SUMMARY REPORT – C&NN 2025 CONFERENCE

Children & Nature Network 2025 Conference Nature Everywhere Conference

The 2025 Nature Everywhere Conference, held from May 13–16 at the RiverCentre in Saint Paul, Minnesota, brought together over 600 global advocates for children and nature. Organized by the Children & Nature Network and guided by local advisory councils, the conference was both a call to action and a space for community resilience, rooted in the powerful opening words of Board Chair Dr. Hanaa Hamdi: “Hope lives here.”

The Conference focused on practical, hopeful solutions that support both ecological resilience and the well-being of young people. With nearly 100 sessions, including technical talks, workshops, and panels, the conference provided a platform to share ideas for creating nature-rich futures for children. Highlights included discussions on universal design in green spaces, evaluating nature-based programs, and collaborative songwriting as a tool for community engagement.

A central initiative discussed was the Green Schoolyards Action Agenda, aimed at ensuring all U.S. communities have access to green schoolyards by 2050. Such spaces not only improve climate resilience by reducing heat and managing stormwater but also support youth development and well-being.

Key panels expanded on early childhood and youth development. A May 14 session featured leading experts who emphasized that time in nature strengthens brain development, emotional regulation, and healthy adult-child relationships.

A youth leadership panel highlighted the importance of connecting young people with land, identity, and education. Panelists like B. Rosas and McKaylin Peters spoke on integrating self-care and mental well-being into leadership, emphasizing that grounded adults can more effectively mentor future stewards of the environment.

Indigenous leadership played a vital role throughout the event. Poet and scholar Kachina Yeager reminded attendees of the Dakota people’s deep-rooted relationship with the Twin Cities’ lands. Shelley Buck, president of Owámniyomni Okhódayapi, presented her organization’s efforts to restore a sacred Dakota site in Minneapolis, a project praised by Minnesota Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan. Flanagan encouraged attendees to continue nurturing children’s natural connections as a path toward healthy lives.

Dakota author Diane Wilson delivered a keynote highlighting kinship, reciprocity, and storytelling as means of reconnecting children with the natural world. She invoked the Dakota concept Mitakuye owas’iƞ — “we are all related” — emphasizing the responsibility to co-create a more hopeful and balanced future.

The conference concluded with the presentation of the Richard Louv Prize for Innovation in Nature Connection to CJ Goulding, co-founder of Boyz N The Wood, recognized for empowering youth through nature engagement and challenging harmful life situations.

Ultimately, the 2025 Nature Everywhere Conference was a demonstration of union in action — where professionals and youth came together not only to reflect but to envision and build a nature-connected world for all children.

The Natural Learning Initiative active presence at the 2025 C&NN Conference, Saint Paul

1. 1. Poster Presentation: Changes in Outdoor Environments in Early Childhood Programs Over 20 Years in North Carolina
      Presenters: Amy Wrather and Linda Hestenes, PhD, University of North Carolina-Greensboro; Nilda Cosco, PhD; Robin Moore, MCP, Hon. ASLA; and Matt Babb, Natural Learning Initiative, NC State University.
   2. Breakout Session: Natural Connections: Early Care & Education (ECE) Partnerships & Programming for Health & Well-Being.
      Presenters: Emia Oppenheim, PhD, RDN, Association of State Public Health Nutritionists (ASPHN); Kelly Dahl, MPH, CDC, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (not present); Nilda Cosco, PhD, Natural Learning Initiative, NC State University.
   3. Breakout Session: Grow Outdoors South Carolina: A Collaboration for Early Childhood Outdoor Learning.
      Presenters: Misty Pearson, South Carolina Department of Health; Rebecca Colbert, PhD, Early Childhood Health Outdoors, NWF; Nilda Cosco, PhD, Natural Learning Initiative, NC State University.
   4. Leadership Participation. 2025 Green Schoolyards Action Agenda Advisory Committee. Nilda Cosco, PhD, Natural Learning Initiative, NC State University. Committee Member.

   Additionally, the conference offered NLI opportunities for meeting colleagues, collaborators, and supporters: Children and Nature Network C&NN Founders Rich Louv and Cheryl Charles; George B. Storer Foundation, Kathleen Doffermyre, Senior Program Officer; Kaboom, Jennifer de Melo; Kompan Play Institute, Representative; PlayCore, Center for Outreach, Research, & Education (CORE), Anthony Iracki; C&NN Green Schoolyards Action Agenda, Priya Cook; C&NN Outdoor and Nature-Based Early Care and Education (ONB ECE) Collaborative, David Beard, Director of Policy and Government Affairs; Green Schoolyards America, Sharon Danks; National League of Cities, Andrew Moore and Vera Feeney among others.