Member Spotlight

Imua Inclusion Preschool is a place-based preschool on the Hawaiian Island of Maui, where every child’s social, emotional, physical, and educational needs are met through individualized instruction.

Takoma Park Cooperative Nursery School in Maryland, like many schools, is on a journey to create a more just, equitable learning community for their students and families. Hear from the school's director, Lesley Romanoff, to learn more about Takoma Park's story.

Aventuras Forest School is a 100% outdoors, Spanish-language immersion forest school set primarily in public parks in Los Angeles. Learn more about the program from the school’s founder, Pilar Gonzalez.

Learn how Bend Forest School, a nature immersion early childhood program on 200 acres in Oregon, places emotional literacy at the center of its practices.

Diona Reese Williams is an Early Childhood Education Professor at a tribal college in Arizona, an active member of the Arizona Association for Environmental Education (AAEE), the owner and founder of Out Back Learning LLC, and the creator of the podcast, Black in Nature. In our July Member Spotlight, we learn more about Diona, her home-based nature preschool, and her goals for early childhood education in Arizona.

Educating Children Outdoors (ECO) is a nature immersion program developed by the North Branch Nature Center and designed for students in preschool up to 6th grade. Founded in 2009, the program has impacted more than a dozen public schools, over 100 educators, and many more students. In our May Member Spotlight, Amy Butler shares how ECO has evolved over the last 10 years.

Dawn Jenkins founded Eyes of the World Nature Immersion in January 2019. Among her program offerings is a roaming forest preschool that meets in various state parks and land trusts in York County, Maine. Dawn was able to secure a unique insurance policy that may interest other forest preschool programs.

The Cincinnati Nature Center Preschool is a nature-based program licensed through the state of Ohio. Learn more about their journey to becoming a five-star program and how they made the decision to expand to K-2nd grade this fall.

The Frazer Center’s Child Development Program places inclusion at the heart of its mission. Nestled in an old-growth forest in the heart of Atlanta, Frazer Center is on a journey to develop a forest-based curriculum that would give more children in Atlanta the opportunity to experience the natural world.

Learn about The Planet Discovery Centre, a nature-based program in Gujarat, India. At The Planet, children learn to care for themselves and the world around them, building a foundation for lifelong environmental literacy.

Brooklyn Park Nature Preschool sets equity and inclusion as one of their primary program goals. Nearly 40% of students enrolled are children of color and 15% of families receive some form of financial aid. Read their Member Spotlight to learn how they approach equity and inclusion and what advice they have for other nature preschools.

Red Oaks Forest School was built on a simple idea—spend more time in nature. It has since grown to include a variety of nature immersion programs that support the needs of the community. In our September Member Spotlight, learn more about how nature-based early learning is taking root in Eastern Kentucky.