Meet the Team

The professional practices described in the Guidebook are intended to represent a broad consensus among nature-based early education professionals in the United States about what signifies high-quality practice in the field. A draft of the practices was developed by the writing team, whose collective experience in nature-based early education totals more than 200 years of practice; spans across the United States; includes perspectives from a variety of program types including nature preschools, forest schools, and public schools; and includes expertise in a variety of sectors of the field, including teaching, administration, teacher preparation, research, special education, and more. The initial draft was developed with input collected from nature-based educators and administrators at professional gatherings. 

The draft practices were reviewed by a panel of expert reviewers, who expanded the expertise and perspectives used to develop the draft practices. And, finally, the practices were shared with education professionals in a variety of settings in order to collect additional feedback and perspectives from an even wider array of professionals in the field. The feedback provided from these reviews and discussions was used to refine the practices to reflect the widest possible consensus about the practices necessary to run a high-quality nature-based preschool program in the United States today. We know that these practices will evolve over time as they are reviewed and refined in practice, and as conditions change. This drive to continuously reflect on practices in order to improve outcomes for children, families, teachers, and staff is what will keep the nature-based preschool movement growing and thriving. 

Writing Team