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Infants & Toddlers Outdoors: Best Practice Toolkit (partial)

Infants & Toddlers Outdoors: Best Practice Toolkit (partial)

NC Solar Farm: Agrivoltaics Project

NC Solar Farm: Agrivoltaics Project

Infants & Toddlers Outdoors: Best Practice Toolkit (partial)

Protected: Infants & Toddlers Outdoors: Best Practice Toolkit (partial)

Earth Day 2023

Earth Day 2023

Kids in the Woods at Hoffler Creek Wildlife Preserve

Kids in the Woods at Hoffler Creek Wildlife Preserve

Conestee Nature Preserve: Nature Playscape

Conestee Nature Preserve: Nature Playscape

Preschool Outdoors: Best Practice Toolkit (2nd Ed.)

Preschool Outdoors: Best Practice Toolkit (2nd Ed.)

Developing an Earth-bound Culture

Developing an Earth-bound Culture

02. Top Ten Activity Settings For Outdoor Learning

02. Top Ten Activity Settings For Outdoor Learning

09. Pathway Designs

09. Pathway Designs

15. Sand Play Settings

15. Sand Play Settings

21. Creating Terrariums

21. Creating Terrariums

23. Straw Bale Planters

23. Straw Bale Planters

25. Harvesting Water with Rain Barrels

25. Harvesting Water with Rain Barrels

26. Wildlife Gardens

26. Wildlife Gardens

33. Earth Play Settings

33. Earth Play Settings

Creating Inclusive Naturalized Outdoor Play Environments

Creating Inclusive Naturalized Outdoor Play Environments

The Farm

The Farm

Sorting Our Seasons

Sorting Our Seasons

Ice Painting

Ice Painting

Garden Yoga

Garden Yoga

Fence Weaving

Fence Weaving

Eating and Sharing

Eating and Sharing

NLH April

NLH April

NLH May

NLH May

Research Brief: Impact of Naturalized Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Environments

Research Brief: Impact of Naturalized Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Environments

POD

POD

Landscape Plants for Play and Learning

Landscape Plants for Play and Learning

The Elizabeth Ann Clune Montessori School of Ithaca

The Elizabeth Ann Clune Montessori School of Ithaca

Developing an Earth-bound Culture Through Design of Childhood Habitats

Developing an Earth-bound Culture Through Design of Childhood Habitats

Bees, Wasps, and Other Pollinators

Bees, Wasps, and Other Pollinators

Pressure Treated Wood

Pressure Treated Wood

Spring Outdoor Play: Making the Most of the Season

Spring Outdoor Play: Making the Most of the Season

Learning About Birds, Bugs, and other Critters

Learning About Birds, Bugs, and other Critters

Questions About Digging in the Dirt

Questions About Digging in the Dirt

Plant of the Month: August – Passionflower

Plant of the Month: August – Passionflower

13th Annual NLI Design Institute

13th Annual NLI Design Institute

10th Annual NLI Design Institute

10th Annual NLI Design Institute

VIEW DISCLAIMER

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.

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CONTACT

College of Design
NC State University
Campus Box 7701
Raleigh, NC 27695-7701


919-515-8345 voice
919-515-7330 fax
naturalearning@ncsu.edu

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WAYFINDING

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children smelling herbs in garden with teacher

Growing Up with Nature

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.

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What are NLI Resource Hub Categories?

Design Sites

Real-world places where NLI has provided professional landscape architecture design assistance.

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Infosheets

Two to four page documents about implementing and maintaining nature-based play settings.

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Interactive Apps

Web-based teaching tools and virtual experiences about exploring and designing nature-based play settings.

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Leaflets

Single-page documents about activities for children and caregivers in nature-based play settings.

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Natural Learning at Home

A month-by-month newsletter series about nature-based activities for children and families at home.

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Programs

Comprehensive projects that combine design assistance, research & evaluation, professional development, and dissemination & communications.

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Publications

Printed and published books and resources about nature-based design, education, childhood, and more.

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Research

Published scientific research about nature-based design, childhood, behavior mapping, and more.

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The Green Desk

A blog series responding to NLI’s most frequently-asked-questions.

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Videos

Videos created by NLI and our partners about nature-based design, education, childhood, and more.

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What are NLI Resource Hub Tags?

Affordable Settings

Elements of outdoor learning environments that can be built and deployed at a low cost, but with a great impact.

Community Engagement

Families, partners, neighborhoods and cities that help outdoor learning environments thrive and grow.

Fundraising

Information for raising resources to build and maintain outdoor learning environments.

Gardening

Resources about growing plants and all the different ways it benefits young children.

Healthy Eating

Fruits and vegetables, trying and tasting, growing and eating. Learn how young children can be excited to eat nutritious food.

Outdoor Installation

Building and constructing outdoor learning environments can be challenging. Find resources to guide your project.

Outdoor Management

Maintaining and sustaining outdoor learning environments is vital to their long-term success. Learn about managing environments.

Outdoor Safety

Risk management in play areas is critical for certification and regulation. Learn how to create safe spaces and address concerns.

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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.