Farm to Child Care
Farm to Child Care By: Natural Learning Initiative Farm to Child Care brings North Carolina grown fruits and vegetables into child care facilities for meals and snacks. Centers that grow their own fresh foods strengthen experiential learning opportunities for children...
Garden Planning and Caring
Garden Planning and Caring By: Natural Learning Initiative Gardening allows children to experience every stage of growth from planting to harvest. Raised beds, container gardens, and edible shrubs are critical components for designing high-quality edible landscapes...
Connecting Natural Learning Environments to Farm to Child Care
Connecting Natural Learning Environments to Farm to Child Care By: Natural Learning Initiative Childcare Network #61 (Wanda Davis, Director) is one of 16 Wake County, NC centers implementing the Preventing Obesity by Design (POD) strategy developed by the Natural...
We Change the Culture Here
We Change the Culture Here By: Natural Learning Initiative “A Safe Place” is one of 16 Wake County, NC centers implementing the Preventing Obesity by Design (POD) strategy developed by the Natural Learning Initiative, College of Design, North Carolina State...
Garden Harvesting, Preparing, Snacking
Garden Harvesting, Preparing, Snacking By: Natural Learning Initiative Children who grow their own fruits and vegetables are more likely to try and enjoy new foods. Harvesting, snacking on, and preparing fresh foods help children build healthy eating habits that can...
Incremental Development
Incremental Development By: Natural Learning Initiative The creation of a high-quality outdoor learning environment doesn’t happen overnight. Projects develop in phases as funding, volunteers, and resources become available. A masterplan guides the phasing of projects...
Elements of Urban Form
Elements of Urban Form By: Natural Learning Initiative There are 5 urban form elements that influence design practice and policy. They are pathways, nodes, landmarks, districts, and edges. Watch Next! OMO dirt is good Wolfpack Wellness Research Web Series:...
Affordance and Behavior Setting
Affordance and Behavior Setting By: Natural Learning Initiative Affordance is a perceptional relationship between functional properties of environments and skills of individual users. Watch Next! Wolfpack Wellness Research Web Series: “Preventing Obesity by...
Playgrounds to Outdoor Learning Environments
Playgrounds to Outdoor Learning Environments By: Natural Learning Initiative Childcare outdoor learning environment to support young children’s physical activity, healthy eating, and outdoor learning. Watch Next! Garden Harvesting, Preparing, Snacking Garden...
This is why play is so important
This is why play is so important By: Playful Childhoods ‘This is why play is so important’ captures why play is vital to children’s development, mental health, wellbeing, and happiness. From street play to playgrounds, living rooms to back gardens, the film captures...
Yale Climate Connections Podcast
NLI Yale Climate Connections Podcast The Yale Center for Environmental Communication recently featured NLI’s Robin Moore in their Climate Connections radio program on the importance of shade in playgrounds. Robin shared insight on the important role that shade plays...
NLI Hosts DCDEE Regional Meetings
NLI NLI Hosts DCDEE Regional Meetings A statewide kickoff webinar introducing the two-year project, Supporting Naturalized Outdoor Play and Learning Environments in North Carolina Child Care Facilities, was followed by regional meetings. From April through May 2024,...
NLI Newsletter – May / June 2024
NLI Hosts DCDEE Regional Meetings
Hosted four regional meetings in NC.
Yale Climate Connections Podcast
North Carolina Welcomes the Emergence of 13-Year Cicadas!
Gardening With Young Children Certificate Course (GWYC)
Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Environments Certificate (ECOLE)
Let’s Go Outdoors! Webinar
Let’s Go Outdoors! Webinar By: Natural Learning Initiative A conversation about childcare outdoor play and learning during the pandemic The Natural Learning Initiative presented the webinar in partnership with Be Active Kids and NCDHHS Division of Child...
Outdoor Learning Environment at A Child’s Haven: Jon Fritz Design Review
Outdoor Learning Environment at A Child’s Haven: Jon Fritz Design Review By: Natural Learning Initiative Jon Fritz, landscape designer, presents the outdoor learning environment design for A Child’s Haven with knowledge gained through the Natural Learning...
The Children & Nature Movement
The Children & Nature Movement By: Gear 6 Productions The Children & Nature Network is championing a world-wide movement to reconnect children, families, and communities to the natural world: for their health and for the health of our planet. Produced by Gear...
OMO dirt is good
OMO dirt is good By: Jerome Gonfond OMO is dedicated to showing you that Dirt is Good – especially when it’s the result of your kids going out into the world to have fun, explore, learn and experience the very best the world around us has to offer. Watch Next! Outdoor...
North Carolina Welcomes the Emergence of 13-Year Cicadas
NLI North Carolina Welcomes the Emergence of 13-Year Cicadas The emergence of 17-year and 13-year cicadas in the Eastern US is currently captivating the attention of nature enthusiasts. Here in North Carolina, the 13-year cicadas are making their grand appearance....
Early Childhood Outdoor Play and Learning Spaces (ECOPALS) – Train the Trainer
NLI Early Childhood Outdoor Play and Learning Spaces (ECOPALS) – Train the Trainer Early Childhood Outdoor Play and Learning Spaces (ECOPALS): Train the Trainer (TtT) equips participants with knowledge, skills, practical examples, and content resources to...
Natural Learning Initiative Resources
Early childhood outdoor play and learning resources.
NLI Joins 20th Anniversary Celebration of Grow Up Great
NLI NLI Joins 20th Anniversary Celebration of Grow Up Great NLI celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the PNC Foundation’s signature Grow Up Great program with a grant announcement ceremony at Brentwood Head Start, Wilson, North Carolina. The award of $125,000 will be...
NLI-ECHO (Early Childhood Health Outdoors) Training Workshop
NLI NLI-ECHO (Early Childhood Health Outdoors) Training Workshop NLI conducted a 3-day training workshop in early April with the Grow Outdoors SC (South Carolina) ECHO (Early Childhood Health Outdoors) design team – a unit within the National Wildlife Federation...
NLI Newsletter – March / April 2024
NLI conducted a 3-day training workshop
Training with SC ECHO design team.
NLI Website’s New Look
NLI celebrated the 20th Anniversary
Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Environments Certificate Course (ECOLE)
Free the Kids – Dirt is Good
Free the Kids – Dirt is Good By: PersilUK Who spends more time outside, a child… or a maximum-security prisoner? Watch this film to find out. This video looks inside the mind’s of prison inmates to find out exactly how much their outdoor time means to them. The...
CHILD IN NATURE
CHILD IN NATURE By: Natural Learning Initiative The Child In Nature (2006, 16 min.) features Robin Moore discussing NLI’s approach to the Montessori philosophy of outdoor design and the spatial transition between indoors and outdoors. Also featured are Montessori...
This Is Me : Article 31 and a Child’s Right to Play
This Is Me : Article 31 and a Child’s Right to Play By: International Play Association (IPA World) On February 1st 2013, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expanded the world’s understanding of the child’s right to play by adopting a General Comment on...
Partners for Environmental Justice — Building Community Around Raleigh’s Walnut Creek Wetlands
Partners for Environmental Justice — Building Community Around Raleigh’s Walnut Creek Wetlands By: Partners for Environmental Justice North Carolina Walnut Creek, 2000, is a grassroots project designed to extend to Southeast Raleigh – a predominately African...
What nature teaches children | Nilda Cosco | TEDxRaleigh
What nature teaches children | Nilda Cosco | TEDxRaleigh By: TEDx Talks Watch this talk if you are interested in the well-being of young children. Children spend most of their waking hours in child care every day where they can play outdoors and learn from nature....
Wolfpack Wellness Research Web Series: “Preventing Obesity by Design”
Wolfpack Wellness Research Web Series: “Preventing Obesity by Design” By: Wolfpack Wellness In November of 2023, NLI collaborated with the NC State University Department of Horticultural Science to deploy nature-based design interventions in two North...
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The NLI Website’s New Look
NLI The NLI Website’s New Look You may have noticed some changes to the NLI website… We are proud to unveil a new, modern style designed to provide clear and legible content on all screen sizes, including phones! The new style has been developed with universal web...
Institutes & Symposia
Early childhood outdoor play and learning resources.
NLI Newsletter – January / February 2024
Play Chastain
Design programming for new playground.
Exploring Cool Season Plant Growth
Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Environments Certificate Course
Preschool Outdoor Environment Measurement Scale (POEMS) Course
Childcare Outdoor Learning Environments Quality Tool (COLEQT) Course
Play Chastain
Project NLI Play Chastain Play Chastain was part of the 20-year Master Plan for Atlanta’s Chastain Park. As a member of the design team, with Harrison Design Associates and the Atlanta Taskforce on Play (now Play Atlanta), NLI led the design programming effort to...
NLI Receives DHEC Appreciation Coin
NLI NLI Receives DHEC Appreciation Coin NLI Receives DHEC Appreciation Coin Presented to NLI by Agency Director, Dr. Simmer Recognizes partners addressing the health and safety of South Carolina residents, improving the environment in which we live, and working for...
NC Crunch
NLI NC Crunch NC Crunch this Fall celebrated NC Farm to School and Early Care and Education Month by hosting events at more than a dozen Wake County Childcare including Bambino’s Playschool and A Safe Place Child Enrichment Center, with programs that support healthy...
Grow Outdoors South Carolina Launch
NLI Grow Outdoors South Carolina Launch Grow Outdoors SC, launched at the MEGA Child Development Center, Gilbert, SC (12-11-23), is a unique partnership of two SC state agencies (Social Services – DSS, and Health & Environmental Control – DHEC), three...
Happy Holidays 2023
Happy Holidays from the Natural Learning Initiative! Join us as we celebrate nature play and learning with our holiday postcard.
