Florida 4-H Junior Naturalists visit Zephyrhills® bottling factory in Madison, FL

Florida 4-H Junior Naturalists visit with the Zephyrhills® mascot.

The Madison Springs water bottling factory hosted 13 Junior Naturalists from the Suwannee County 4-H Club this summer to teach students how fresh spring water is produced for healthy hydration for all Floridians. The naturalists – all aged 8 to 12 years old – are learning about Florida’s ecosystems, including freshwater springs, and also visited Falmouth Springs. Four Agricultural Extension Agent instructors from the University of Florida also toured the factory with the naturalists, and had lunch on site, including bottles of Zephyrhills® Brand 100% Natural Spring Water.

The 4-H Junior Naturalist Program (JNP) is a statewide youth program that promotes awareness, understanding and respect of Florida’s natural world. Youth become well-informed citizens of Florida in the area of natural resources, develop a positive conservation ethic, become aware of career opportunities, and learn about ecology, and more. The 4-H Junior Naturalist Program uses a variety of hands-on activity based modules that address a wide range of natural resource concepts.

Suwannee County Junior Naturalist Paisley Whitmer (age 8) with her Mom Rose touring the Madison Springs water bottling plant as part of the Suwannee 4-H summer learning camps.