and public agencies at all levels of government, not-for-profit partners, and foundations. For more information, visit nflt.org (http://www.nflt.org/).