Geographical Overview

Au Sable-South Florida is located at the site of Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization (ECHO) at North Fort Myers, south Florida. It is immediately north of the Everglades, in close proximity to the Tropical Fruit and Spice Park, and has a sub-tropical climate. Courses at this site are given to complement and support the vision of ECHO “to bring glory to God and a blessing to mankind by using science and technology to help the poor.” The Institute is in partnership with ECHO at this site to provide educational support for ECHO’s primary mandate to strengthen the ministries of missionaries and national churches as they work with small rural farmers and urban gardeners in developing countries, and to provide the educational base for assistance to development organizations and Peace Corps workers doing similar work. Courses at Au Sable-South Florida include those that assist and prepare development workers and missionaries in the area of tropical seed production, sustainable tropical agriculture, and related matters. This program utilizes ECHO’s tropical demonstration farm and technical resource building, its fruit arboretum and the six settings of its Global Village: tropical rainforest, semi-arid, hillside farming, tropical lowlands, rooftop and urban gardens, and a schoolyard.