Happy Holidays 2023
Happy Holidays from the Natural Learning Initiative! Join us as we celebrate nature play and learning with our holiday postcard.
Supporting Naturalized Outdoor Play and Learning Environments in North Carolina Child Care Facilities
NLI Supporting Naturalized Outdoor Play and Learning Environments in North Carolina Child Care Facilities During the Fall of 2023, NLI collaborated with Horticultural Science, NC State, to implement nature-based design interventions in two North Carolina child-care...
NLI Newsletter – November / December 2023
Grow Outdoors South Carolina Launch
Unique partnership for outdoor learning.
NLI collaborates with NC State Horticultural Science Design-Build
Eating and Learning with Apples
NLI Holiday Card
OLE at Glencoe Mill Village
Project NLI OLE at Glencoe Mill Village The Outdoor Learning Environment in Glencoe Mill Village Historic District, Burlington, NC, was initiated by the Alamance County Partnership for Children in 2012 as an innovative, community-based, nature play and learning area...
The Catawba Nation iswa Early Learning Center
Project NLI The Catawba Nation iswa Early Learning Center The Catawba Nation, iswa Early Learning Center is working with NLI to naturalize their outdoor play and learning environment and make it more expressive of the iswa culture (iswa means “river...
North Carolina Division of Child Development Early Education
NLI North Carolina Division of Child Development Early Education In 2011, Creating a Supportive Network was successfully implemented in North Carolina as a collaborative project of the North Carolina Division of Child Development Early Education (NC-DCDEE) and the...
NLI Newsletter – October 2023
The Catawba Nation, iswa Early Learning Center
Naturalizing outdoor play and learning.
Examining Bugs and Plant Growth
NC-DCDEE and NLI Collaboration!
OLE at Glencoe Mill Village
Children’s Rights to a Healthy Future
NLI Children’s Rights to a Healthy Future Children’s right to a healthy future made historic progress in August 2023 when a group of Montana youth won a case re-affirming this right (Held vs. State of Montana), as covered by a 1972 amendment to the Montana state...
NLI’s Community of Interest
NLI NLI’s Community of Interest Thank you for taking part in NLI’s “community of interest” (COI) by subscribing to the Natural Learning Initiative Newsletter and using NLI resources! Subscribers like you are a diverse group based in 173 countries (see Google...
Texas Tech Colleague Wins 2023 ASLA Student Award of Excellence in Research
NLI Texas Tech Colleague Wins 2023 ASLA Student Award of Excellence in Research NLI Colleague Nazia Afrin Trina, MLA Student at Texas Tech University, was the recipient of the Award of Excellence in the Research Category for her work on “The Play Value of Plants.”...
NLI Newsletter – September 2023
Children’s Rights to A Healthy Future
Montana youth win case re-affirming rights.
NLI Community of Interest
Designing Early Childhood Outdoor Environments Certificate Course
NLI Newsletter – January 2023
Buenos Aires Ecological Reserve
The regenerative power of nature continues to inspire NLI’s passion for restoring biodiversity.
Ross Park Nature Play and Exploration Trail
NLI’s Early Childhood Professional Development Program is on a roll!
Need and Interest in Nature Prescriptions
NLI Newsletter – August 2023
2023 Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) Career and Organization Awards
Awarded to Robin Moore and the Natural Learning Initiative (NLI).
NLI Shorts! Weeding, Planting, & Watering
Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Environments Certificate Course
Designing Early Childhood Outdoor Environments Certificate Course
EDRA Awards 2023
NLI EDRA Awards 2023 The 2023 Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) Career and Organization Awards go to Robin Moore and the Natural Learning Initiative (NLI, co-founded by Robin Moore and Nilda Cosco, PhD, in 2000), College of Design, NC State University....
NLI Newsletter – July 2023
NLI Shorts! Broccoli–Trees You Can Eat!
Part of a series of 2-3-min YouTube videos on children’s outdoor play.
Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Environments Certificate Course
Washington Post Article: The future is a playground
Washington Terrace
Design interventions at Washington Terrace (WT)
NLI Design interventions at Washington Terrace (WT) Design interventions at Washington Terrace (WT), a 23-acre, rebuilt neighborhood in East Raleigh’s historic African American community, aimed at creating an active, healthy neighborhood, began in 2016 when NLI...
The future is a playground – Washington Post Article
NLI The future is a playground – Washington Post Article NLI’s Robin Moore was recently cited in a Washington Post article on the future of playgrounds. The article highlights several play spaces Moore was involved with including The Nature Playscape at the...
NLI Newsletter – June 2023
NLI Shorts! Examining & Sprouting Seeds
Part of a 2-3-min YouTube series on children’s outdoor play.
Nemours Children’s Health Convening 2023
Kids Together Playground
Schott Nature PlayScape
Nemours Children’s Health Healthy Kids, Healthy Future Technical Assistance Program Convening 2023
NLI Nemours Children’s Health Healthy Kids, Healthy Future Technical Assistance Program Convening 2023 NLI attended a virtual convening hosted from June 6-7 by the Nemours Children’s Health National Office of Policy and Prevention. This event brought together...
The Nature PlayScape at Cincinnati Nature Center
Project NLI The Nature PlayScape at Cincinnati Nature Center The Schott Nature PlayScape resulted from a NLI professional development course for regional landscape architects on designing for childhood and nature, delivered through collaboration with the Niehoff Urban...
Kids Together Playground
Project NLI Kids Together Playground Kids Together Playground (KTP), designed by Robin Moore with Little and Little Landscape Architects, opened coincident with NLI in 2000. The Town of Cary Parks Commission envisioned a family playscape based on universal and...
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Texas Tech Colleague Wins Poster Competition
NLI Texas Tech Colleague Wins Poster Competition Nazia Afrin Trina wins first place in the Graduate Student Poster Competition organized by the Texas Tech University Obesity Research Institute. Nazia Afrin Trina, an international student at Texas Tech...
NLI Newsletter – May 2023
The Importance of Hands-on Gardening
Results show preschool gardening increases activity, reduces sedentary time.
Acknowledging Ancestral Lands Statement Released
Introducing the Green Desk Tabbing System
Texas Tech Colleague Wins Poster Competition
NLI Newsletter – April 2023
Earth Day 2023
An 11-year-old’s message on nature’s importance in 1979.
Conestee Nature Playscape
Anne Springs Close Greenway
Free Woodchips
Acknowledging Ancestral Lands
Early childhood outdoor play and learning resources.
Earth Day 2023
NLI Earth Day 2023 “EVERYTHING SHOULD HAVE NATURE” was a World Environment Day message from an 11-year-old for the International Year of the Child (1979), participating in CHILDREN CAN TOO! – a project of the U.S. branch of IPA (International Play Association)* – an...
Anne Springs Close Greenway (ASCG)
Project NLI Anne Springs Close Greenway (ASCG) Anne Springs Close Greenway, Fort Mill, SC, Announces $125k Pledge to Support Children’s Nature Playscape Drive into the Anne Springs Close Greenway’s busiest entrance on any warm spring day and you are immediately met...
Soolyeon Cho, PhD
Soolyeon Cho, PhD, is Interim Director of NLI; Associate Dean of Research, Doctoral Programs, and Global Engagement; Professor of Architecture; Director of Building Energy Technology Lab (BETlab). Dr. Cho’s research is interdisciplinary, dealing with both architectural, environmental, and engineering subjects for the design and development of sustainable built environment.
Greenspring Montessori School
Project NLI Greenspring Montessori School Greenspring Montessori School (GMS), with five decades of growth serving the greater Baltimore region, decided it was time to assess the value of their outdoor environment and create a schematic design to guide future...
Free Wood Chips!
NLI Free Wood Chips! Local arborist companies often provide free wood chips from trees they trim to anyone in the area who requests them. Chips may include tiny sticks, leaves, etc., but they work well as mulch on pathways and as a ground cover in heavily...
NLI Newsletter – March 2023
NLI Welcomes Dr. Soolyeon Cho as Interim Director
Dr. Soolyeon Cho is the Interim Director of the Natural Learning Initiative.
Greenspring Montessori
Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Environments Certificate
Gardening With Young Children Course
Verner Central (VC) at Emma Elementary
Project NLI Verner Central (VC) at Emma Elementary Verner Central (VC) at Emma Elementary, the new Center for Early Learning in West Asheville, NC, grew from “Danny” Verner’s 2001 vision for early care and education for mountain area children and families. As NLI had...
Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Environments Certificate
Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Environments Certificate EARLY CHILDHOOD OUTDOOR LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS CERTIFICATE COURSE is targeted towards early childhood professionals and others interested in improving early childhood outdoor play and learning environments....
Gardening With Young Children Course
Gardening With Young Children Course The Gardening with Young Children Course is a 5-week self-paced distance learning course hosted on the NCSU online platform, Moodle. This course is worth 1.0 Continuing Education Units (CEUs). CEU is awarded by the McKimmon Center...
Start Small–With A Vision
NLI Start Small–With A Vision Kim Shaw will be giving a Keynote at Antioch University during the In Bloom Conference Educators observe children’s affinity to be outside. Once you learn the importance of that relationship, you want to commit to what it takes to make...
NLI Newsletter – February 2023
NLI Shorts! New Video Series Launched
“Harvesting Collards” is the first in a series of 3-min YouTube videos on gardening.
Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Environments Certificate
Verner Central (VC) at Emma Elementary
Start Small-With A Vision
Ross Park Playful Learning Forest
Project NLI Ross Park Playful Learning Forest The Ross Park Playful Learning Forest Master Plan (Design Program + Site Plan) was initiated with a community survey and a two- day site visit, including a stakeholder workshop facilitated by NLI. The vision projected by...
