Emerging Sprouts student, Sloane, climbs a tree during the after-school program. Students in the program take a three mile hike to a fort they have spent the school year building in the woods. Here, they can climb trees, build on to the fort, and explore the local ecosystem around them.
Wild Classroom
The rise of early childhood nature-based learning in Ohio
Photos, Video and Story by Samantha Grant
In 2012, there were approximately 20 licensed nature preschools in the United States. That number rose to 586 in 2020 and is now up to an estimated 800 according to a 2022 national survey performed by the North American Association for Environmental Education and the Natural Start Alliance. In Ohio alone, there are 25 licensed nature preschool and outdoor education programs listed on Ohio Nature Based Early Childhood Education’s website.
A nature-based learning program is defined by the Children & Nature Network as, "an educational approach that engages children with the natural environment as a pathway for learning." With a variety of traditional schooling options available through public and private schools, why has there been such a shift toward nature-based education?
“In nature, a child finds freedom, fantasy, and privacy: a place distant from the adult world, a separate peace.”
- Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder
Farm Day participant, Bella, holds a baby chick in the barn during Family Farm Day a Troubadour Valley Farms in Glouster, Ohio. This is the first such event hosted by farm owners Jazzma and Ray Quinn.
Troubadour Valley Farms
In 2021, Jazzma and Ray Quinn purchased 120 acres of land in Glouster, Ohio, and named it Troubadour Valley Farms. Soon after purchasing the property, Jazzma imagined creating a variety of youth education programs that could take place on the farm. Jazzma became more serious about making the program happen in 2024, but it was put on the back burner when the Quinns became pregnant with their first child in April.
The idea gained steam again when Ohio University Outdoor Recreation and Education student Alyssa Kassouf posted on Facebook in July of 2024 looking to gain experience in farm work and find an internship for her Event Planning Certificate. The Quinn’s took Kassouf under their wing and together they came up with the idea of a Family Farm Day to provide local families and children with a hands-on homesteading experience. The group spent four months planning and preparing for the event.
"We can continue expading on [farm day] and hopefully [allow] more families to come. . . get back to their roots of where their food comes from."
-Jazzma Quinn
Alyssa Kassouf, an Outdoor Recreation and Education student at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, shovels old hay into a wheelbarrow in the barn at Troubadour Valley Farms. In July of 2024, Alyssa posted on Facebook showing interest in learning the skills needed to farm and work on a homestead. Jazzma, interested in starting programs for children, quickly responded to Alyssa and hired her as an intern for the farm.
Alyssa feeding three calves recently purchased by the Quinns. They purchased the calves to grow their farm as well as provide farm day participants with a hands-on opportunity to work with, pet and feed young animals.
Alyssa Kassouf and Jazzma Quinn sit in the barn to relax and pet the goats after Alyssa put down new bedding in preparation for farm day.
Troubadour Valley Farm’s first Family Farm Day took place on Oct. 6, 2024. Activities at the event included feeding goats, chickens and horses; collecting farm fresh eggs; holding baby chicks; painting rocks and much more. Entry for each family was $10 and included one bucket of grain and half a carton of eggs. While the event was tailored to young children, parents were also active participants and learners. “The farm day with my son was such an amazing experience. . . It was incredible to see his excitement and curiosity as he interacted with the animals,” said attendee and parent, Jill Myers.
Clifton Cardwell holds his son, Clifton II, while feeding Daisy the foal. This year, participants were only able to pet and feed the animals on the farm. Next year, the Quinns are hoping to provide horse riding for children in their round pen.
Jill Myers holds a baby chick to show to her niece, Hudson. Jazzma Quinn purchased 12 chicks for farm day in order to educate children on the life cycle of chickens and where their food comes from.
The Quinns and Alyssa expected a small turnout for their first run as they did not advertise the program to a large audience, but 15 minutes before the event was scheduled to start there were already six cars in their parking lot. Jazzma and Alyssa estimate about 60 people visited the farm over the two-hour span of the event. “I was just really hopeful that we would get ten cars. . . or sets of people, and by about ten ‘til the start time, we already had ten vehicles easily” Jazzma states.
Jazzma is putting event planning on hold while she prepares for the arrival of her son in February of 2025, but the interest shown by the community in Family Farm Day has encouraged her to continue to provide these educational experiences in the future.
Alyssa walking on the farm with the Quinn’s dogs. Alyssa will continue to work at the farm helping with farm jobs and learning how to homestead. The Quinns hope to utilize what Alyssa helped them create this year to plan future farm day programs for local children and families.
Students of BrightPath Active Learning in Westerville, Ohio play in one of the school's outdoor learning spaces during their afternoon recess.
BrightPath Active Learning
Nestled in the Columbus suburb of Westerville, Ohio, Bright Path Active Learning was founded in 2011 by Erica Wares as an “other half of the day” enrichment program for local kindergartners. Primarily serving the nearby school districts of Westerville, Big Walnut and Olentangy, this focused on after-school care that brought kids outside such as field trips to local creeks and parks to explore. As interest has grown, so has their programming.
BrightPath students work on math worksheets in one of the school's indoor classroom spaces. BrightPath implements both indoor and outdoor learning styles.
BrightPath student works on completing a puzzle in on of the school’s indoor classroom spaces. The students often work with hands on activities while they have free time between their educational programming and outdoor play.
BrightPath teacher, Toni Arnold, leads students in a song to get their attention before they head outside for their afternoon outdoor programming. BrightPath offers half day kindergarten and pre-school programs, but many children also stay for their afternoon programming which consists of more free-play activities.
In 2020, BrightPath built and moved into a larger building space and now offers a variety of programming including preschool for ages 3 and up, full-day kindergartens, K-5 after-school care, and summer camp. Now, almost all of their programming takes place on-site within their outdoor learning spaces. The school has six classroom spaces each with a connected outdoor learning space equipped with hands-on nature-based learning activities.
“We follow a philosophy of play-based learning, giving children an opportunity to really develop their whole selves, which includes social emotional learning, how to be part of a classroom community. . . really developing who they are going to be when they grow up” Wares states.
BrightPath student plays in a stack of tires during the school’s morning outdoor time.
BrightPath student plays with outdoor metal board and magnetic letters.
Scribbles by BrightPath students on an outdoor chalkboard.
Wares recalls her time living in Norway with her family when discussing her motivation for starting the school, “It was really in Norway that I started to develop this appreciation for the different ways that children learn . . . I started to realize that here in the States, we have very few choices for our children.”
This sentiment of a desire for educational options is echoed in BrightPath parents. Beth Sertell has had both of her daughters enrolled in various BrightPath programs over the last five years. Sertell states, “I realized as our kids were coming out of traditional pre-school, there was something lacking or missing as far as nature and hands-on [experiences].”
As her children have aged out of BrightPath and are now in public elementary schools, she attributes a lot of their academic and social-emotional success to the foundation of nature-based education provided by BrightPath. “Their ability to be curious, to ask questions, to not gravitate toward screens, to know how to make friends in different environments has helped them with their confidence in traditional school,” said Sertell.
BrightPath students explore a log and look for insects in one of the schools outdoor spaces during their afternoon programming.
BrightPath students participate in mindful breathing classes during an afternoon yoga class. The students were asked to, “breathe in and hold what you are thankful for close to your heart,” by yoga instructor Molly Goad.
Yoga instructor Molly Goad leads BrightPath students in stretches during an afternoon yoga class. Goad works with a local organization called The Balanced Child Method. This group goes to local schools to provide these yoga classes with the mission of, “empowering children, their families and their teachers to work through stress, express themselves through movement and navigate all of life’s hurdles.”
Preethi Mony is the Environmental Education Grant and Program Manager for the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). As someone who works closely in environmental education, Mony found it important to introduce her child to these programs. “For me, BrightPath did what I would have loved to do with my child, but couldn’t because of work,” Mony states.
Mony has seen changes in the education system as programs moved online due to the impact of COVID-19. She feels as though there is an influx of video based content in children’s lives that is removing them from critical thinking skills.“Nature teaches you patience, online videos are all about content in a few minutes or seconds. I think COVID really impacted imagination and patience,” Mony said.
She believes that many urban and suburban children are no longer connected to nature, because they do not directly see how the land they live on provides their food, water and other recourses. “There is so much beauty in nature, and it’s so easy to miss when focused on a digital device. Nature based schooling provides invaluable life lessons that are hard to replicate within a brick and mortar building,” Mony said.
“Technology has changed rapidly over the last few years, so the parents of today can see the vast difference between their childhood and their kids’. I think this has led to an increase in interest in nature-based programs.”
- Preethi Mony
Roots student, Emmett, hula hoops in front of the school’s cottage during free-play time in between programming.
Solid Ground School
Solid Ground School located in Athens, Ohio, was co-founded by Christin Butler and Weston Lombard and officially opened its doors in the fall of 2019. Butler currently serves as the executive director, while Lombard teaches Nature and Entrepreneurship. The school operates independently on a 17-acre farm and serves students from kindergarten through sixth grade. Students at the school are technically listed as home-educated by the Ohio Department of Education due to it’s independent status.
Pre-school and kindergarten teacher at Solid Ground, Keith Barron, gets Roots students ready on the porch of the cabin schoolhouse to go inside for lunch. Instead of typical names for grade levels, the school uses the names Roots (pre-k/k), Shoots (1-2), Saplings (3-4), and Branches (5-6).
Shoots students, Kamila (left) and Violet (right), talk and work on English homework in the schools primary schoolhouse. This schoolhous houses Shoots, Saplings, and Branches classrooms.
Shelves of learning tools and toys used by the Roots class in the cabin schoolhouse.
The school follows a primarily place-based curriculum, which Butler defines as “trusting professional educators, children, and a community to collaboratively figure out what values we want to give our children.” In the rural and semi-rural community of Athens—much like many other communities in the United States—this approach tends to foster a deeper understanding of nature.
For Butler, these individualized methods are essential in addressing environmental concerns.“Nobody is going to come along and solve climate change with one solution; it’s going to be custom-fit solutions...every town, every village, every neighborhood, every family, every community figuring out what works where they are,” Butler states.
Students, Rosalie (left), Ruth (middle) and Nora (right), run down the hill that heads to the school’s pasture during afternoon free-play time.
Teacher Keith Barron leads an afternoon lesson in engineering and design with the Roots class. The students were tasked to design a launching devise using an applesauce pouch.
Branches students play on a small jungle gym located in the schools pasture during afternoon free-play before pick up.
Nearby, at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, the Department of Early and Middle Childhood Education is continually adapting to ever-changing trends in educational approaches. “We frequently see curricular programs come and go in education. I think, due to living in this capitalistic society, much of the reason for ‘throwing the baby out with the bathwater’ is because changing programs [make] money for the producers of these programs,” states Martha Evans, an assistant professor of instruction in the department. Evans continues, “I feel that the sanitized, mass-production approach that we are using in teaching our children today sells them short.”
Roots students, Hugo (left) and Lena (right), roll down a hill on the property to get to their next activity.
Roots student, Ruth, puts on her rain boots before going outside to play. All of the students are required to bring outdoor specific clothing such as boots, wader pants and rain coats to school every day.
Shoots student, Violet, draws on a chalkboard during the schools daily choice time. During choice time, the students are provided a list of learning activities they can choose to participate in such as drawing, music, reading and much more. The students put their name down for one activity and then have to switch and try another activity after some time has passed.
With an increasing number of educational approaches moving online due to the impact of COVID-19, Evans views the shift toward nature-based programs as a positive development. “When raised in an environment promoting nature, people understand the connections between living things...and experience more confidence about decision-making,” Evans states.
“It has been said that nature-based education helps children love something so they can save it. What I would say is love is not enough. Without knowledge to go along with that love, you could end up doing more harm than good.”
- Christin Butler
All staff and students of Solid Ground School sit in a circle at the bottom of the school’s property to prepare for their weekly community time. During community time, students work in teams of varying age groups to work on projects such as fort building. Teacher, Autumn Warren, leads the group in mindful breathing exercises.
Roots student, Hugo, listens to other student’s ideas about their fort during community time.
Emerging Sprouts founder, Emma Emmerich, teaches students about trees native to Ohio on their after-school hike.
Emerging Sprouts
Emma Emmerich founded Emerging Sprouts Forest School in Berkeley, California in January of 2017 as a 100% outdoor schooling program, rain or shine. When Emmerich was working in classrooms in Berkeley, she realized that the young students were not getting enough time outside and this was reflected in the behavior within the classroom. “The behavior within the class was extreme…whenever students could go on a field trip or to a park that had trees, the behavior was massively improved. They could experience all of their emotions and integrate them easier because they had the outdoor space,” Emmerich said.
“We’re trying to take out barriers to outdoor education.”
- Emma Emmerich
Emma Emmerich, shows after-school student, Maya, berries from the invasive porcelain-berry plant. The group learns how the berries are inedible, but can be used to paint on rocks or the sticks that make up their outdoor fort.
After care students at Emerging Sprouts school play in the outdoor fort they have spent their school year building. Each week, the kids hike to the fort and engage in exploratory play where they add to the fort and interact with the plants and animals around them.
As the program got its footing and Emmerich noticed increased interest in what she was creating, she wanted to bring a branch of the school to her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. The Cincinnati branch was founded in 2021.
The school serves children from the ages of 3 months to 12 years old, and its mission is, “to provide outdoor education by developing and providing age-appropriate nature-based educational opportunities, to improve students’ understanding of scientific curricula, to support students in building strong foundations based in social-emotional support, and to educate students about the natural world.” To achieve this, the school also began expanding its offerings by partnering with public schools to provide after-school programming that could serve a broader population of students.
Emerging Sprouts teacher and parent Sam Hutmier leads a morning toddler creek class while her son, Silas, sits on her lap and eats a snack. “My passion is working with kids in nature and it felt so awesome to be able to bring my child to the class and facilitate it at the same time,” Hutmier states.
Emma Emmerich interacts with parents and kids participating in the morning toddler creek class. During these classes, parents join their children in exploring the ecosystem of local creeks and looking for wildlife.
LEFT Emma Emmerich shows student, Loic, a salamander found in the creek. The group found many small animals in the creek such as baby crayfish and various species of salamander. Emma gave kids and parents the chance to safely touch and hold the salamander before releasing it back into the water.
RIGHT Parent, Rebecca, holds her son, Loic, while the classes teachers read a story to the group. Each class begins with a good morning song and ends with a story followed by a goodbye song.
While Emerging Sprouts has seen success in growing enrollment numbers and increased curiosity about their program, Emmerich cites cost as a major barrier, “we would like to be able to offer our programming to everyone for free and obviously that’s not going to be a sustainable model for us so we’re always looking for new ways to get more families into our programming… if every single public school student could access our program, that’s actually my dream.”
After-school student, Arlo, sits in and looks up at the fort built by all of the students over the course of the school year.