Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center
The Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center is dedicated to providing environmental education, recreation, and conservation efforts to the local community and beyond.
Who We Are
In 1987, our founder, Mr. Charles E. Caniff Sr.'s envisioned an environmental center located within Charlotte County where residents and visitors could come to experience and learn about the natural Florida environment.
Thanks to Mr. Caniff’s hard work and dedication, and the support of the founding corporate members, the Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center was incorporated on March 19th, 1987.
Those original founding corporate members were: the Peace River Audubon Society, Charlotte County, Charlotte County Public Schools, the Florida Department of Natural Resources, and the City of Punta Gorda. Together, these were the building blocks that helped create the Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center.
Over 4,000
Students Educated Annually
+100 Guided Walks
Held Across Charlotte County
+75 Volunteers
Supporting Our Programs Each Year
A Small Staff
Delivering a Big Impact to Southwest Florida
+50 Programs
Presented at Our Parks
Thank You for Supporting Our Mission
To continue our invaluable mission, CHEC needs your support. As a nonprofit organization, CHEC relies heavily on donations from the local community and its visitors. To keep providing free environmental programming, to place more oysters in the water to improve water quality, to introduce ways to peacefully and safely coexist with wildlife, to foster students’ awareness and appreciation for nature, to protect and preserve wildlife and wild spaces for generations to come, and so much more. We need your help. We can’t do this without you. Please help the Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center keep Florida Wild…the way it was created to be. Thank you for your support. From the bottom of our wild hearts.
The CHEC Family