Member Spotlight

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.

Natural Start Member, Honeypot Montessori, is a nature- and place-based urban preschool in the Greater Newark Area that provides joyful outdoor learning opportunities for Black and Brown children.

The Nature Center Preschool at the South Shore Natural Science Center in Norwell, Massachusetts, uses 30 acres of conservation land and an onsite museum to help each child learn and grow in all areas of development while gaining a love and respect for the natural world.

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts uses nature to promote children's development and growth. We asked the museum's Early Childhood Education Programs Coordinator to tell us more about their approach and share some lessons learned with similar institutions interested in increasing their nature-based early learning offerings.

Durham Community Preschool transitioned to a 100% outdoor model this year as a solution to continue in-person learning during the pandemic. The lessons they learned will stick with them well beyond this school year.

Boston Outdoor Preschool Network is a nonprofit organization focused on nature-based early education across various program sites in Massachusetts.

Preschoolers roam Golden Gate National Park with Lauryn Smith Demyanovich, lead preschool teacher for NatureBridge. From summer camps to preschool field trips, she helps preschoolers learn to love their public lands.

Juniper Hill School for Place-Based Education opened in 2011 on 42 acres of beautiful, nature-rich landscape. This landscape serves as more than a backdrop to learning. Students learn from and about the landscape, establishing a lifelong connection with the land.

Get to know Natural Start member, Community Connections for Children, a non-profit in Pennsylvania providing free nature play training to early childhood educators.

Dr. Deborah Schein is an expert in children's spiritual development, and she believes that it can be nurtured through experiences in and with nature.

An early childhood environmental education program on the shores of Lake Michigan fosters learning and an appreciation for nature among dunes, beaches, and ravines.

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.