Autumn Leaves for Play and Learning

The changing color of the autumn leaves is a great opportunity for exploring science, art and literacy with young children. Here are some great ideas!

LOCAL FOODS: Childcare Center Production Gardens

Access this 8-part how-to series on gardening and cooking in childcare centers.

Natural Play - Loose Parts

Natural Loose Parts on the Green Desk and Affordable Settings and Elements.

Updates

Sir Walter Raleigh Award – Public Service

September 9, 2016

Beginning and Beyond Child Development Center, participant of the Preventing Obesity by Design (POD) project, along with instructors Carla Delcambre, PLA (Landscape Architecture), Julieta Sherk, PLA (Horticultural Sciences), and their students are the recipients of a Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Community Appearance in the Public Service category. These awards recognize new contributions to the aesthetics, character, and environmental appearance of the City of Raleigh. The Public Service category is given to groups or individuals who have created and implemented projects of any scale to an environment within Raleigh.

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Preventing Obesity by Design Expands to South Carolina and Texas

June 7, 2016

POD South Carolina was launched in 2015 in partnership with the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control. Now in the second year, the original five demonstration sites in Florence, SC were expanded in 2016 to include five additional sites in Spartanburg County.

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Events

Growing IN Place 2017

March 17, 2017

Save the Date: Friday March 17, 2017

Children and youth account for a quarter of the U.S. population. Up to a third live in metro areas. How can urban design expose and restore urban nature so children and youth engage with compelling, equitable places for creative play and learning? How can nonformal education in nature enrich playful learning in the arts and sciences? If learning no longer happens solely in school classrooms, can urban design and programming become an educational resource? How can cities be designed and managed to offer natural learning environments close at hand, to inspire young people to acquire an urban nature ethic?

14th Annual Design Institute

September 22, 2016 - September 23, 2016

Nature Every Day! Creating naturalized spaces for all children

September 22-23, 2016
NC Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC

Growing up in close contact with nature, in lush, ever-changing, enticing spaces that motivate exploration and discovery, is critical to the wellbeing of children and planet.

Creating environments for healthy human development and a healthy biosphere for generations to come.

Increasing numbers of children are losing contact with the natural world. The purpose of the Natural Learning Initiative is to promote the importance of the natural environment in the daily experience of all children, through environmental design, action research, education, and dissemination of information.

About Preventing Obesity by Design

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Green Desk!

The Green Desk is a resource for all things related to naturalized childrens environments.
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What Nature Teaches Children

For TEDxRaleigh 2016 Dr. Nilda Cosco talks about the opportunities the childcare setting offers to provide children with the many benefits of a daily connection with nature.