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
Happy Holidays from the Natural Learning Initiative! Join us as we celebrate nature play and learning with our holiday postcard.
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
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
Montana youth win case re-affirming rights.
NLI Community of Interest
Designing Early Childhood Outdoor Environments Certificate Course
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
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
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
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
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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
Earth Day 2023
An 11-year-old’s message on nature’s importance in 1979.
Conestee Nature Playscape
Anne Springs Close Greenway
Free Woodchips
Early childhood outdoor play and learning resources.
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.
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
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.
Real-world places where NLI has provided professional landscape architecture design assistance.
Two to four page documents about implementing and maintaining nature-based play settings.
Web-based teaching tools and virtual experiences about exploring and designing nature-based play settings.
Learn more
Single-page documents about activities for children and caregivers in nature-based play settings.
A month-by-month newsletter series about nature-based activities for children and families at home.
Comprehensive projects that combine design assistance, research & evaluation, professional development, and dissemination & communications.
Printed and published books and resources about nature-based design, education, childhood, and more.
Published scientific research about nature-based design, childhood, behavior mapping, and more.
Videos created by NLI and our partners about nature-based design, education, childhood, and more.
Elements of outdoor learning environments that can be built and deployed at a low cost, but with a great impact.
Families, partners, neighborhoods and cities that help outdoor learning environments thrive and grow.
Information for raising resources to build and maintain outdoor learning environments.
Resources about growing plants and all the different ways it benefits young children.
Fruits and vegetables, trying and tasting, growing and eating. Learn how young children can be excited to eat nutritious food.
Building and constructing outdoor learning environments can be challenging. Find resources to guide your project.
Maintaining and sustaining outdoor learning environments is vital to their long-term success. Learn about managing environments.
Risk management in play areas is critical for certification and regulation. Learn how to create safe spaces and address concerns.
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.