Bright Ideas

Natural Start

The child care and preschool field, today, is highly challenged. Communities are pushing for more (at times, universal) access; families, administrators, and lawmakers are demanding “quality;” and the workforce is under-compensated, leading to high turnover and staffing shortages. New federal dollars are flowing to the sector, but there are competing priorities lining up for those investments.

So, how do we speak to the importance of early childhood education and outdoor learning in a way that aligns with the values of current and potential funders?
 
In this webinar, the Natural Start Alliance, National Wildlife Federation's Early Childhood Health Outdoors (ECHO), and members of the Seven November team (a strategic communications firm) share the findings from a comprehensive messaging analysis initiative around early childhood education. This study was designed to understand the early learning funding communities’ priorities, values, and vocabulary to inform resonate messaging that brings more partners into advancing the work of outdoor learning for the very young.

Download the Report

On the webinar, we discussed the following:

• How is the field talking about early childhood education today?
• What are early childhood education funders prioritizing, and what messaging are they open to hearing?
• How do we bridge the gaps between the field and this new audience, to bring more partners to the work?
• Final messaging and recommendations to implement across the early childhood education space

View a recording of the webinar below: 

Additional Resources: 

• Findings in practice- Smith Memorial Playground and Parent Infant Center Slide into Success video
• Findings in practice- Briya Outdoor Learning Program video
• Findings in practice- A Safe Place Childcare Center video
• Outdoor Preschool Equity Toolkit
• Outdoor Preschool Policy Action Framework
• Rethink Outside
• Rethink Outside, Getting Kids Outdoors as Early as Possible
• The Equigenic Effect, Children & Nature Network
• Early Childhood Nature Connections Toolkit, Cities Connecting Children to Nature

Meet the Presenters

Susan Pierson-Brown (she/her/hers)

Kate Rose (she/her/hers)

Strategist and Writer, Seven November

 

Kate Rose is a communication strategist and freelance writer with an insatiable curiosity for how stories move people towards creating a more equitable world. After 10 years telling the story of companies like Google, YouTube, and KIPP Public Schools, Kate started a consultancy to bring the power of storytelling and communications to social impact organizations.

 

7 years on, Kate has worked alongside a range of large-scale institutions (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma and Mental Health, National Diversity in STEM Conference, University of Washington), and social enterprises (Sanergy, Noora Health, Project Callisto) on a variety of social justice issues across education, racial equity, healthcare, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Kate’s approach is rooted in active listening to deeply understand an organization’s mission so that the story they tell inspires their community to take action.