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 administered through Nash Edgecombe Wilson Community Action, Inc. (NEW CA, Inc.). NLI is providing design and technical assistance to implement a high-quality, diverse, naturalized, outdoor environment demonstrating best practices, informed by the latest research, that support healthy development of Brentwood’s children.
NLI first worked with Brentwood Head Start as part of the Shape NC project, and will be building on the initial design to create naturalized play and learning spaces, including a future Early Head Start Program. Working collaboratively, the aim is to implement Head Start and Early Head Start model sites in Wilson County and across North Carolina.
All photographs are credited to: Brittani Halbert Photography
PNC Regional President, Jim Hansen (tallest, center), with the Brentwood Head Start nature-based outdoor play and learning environment implementation team (NLI, NEW CA, Inc., PNC Foundation, Brentwood leadership, teachers, and parents), including most important of all – children!
Schematic Design (Currently in progress)
Event Photographs
Nichelle Cole, NEW CA Executive Director, welcomes the implementation team to the PNC Foundation’s 20th Anniversary donation celebrating Grow Up Great (banner left of Nichelle).
PNC Regional President, Jim Hansen, explains “PNC Foundation’s major investment in high-quality nature-based outdoor play and learning environments.”
NC State professor, Robin Moore, NLI, explains how outdoor design can more strongly support healthy childhood development by diversifying play and learning opportunities and extending time outdoors – also demonstrating the intersection of landscape architecture and public health.
James Bullock, Education Manager, NEW CA, talks about the project impact on children by motivating more time outdoors, learning by engaging with nature. He welcomed the Brentwood children to explore the design and plant veggie seeds.
Brentwood Head Start children explore the design of their nature-based outdoor play and learning environment – at the same time extending spatial learning skills.
Children plant veggie seeds in small pots ready to observe sprouting in the classroom, to be transplanted later into the outdoor garden, and eventually harvested for kitchen preparation of healthy snacks and/or meals.