• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
NLI
  • Home
    • About NLI
    • Think & Do
    • Our Team
    • NLI Clients
  • Design Assistance
  • Professional Development
  • Research & Evaluation
    • POEMS
    • USDA COLEAFS
  • Resources
    • NLI Resource Hub
    • COVID Resources
    • Gardening with Children Resources
    • The Green Desk
    • Infosheets & Leaflets
    • Media
    • Montessori
    • Natural Learning at Home®
    • Plant Database
    • Publications
    • Virtual Field Trip
  • Programs
    • POD
    • Shape NC
    • Healthy Habits, Healthy Kids
    • Healthy Starts for Infants & Toddlers
    • USDA COLEAFS
    • Grow Outdoors SC
    • OLE! Texas
    • ECHO
  • News
Select Page

Food

Fruit or Vegetable?

Fruit or Vegetable?

Fairy Soup Kitchen

Fairy Soup Kitchen

Eating and Sharing

Eating and Sharing

Preschool Gardening Activity Guide

Preschool Gardening Activity Guide

COVID Support we’re all in this together!

COVID Support we’re all in this together!

NLH October

NLH October

Research Brief: Impact of Naturalized Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Environments

Research Brief: Impact of Naturalized Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Environments

POD

POD

POD Wake Co. Gathering and Tour 2018

POD Wake Co. Gathering and Tour 2018

ABC Land, Inc.

ABC Land, Inc.

A Safe Place Child Enrichment Center, Inc.

A Safe Place Child Enrichment Center, Inc.

Nilda Cosco, PhD

Nilda Cosco, PhD

Edible Plants for Play and Learning

Edible Plants for Play and Learning

POD Wake Co. Gathering and Tour 2017

POD Wake Co. Gathering and Tour 2017

Greensboro Children’s Museum Edible Schoolyard

Greensboro Children’s Museum Edible Schoolyard

First Environments Early Learning Center

First Environments Early Learning Center

Preventing Obesity by Design (POD1)

Preventing Obesity by Design (POD1)

Preventing Obesity by Design (POD2)

Preventing Obesity by Design (POD2)

USDA COLEAFS

USDA COLEAFS

Sunflower Houses

Sunflower Houses

Naturalizing Chain link Fences

Naturalizing Chain link Fences

Bees, Wasps, and Other Pollinators

Bees, Wasps, and Other Pollinators

Harvesting and Eating Sunflower Seeds

Harvesting and Eating Sunflower Seeds

Winter Play and Learning Outdoors

Winter Play and Learning Outdoors

Farm to Preschool

Farm to Preschool

Theme Gardens

Theme Gardens

Creating a Butterfly Garden

Creating a Butterfly Garden

Growing Gourds for Birdhouses

Growing Gourds for Birdhouses

Having a Picnic

Having a Picnic

Learning About Birds, Bugs, and other Critters

Learning About Birds, Bugs, and other Critters

Plant of the Month: August – Passionflower

Plant of the Month: August – Passionflower

Trail Mix Activity Leaflet

Trail Mix Activity Leaflet

Gardening with Children Resources

Gardening with Children Resources

Wayne Community College Child Care Center

Wayne Community College Child Care Center

The Early Learning Center

The Early Learning Center

Mountain Area Child and Family Center

Mountain Area Child and Family Center

Miss M’s Tot University

Miss M’s Tot University

Kids & Company

Kids & Company

Haywood Center for the Advancement of Children

Haywood Center for the Advancement of Children

Growing IN Place Symposium 2015

Growing IN Place Symposium 2015

« Older Entries
Next Entries »

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.

NLI Logo

facebook Instagram YouTube

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

SUPPORT US

Please Donate

WAYFINDING

NLI Wayfinding
© 2025 NC State University. All rights reserved.
Close
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.

Learn more

Close

What are NLI Resource Hub Categories?

Design Sites

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

Learn more

Infosheets

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

Learn more

Interactive Apps

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

Learn more

Leaflets

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

Learn more

Natural Learning at Home

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

Learn more

Programs

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

Learn more

Publications

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

Learn more

Research

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

Learn more

The Green Desk

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

Learn more

Videos

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

Learn more

Close

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.

Close

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.