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Preventing Obesity by Design (POD4)

Preventing Obesity by Design (POD4)

POD Wake County

POD Wake County

Shape NC

Shape NC

Healthy Habits, Healthy Kids | Halifax-Warren Smart Start Partnership for Children

Healthy Habits, Healthy Kids | Halifax-Warren Smart Start Partnership for Children

Healthy Starts for Infants & Toddlers

Healthy Starts for Infants & Toddlers

USDA COLEAFS

USDA COLEAFS

Grow Outdoors South Carolina (SC)

Grow Outdoors South Carolina (SC)

OLE! Texas

OLE! Texas

Behavior Mapping: A Method for Linking Preschool Physical Activity and Outdoor Design

Behavior Mapping: A Method for Linking Preschool Physical Activity and Outdoor Design

What makes a park inclusive and universally designed? A multi-method approach

What makes a park inclusive and universally designed? A multi-method approach

Developing evidence-based design: Environmental interventions for healthy development of young children in the outdoors

Developing evidence-based design: Environmental interventions for healthy development of young children in the outdoors

Playgrounds: A 150-Year-Old Model

Playgrounds: A 150-Year-Old Model

Well-being by Nature: Therapeutic Gardens for Children

Well-being by Nature: Therapeutic Gardens for Children

Reasons to Smile at Teardrop

Reasons to Smile at Teardrop

How Cities Use Parks to Help Children Learn

How Cities Use Parks to Help Children Learn

Developing an Earth-bound Culture Through Design of Childhood Habitats

Developing an Earth-bound Culture Through Design of Childhood Habitats

Our Neighbourhood is Like That! Cultural Richness and Childhood Identity in Boca-Baraccas, Buenos Aires

Our Neighbourhood is Like That! Cultural Richness and Childhood Identity in Boca-Baraccas, Buenos Aires

Healing Gardens for Children

Healing Gardens for Children

Streets as Playgrounds

Streets as Playgrounds

Natural Learning

Natural Learning

Playgrounds at the Crossroads: Policy and Action Research Needed to Ensure a Viable Future for Public Playgrounds

Playgrounds at the Crossroads: Policy and Action Research Needed to Ensure a Viable Future for Public Playgrounds

Exploring Childhood Territories

Exploring Childhood Territories

Childhood Outdoors: Toward a Social Ecology of the Landscape

Childhood Outdoors: Toward a Social Ecology of the Landscape

Nature Play at Home

Nature Play at Home

Growing Up Green: Naturalization as a Health Promotion Strategy

Growing Up Green: Naturalization as a Health Promotion Strategy

Climbing Stones and Boulders

Climbing Stones and Boulders

Starting Seeds in the Spring

Starting Seeds in the Spring

Sunflower Houses

Sunflower Houses

Log Seats

Log Seats

Installing a Rain Barrel

Installing a Rain Barrel

Sittable Stones and Boulders

Sittable Stones and Boulders

Summer Play: Beat the Heat

Summer Play: Beat the Heat

Infant and Toddler Pathway Materials

Infant and Toddler Pathway Materials

Embankment Slides

Embankment Slides

Tree Cookies for Play and Learning

Tree Cookies for Play and Learning

Natural Building

Natural Building

Natural Playhouse

Natural Playhouse

Raised Planters: Timber Construction

Raised Planters: Timber Construction

Safely Installing Planters on Asphalt

Safely Installing Planters on Asphalt

Naturalizing Chain link Fences

Naturalizing Chain link Fences

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VIEW DISCLAIMER

The Natural Learning Initiative (NLI), its partners and supporting entities assume no responsibility for the installation of outdoor components and/or designs and their use. In no event will NLI be liable for any loss or damage, including without limitation, indirect or consequential, incurred during the construction or use of outdoor play and learning environments. NLI further suggests adherence to the guidelines set forth in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Public Playground Safety Handbook and to follow local, state, and national code requirements concerning but not limited to land use, zoning, safety, accessibility, permitting, and approval of plans prior to construction.

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Growing Up with Nature

Creating environments for healthy human development and a healthy biosphere for generations to come.

- NLI Mission

For 25 years, the Natural Learning Initiative (NLI) has applied community-based, equity-driven design thinking to create healthy, natural play and learning environments. The NLI Resource Hub offers a collection of free public resources dedicated to supporting the development of biophilic play and learning environments where children can grow up caring for the planet and each other. These resources encompass landscape design, research, professional development, and information dissemination.

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What are NLI Resource Hub Categories?

Design Sites

Real-world places where NLI has provided professional landscape architecture design assistance.

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Infosheets

Two to four page documents about implementing and maintaining nature-based play settings.

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Interactive Apps

Web-based teaching tools and virtual experiences about exploring and designing nature-based play settings.

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Leaflets

Single-page documents about activities for children and caregivers in nature-based play settings.

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Natural Learning at Home

A month-by-month newsletter series about nature-based activities for children and families at home.

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Programs

Comprehensive projects that combine design assistance, research & evaluation, professional development, and dissemination & communications.

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Publications

Printed and published books and resources about nature-based design, education, childhood, and more.

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Research

Published scientific research about nature-based design, childhood, behavior mapping, and more.

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The Green Desk

A blog series responding to NLI’s most frequently-asked-questions.

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Videos

Videos created by NLI and our partners about nature-based design, education, childhood, and more.

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What are NLI Resource Hub Tags?

Affordable Settings

Elements of outdoor learning environments that can be built and deployed at a low cost, but with a great impact.

Community Engagement

Families, partners, neighborhoods and cities that help outdoor learning environments thrive and grow.

Fundraising

Information for raising resources to build and maintain outdoor learning environments.

Gardening

Resources about growing plants and all the different ways it benefits young children.

Healthy Eating

Fruits and vegetables, trying and tasting, growing and eating. Learn how young children can be excited to eat nutritious food.

Outdoor Installation

Building and constructing outdoor learning environments can be challenging. Find resources to guide your project.

Outdoor Management

Maintaining and sustaining outdoor learning environments is vital to their long-term success. Learn about managing environments.

Outdoor Safety

Risk management in play areas is critical for certification and regulation. Learn how to create safe spaces and address concerns.

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The Natural Learning Initiative (NLI), its partners and supporting entities as­sume no responsibility for the installation of outdoor components and/or designs and their use. In no event will NLI be liable for any loss or damage, including without lim­itation, indirect or consequential, incurred during the construction or use of outdoor play and learning environments. NLI further suggests adherence to the guidelines set forth in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Public Playground Safety Handbook and to follow local, state, and national code requirements concerning but not limited to land use, zoning, safety, accessibility, permitting, and approval of plans prior to construction.