Webinar: Stepping Out: Early Childhood Education for Earth Day and Beyond
February 15, 2023
Natural Start Staff
How do you create fun, authentic outdoor learning experiences for the littlest learners in your life? In this webinar, co-hosted by Project Learning Tree, we explore activities from PLT’s newest resource for parents and educators of young children, Trees & Me. Whether you’re dipping your toe into outdoor learning or you're an experienced outdoor educator seeking tried and true activities for Earth Day and beyond, this webinar is for you!
Two amazing Project Learning Tree facilitators demonstrate activities from Trees & Me: Activities for Exploring Nature with Young Children.
Each activity is designed so it’s easy to recreate in your setting, whether you are an experienced nature-based educator or stepping outside with students for the first time. Activities are connected to early learning standards as well as NAEYC and Head Start.
This webinar took place on March 7 at 5 PM ET. View the recording below:
Trees & Me: Activities for Exploring Nature with Young Children: PLT’s latest resource for families and teachers of ages 1-6, containing hundreds of ideas for fun, easy-to-do, hands-on experiences to connect young children to nature, with a focus on trees and forests.
Project Learning Tree created a resource that outlines the correlations between Natural Start’sNature-Based Preschool Professional Practice Guidebook and the Trees & Me Activity Guide. Access it here. You can also download correlations with NAEYC and Head Start.
These pdfs (which can be inserted into powerpoint slides) summarize the findings of a research team at Stanford University that found that nature-based early childhood education programs promote children's development in a variety of ways.
eeRESEARCH: A searchable, joint research database combining the libraries of Children & Nature Network and NAAEE.
Tarneshia Evans is an experienced educator and advocate for nature-based early childhood education and has been working in the field of education for over 20 years. Previously Tarneshia was a Children’s Program Developer for Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, VA. In 2017 Tarneshia was selected as a National Outstanding Educator by educational nonprofit Project Learning Tree for her use of outdoor education to improve student learning and foster environmental stewardship. She teaches art at The Visual Arts Center and Cultural Arts Center of Glen Allen. When she’s not teaching you can find her volunteering at community events, shopping for antiques, clothing and other hidden treasures at her favorite thrift and consignment shops. Tarneshia enjoys seeing children engaged in art and nature. Not only is she an award-winning educator, but her joy of teaching young children is obvious and contagious!
Sheila Williams Ridge (she/her)
Sheila Williams Ridge is the Co-Director of the Child Development Lab School at the University of Minnesota. She has a bachelor’s degree in biology and master’s degree in education, as well as experience as a business manager and preschool teacher/naturalist. She teaches Nature-Based Learning in Early Childhood and Student Teaching in Early Childhood at the University of Minnesota and A Sense of Wonder: Nature Education in Early Childhood at Hamline University. Sheila is a facilitator for the NAEYC Young Children and Nature Interest Forum, on the Voices and Choices coalition, a board member for the Minneapolis Nature Preschool and Dodge Nature Center, and - a member of the Natural Start Alliance Council. She is co-author of the book, Nature-Based Learning for Young Children: Anytime, Anywhere, on Any Budget, published by Redleaf Press. She is passionate about encouraging nature-based play and the lasting developmental benefits of a relationship between children and nature.
Jaclyn Stallard (she/her)
Jaclyn advises on the development and modification of all curriculum resources with Project Learning Tree. Her work paves the way for new innovative and strategic education resources within the Project Learning Tree program PreK-12 suite. Her work matters because it is the foundation to a forest-literate future, and it creates opportunities for on-the-ground experiences in getting both youth and adults outdoors to learn. With nearly 20 years of curriculum development experience, Jaclyn’s work has received esteemed awards such as the Kirkus Star, Academics’ ChoiceTM, Teachers’ ChoiceTM, and Independent Publisher Book Awards. Jaclyn is a daughter, wife, mother of two, and lifelong learner who loves to go hiking and create art whatever her travels take her.
Christy Merrick (she/her)
Christy has worked in environmental education for over twenty years, working with international nonprofits, government agencies, private companies, and small nonprofits to develop education and communication programs and products. She was the founding director of the Natural Start Alliance, a project of the North American Association for Environmental Education focused on promoting environmental education in the early years, and led the development of the Nature-Based Preschool Professional Practice Guidebook. She holds a master's degree in environmental management.
