On Monday, July 28, 2025, members of the Black Educators Network visited Urban Sprouts Child Development Center in St. Louis, MO to tour their NAEYC-accredited Reggio Emilia-inspired early learning center.
Get to know Natural Start member, Wild Oak Preschool, a fully-licensed nature-based preschool program located in the rural community of Applegate Valley in Southern Oregon.
In this issue of Volume 12, read articles covering nature connectedness, nature playgardens and learning environments, Indigenous education in early childhood, nature attachment theory, and more.
Nearly a quarter of all children in the US speak a language other than English in the home. In some states, that percentage is over a third, and in some urban areas, more than half of children may be learning multiple languages. How can we best support children in their language learning outdoors, and are there elements of nature-based, outdoor learning that are particularly helpful in language learning? Join us to hear some of the latest research and learn from programs that have made nature and language learning central in their curriculum.
Natural Start reached out to members to learn how nature preschools are prioritizing equity and diversity through their enrollment process. We heard back from programs employing a variety of strategies for attracting and enrolling racially and economically diverse families, including administrative policies, marketing and outreach, community partnerships, accessing state pre-K funding, and more.
This webinar draws from the extensive research of Dr. Deja Jones, Founder of Honeypot Montessori, and the hands-on expertise of Ashley Causey-Golden, co-founder of Gather Forest School. This webinar focused on the collaborative creation of outdoor play areas tailored for Black children between the ages of 3 and 6 and explore the practical implementation of research in this domain.
The right gear is essential for outdoor learning, but many families and schools view gear as a barrier. We’ve asked four leaders from four different programs to share how they acquire and manage gear in ways that are equitable and accessible.
Natural Start invited Sarah Heller, co-founder and former director of Fiddleheads Forest School, to share the process she developed at Fiddleheads to enroll families with equity in mind. Sarah has spent the last two years learning about enrollment practices and asking questions with the goal of learning how to build more equitable systems and reduce barriers to accessing nature-based education.
