When Espie Chapman began teaching introductory agriculture classes at Kailua Intermediate School three years ago, the plot of land near her classroom was mostly vacant except for a small orchard of fruit trees.

Chapman had no farming experience, but she was determined to create a space where her seventh and eighth grade students could grow fresh fruits and vegetables. She asked the teens what they wanted to plant and got to work purchasing wheelbarrows and seeds for her class.

The school鈥檚 garden now produces fruits and vegetables like bok choy, spinach and papaya that Chapman鈥檚 students transform into soups and salads to sample during class.

鈥淲e just try and look at what鈥檚 in our farm, and what kind of recipes can we do with that,鈥� Chapman said. 鈥淚f they鈥檙e going to try and eat it, we鈥檒l make it happen.鈥�

Chapman鈥檚 class teaches teens about nutrition and sustainability, but while students are cooking the kind of locally sourced and culturally relevant lunches that the Hawaii Department of Education aspires to provide in all schools, they can鈥檛 actually serve meals in the cafeteria.

DOE previously ran a pilot program to train schools on food safety and enable them to serve produce from their gardens, but the program has been on pause since the Covid-19 pandemic. Without it, Chapman would have to figure out how to meet strict federal and state protocols on her own to supply the school鈥檚 cafeteria with produce from the garden.

DOE did not respond to questions about the status of the Garden to Cafeteria program and whether schools will be able to participate in the future.

Approximately 85% of Hawaii schools have gardens, but only a few have serious agricultural programs where students earn certifications as food handlers or gain firsthand experience harvesting and selling produce and using sustainable growing methods.

Typically teachers use school gardens for lessons ranging from the life cycle of a plant to a poetry unit focused on nature. But some want to take their lessons a step further by using produce from the gardens in school meals, exposing more kids to fresh fruits and vegetables and giving students a sense of ownership over what they鈥檙e eating.

DOE has historically struggled to increase the use of local ingredients in school lunches, and advocates say gardens can encourage students to eat healthier.

鈥淪chool gardens can galvanize a community,鈥� said Natalie McKinney, chief program officer of the Kokua Hawaii Foundation, which promotes environmental education and runs a learning farm in Haleiwa.

鈥楢 Hidden Gem鈥�

Third grade teacher Rex Dubiel Shanahan planted a garden at Sunset Elementary when she first started teaching in 1987 and takes pride in showing students how to plant seeds or make kimchi using the carrots they grow.

鈥淵ou can teach almost everything through the garden,鈥� Dubiel Shanahan said.

Sunset Elementary participates in the Aina In Schools program, which is run by the Kokua Hawaii Foundation and provides schools with activities that tie gardening to lessons in science and nutrition. But, Dubiel Shanahan said, she would like more schools to have access to resources on sustainability and healthy eating for students.

In recent years, DOE has offered more professional development opportunities for teachers interested in starting gardens. It has developed resources for schools to create peace gardens to support student mental health and is helping teachers incorporate more lessons about native plants into their classes, said Jennifer Ryan, the department鈥檚 school garden coordinator.

Even with more resources and professional development available, it can be daunting for teachers to maintain school gardens on their own, said Waikiki Elementary Principal Ryan Kusuda. Schools don鈥檛 have a dedicated source of funding to hire full-time garden coordinators, and many campuses rely on families and teachers when it comes to weeding, harvesting and other tasks.

Waikiki Elementary has the extra budget to pay for a sustainability teacher and a part-time farm manager dedicated to facilitating student learning and keeping up the garden, Kusuda said, adding it would be difficult to maintain the space solely through volunteers.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a hidden gem,鈥� Kusuda said, adding that the school has roughly 80 fruit trees supplying tangerines and starfruit that students can sample during class.

In some cases, schools use gardens to help jump-start students鈥� careers.

In Leilehua High School鈥檚 career and technical education program, students in the natural resources pathway are responsible for 3.5 acres of land on which they grow lettuce, beets, radishes and more. CTE teacher Jackie Freitas requires her students to earn their certifications in food handling and gain experience selling produce to teachers and families every week.

鈥淲e are trying to help our community and provide them with fresh produce that they can afford and that they know is safe,鈥� Freitas said.

Other schools have taught their students the importance of eating local by drawing on their gardens to supply produce to their cafeterias.

Last month, students at the Hawaii Academy of Arts and Science supplied 160 pounds of kalo from their garden to the cafeteria. Cooks at the Big Island charter school turned the taro into poi, which students enjoyed with their lunches of kalua pork and rice, said teacher Wendy Baker.

While the gardens don鈥檛 produce enough fruits and vegetables to supply 600 lunches every day, Baker added, occasionally incorporating food from the garden in school lunches helps students appreciate the time and effort that goes into their meals.

鈥淲hen they help the garden, the garden helps them,鈥� Baker said.

But including produce from the garden in school meals raises the stakes when it comes to requirements around food safety.

Schools already follow best practices around harvesting and preparing produce, such as requiring students to sanitize their hands and thoroughly wash their fruits and vegetables, said Debbie Millikan, a member of the Hawaii Farm to School Network and director of sustainability at Punahou School. But when it comes to growing food for school meals, campuses need to comply with additional state and federal guidelines like testing their water for E. coli every year and tracking the exact location where students harvest produce.

If students get sick from school meals, Millikan said, it鈥檚 important for schools to identify the source of the problem and know where their ingredients originate.

鈥淔ood safety and garden safety is absolutely critical, no matter whether you鈥檙e growing it at home or growing in a school garden,鈥� Millikan said. 鈥淭he record-keeping part is really critical because you鈥檙e serving a large group of students a large amount of food.鈥�

In 2018, DOE started a Garden to Cafeteria pilot program to adopt federal regulations around food safety and apply them to schools. Participating campuses were required to document their compliance with water, soil and food safety requirements in order to incorporate fruits and vegetables from their gardens into meals.

A dozen schools participated in the three-year pilot, but frequent turnover in DOE鈥檚 food services branch put the program on pause as schools reopened during the Covid-19 pandemic, said Dennis Chase, program manager at the Hawaii Public Health Institute. Most schools, including past participants in the pilot, haven鈥檛 been able to serve food from their gardens since.

McKinney at the Kokua Hawaii Foundation said she鈥檚 hopeful DOE will revive the program. Schools are unlikely to grow at the scale they need to produce all their own food, she added, but it鈥檚 important to incorporate more local produce in school meals so students will be more receptive to trying new fruits and vegetables in the future.

Other Ways To Meet School Food Needs

Numerous schools on the mainland 鈥� and a few in Hawaii 鈥� have been able to tackle food safety issues to grow food for their lunch programs, proving that the challenge is not insurmountable.

San Diego launched a program 10 years ago to train teachers and garden coordinators on how to safely plant and harvest food for school lunches, said Janelle Manzano, the district鈥檚 farm-to-school program specialist. Before the pandemic, she added, 10 to 15 schools participated in the program, although the number dropped to five last year.

It鈥檚 been difficult for some campuses to revive their gardens after the pandemic, Manzano said, but she鈥檚 hopeful more schools will start growing their own produce in the coming year.

At Leilehua High School, Freitas was undeterred when DOE鈥檚 Garden to Cafeteria pilot ended. Last year, Freitas received a Good Agricultural Practices certification from the United States Department of Agriculture for the school鈥檚 hydroponic greenhouse. The greenhouse is subject to audits twice a year to make sure students are following safety requirements for harvesting produce and tracking their cleaning and sanitation schedules.

The certification means Leilehua鈥檚 greenhouse is held to the same standards as commercial farms and can supply produce to the cafeteria like any other vendor, Freitas said. While the garden鈥檚 safety procedures have not changed much, she added, students are now required to keep a more detailed record of when they clean their tools and harvest produce.

Freitas said her students are still working with cafeteria staff to determine how the produce can fit into the school鈥檚 meal plan, but she鈥檚 hoping the process will help them understand how they can contribute to food production in Hawaii and take pride in their work.

鈥淚t can be done,鈥� Freitas said.

This story was originally published on Honolulu Civil Beat. 

Civil Beat鈥檚 education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy.

鈥淗awaii Grown鈥� is funded in part by grants from the Stupski Foundation, Ulupono Fund at the Hawaii Community Foundation and the Frost Family Foundation.

Winter is coming鈥nd so is adventure.

The in Islip, New York, is a conservation organization with popular outdoor education offerings that Long Island families rely on for connection and inspiration. The pandemic鈥檚 sudden arrival forced a quick reassessment of how to stay connected to the children and families.

Starting with the premise that many families might not have easy access to even ordinary items like binoculars or magnifying glasses, the team created a series of daily nature challenges. Their venture 鈥� and the enthusiastic responses it provoked 鈥� can create a template for any of us seeking to keep adventure alive even as winter approaches.

For those wishing to create mini field trips to nurture their children鈥檚 connection with nature, Seatuck鈥檚 Education Director Peter Walsh advises to start small and close at hand.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really just about exploring and it can be something as simple as, 鈥楪o watch the sunset. Tonight, try to see it from your yard or window or somewhere safe, and take a picture of it or draw it. Don鈥檛 do anything else: just enjoy a sunset.鈥欌��

The operating principle in these mini adventures is wonder, he says, and wonder doesn鈥檛 require anything except presence. Just be there and notice what鈥檚 there to be noticed. Some examples:

• Observe different kinds of birds, then draw a picture of them (adults, too: pick up those colored pencils and give it a go!) or have a conversation while describing the birds in as much detail as each of you can remember: the size of the bird, its colors, the shape of the feathers, beaks and feet.
• If you have any leftover color swatches from the paint store, let the children take them along on their walk and see if they can find those colors in nature.
• Find an anthill and, from a respectful distance, sit back and watch them work. If that doesn鈥檛 provoke at least a little wonder, well, pay closer attention.
• Listen to the sound of your sneakers walking over crisp fallen leaves.
• How would you describe the smell of freshly mown grass?

Don鈥檛 make the adventure a test (鈥淟et鈥檚 see how much you remember, Jenny鈥�), an opportunity for a lecture or a chore. The second it becomes a 鈥渉ave to,鈥� is the moment it quits being an adventure. Children don鈥檛 need to be instructed every moment they鈥檙e outdoors to 鈥済et them to learn.鈥� When they鈥檙e outdoors and they鈥檙e looking, they鈥檙e learning. Maybe synthesize some of that when you get back to the house, but don鈥檛 let your drive to pack education into every moment keep them (and you) from actually being in the moment.

Remember that adventures can be had in all kinds of weather. There鈥檚 an old joke from the Midwest, where people play hockey, curling, go ice fishing, cross-country skiing and ice caving in the worst weather: 鈥淭here鈥檚 no bad weather, only bad clothes.鈥� So dress your kiddos well and take them out year-round. Kids love holding their wee faces up to the rain, letting snowflakes hit the tongue, splashing in puddles, building snow forts, and sledding or tubing down snowy hills. Do you remember that you used to love that, too?

The Seatuck team鈥檚 challenges frequently center around becoming aware of the beauty that surrounds all of us, every day.

鈥淥ne of the experiments is, 鈥業t鈥檚 going to be clear tonight, so watch the sky at sunset and notice how many different colors you can see in 10 minutes,鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淲hen we did it, we found five different shades of blue.鈥�

If you鈥檙e really observing and not just passing by, nature presents an abundance of beautiful objets d鈥檃rt. Make a frame from an old box or paper; create an artwork by placing the frame around that incredible rock or shiny bug your preschooler found, then take a picture. Maybe no one had noticed before how gorgeous those beetle鈥檚 wings are, but once a child really sees them, they will never forget that iridescence.

Quests fuel many adventures, and the quest can be for something as mundane as 鈥淔ind five different shades of green,鈥� or 鈥淔ind three different kinds of bugs,鈥� or 鈥淐an we find two different kinds of pinecones today?鈥� 鈥淔ind five kinds of leaves. Look how different they are from each other.鈥�

If you find an abundance of green leaves, let the kids gather some up and smush them with a mortar and pestle (or DIY equivalent, such as a big rock and a little rock), then add water and let the children paint with the chlorophyll. The paint will have the color and consistency of watercolor, so don鈥檛 expect vibrant pigment. But it will be cool.

Add a community element by creating a scavenger hunt that the children design themselves. Leave the things where you and the kids spotted them, then give the list to your neighbors or other family members and see how many they can find. (Then celebrate the win no matter how small. As any Greek hero would tell us, a victory isn鈥檛 a victory without some festivity.)

Save your toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls because those things are adventurer treasure. One alone becomes a telescope, two taped together make binoculars (鈥淭he kids will swear it makes everything closer,鈥� Walsh says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 OK. It鈥檚 all about getting them to focus on an object and really look at that one specific thing.鈥�). A single paper towel roll becomes a 鈥渢oot-da-doo!鈥� because who can resist holding one up and toodling triumphantly? Several being 鈥減layed鈥� at once becomes a cacophony and sometimes, a little cacophony is good for the soul.

When you head out, remember to take a paper bag or backpack to schlep items for the collection 鈥� because nine times out of ten, there will be a collection. Practically every kid everywhere will want to collect something 鈥� rocks, bug carcasses, sticks, shells, feathers, bark, acorns, pinecones, leaves 鈥� and you want to make sure the artifacts end up in the bag and not in your pockets (though, tell the truth: Can you go on a hike or visit the beach without coming back with rocks in your pockets?).

For those with very little children, Walsh and his team recommend the 30-foot hike.

鈥淲ith the 18-months to 3-year-old group, just let the kids lead the walk,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e in charge of the hike. You make sure they鈥檙e safe, but you follow their lead and help them explore the things they鈥檙e touching and looking at. You don鈥檛 have to go anywhere big or far. Just let them lead.鈥�

British adventurer and author Alastair Humphreys coined the term 鈥渕icroadventure鈥� to describe these small-scale outings. In his book, 鈥淢icroadventures: Local Discoveries for Great Escapes,鈥� he laid out the elements of a great adventure for children.

鈥淚f it involves food, getting wet or muddy, fire or breaking the rules, the kids will love it. 鈥� Involve kids in the planning and talk to them when you鈥檙e doing it. Point out things that even you take for granted and point out to the children what鈥檚 safe and what isn鈥檛. They take in way more than you think. What鈥檚 the worst that could happen? Plan accordingly and pack a change of clothes.鈥�

To which Walsh adds, 鈥淎nd a towel!鈥�

Walsh stresses that there is no right or wrong way to create a mini adventure 鈥� the point is just to get outside and to feel connected to other people in the world by sharing their experiences and discoveries. The important thing is to interact with the environment, not to just passively sit in it. Especially don鈥檛 sit in the environment and scroll on your device. This is mutual discovery, not nature as babysitter.

鈥淲e see so much of that,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 this real passive thing of not investigating, not playing with their environment, just walking past it. I think a lot of it is that the younger parents grew up as part of this generation that just didn鈥檛 go out and explore outdoor spaces with free, unstructured time. So, when they go somewhere, they don鈥檛 really know how to interact with the physical world.

鈥淚t鈥檚 true with some of the younger teachers as well 鈥� the idea of exploring is really foreign to them. We say, 鈥楾ry to find five different kinds of rocks,鈥� and teachers come back and say, 鈥楧o you really think we鈥檒l be able to find five different kinds of rocks?鈥� and then they鈥檙e amazed that they found 10.

鈥淲e want to keep the idea of these nature challenges really open-ended. If we give them a worksheet or tell them, 鈥楾ry to identify these five kinds of clouds,鈥� they will spend all their time trying to answer the question correctly and then feel that they weren鈥檛 successful if they didn鈥檛 find exactly those things.

鈥淪o, keep it about wonder and fun,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f the kids really love it, they鈥檒l want more.鈥�

As long as you stay focused on those two things 鈥� wonder and fun 鈥� neither you nor the kids will feel inadequate or unprepared. Just by being there, you have everything you need.

Though you might want to bring your toot-da-doo.

At least that鈥檚 been the successful recipe for PopUp StoryWalk, an arts and literacy advocacy organization in the Seattle area that for the past four years has gotten thousands of families outside with their kids to read colorful children鈥檚 books installed on trails throughout the Puget Sound area.

Elisabeth Lepine discovered the idea of combining storybooks with hiking while on vacation in upstate New York, where she stumbled upon a StoryWalk庐 trail and saw for herself the possibility of combining literacy with healthy outdoor activity.

鈥淢y littlest child was a baby, so I was wearing her,鈥� Lepine says, 鈥渂ut my two-year-old daughter was so excited and ran from panel to panel, running back to lead us to the next display. It was the easiest hike we鈥檇 ever done as a family 鈥� Juliet never complained about being tired and was so eager to show Daddy what she鈥檇 found. When we moved to Washington state, I fell in love with all the beautiful state parks and trails we have and couldn鈥檛 believe that StoryWalks庐 weren鈥檛 popular out here. So, I decided to create one.鈥�

The original StoryWalk庐 Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont, and developed in collaboration with the Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition and the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. The name StoryWalk庐 is a registered trademark and there are now StoryWalk installations all over the country 鈥� but they really hadn鈥檛 taken hold out West.

When Elisabeth shared her idea for creating a local StoryWalk庐, her friends Beth Yost and Jasmin Thankachen were immediately on board.

鈥淚t has been a true team effort,鈥� Lepine says. 鈥淲e all have our own wheelhouse in the project, but we do everything as a team. For example, I may reach out to publishers for one book, and Beth or Jasmin will reach out for another. We all have relationships with various city’s parks and recs officials and can interchangeably respond to permitting requests or arrange site visits, etc. A team effort for sure!鈥�

The initial idea was to create a permanent installation in beautiful Saint Edward state park on the east side of Lake Washington, but park staff told the team it wasn鈥檛 a good time for a permanent addition to the park. They could put up a temporary installation if they wanted, however.

That was the Aha! beginning of the PopUp approach, a new twist on the original idea of StoryWalk庐. Instead of being limited to one geographic location, the women saw that 鈥渢emporary鈥� gave them a wider range of options and could greatly expand their project鈥檚 reach.

鈥淟ooking back, it鈥檚 been a blessing because we haven鈥檛 been limited to just one locale and have been able to serve a bunch of different communities,鈥� Lepine says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e now able to provide pop-up stories for families to experience free at multiple locations.鈥�

favors books from local authors, which gives the stories a sense of place and also boosts the program鈥檚 connection to the Greater Seattle community. The books are displayed page by page on weatherproof storyboards mounted on sturdy metal frames that are placed on easy-to-navigate trails. That way, families can begin reading a storybook together at the start of a trail, read its pages as they wend their way along the path and finish the book at trail鈥檚 end.

Now in its eighth season (two series per year), the program has installed a dozen different storybooks in 40 different locations. Pre-pandemic, the sites featured a waterproof field guide for patrons鈥� comments or recommendations for new books or trails. On one installation, more than 100 families had made entries, which Lepine says gives the team a sense of how many patrons they鈥檝e been reaching鈥攏ow into the thousands.

Each installation stays up for three weeks, and families can keep track of where they鈥檒l find the next story by checking the organization鈥檚 , or . PopUp StoryWalk rotates among book selections so families can enjoy a new outdoor adventure with each installation. The co-founders choose books that have some outdoor experience in the story, along with lessons of kindness, empathy and creativity. The 2021-22 season focuses on diversity. The team works with local brick-and-mortar bookstores and a local toy store to carry the books, which are promoted on the last panel of the hike.

Local artist Keven Atteberry, author of 鈥淏unnies!!!鈥� 鈥� one of PopUp StoryWalk鈥檚 first selections 鈥� designed the playful, irresistible logo. Once the team has decided on a book, Lepine reaches out to publishers for PDFs of the book so she can expand the page size to stand out on the 18-by-24-inch storyboards. Surprisingly, not all publishers jump at the opportunity to promote their authors鈥� books in this way, but Lepine is committed to presenting the pages in a large format so families can easily spot and read the panels. The books she goes with are the ones the team loves and the ones she can get PDFs for (for which they have to pay the publishers).

And then, it鈥檚 time for the team and volunteers to head out to the trails and put the books in place, which is where the auger, mallet and other essentials come in. It鈥檚 a good workout: Set-up takes two to four hours, Lepine says, and after three weeks, they all come down and the process starts in a new location.

The Nitty Gritty

PopUp StoryWalk鈥檚 fiscal sponsor is the , a local nonprofit promoting citizen participation in the arts. Under their umbrella, PopUp StoryWalk is able to continue as a nonprofit without having to apply for its own 501(c)(3). The team has been able to get small grants through King County鈥檚 4Culture program and has several local sponsors.

Those considering their own PopUp StoryWalk should count on $5,000 start-up costs for the first book, which includes one-time purchases such as the equipment to install the panels, wagons to transport all the materials and the metal storyboard frames. After that, the team budgets about $2,000 per storybook, plus $500 or so for vandalism, which occurs with maddening frequency. They constantly monitor the panels or respond to patrons who let them know via social media when a board has been damaged.

Since the program鈥檚 inception, they have worked with in Bothell, and have developed strong relationships so they can call and say, 鈥淣eed Panel 7 of 鈥楤ea鈥檚 Bees鈥� stat!鈥� and the panel will usually be ready to pick up first thing the next morning. Lepine says relationships like that with local businesses, and with the parks and other facilities where they return regularly, is key to the group鈥檚 success.

PopUp StoryWalk鈥檚 mission of promoting lifelong learning and an appreciation of the outdoors is one that鈥檚 easily embraced by the nature-loving Seattle community, and the team鈥檚 consistent practice of delivering the goods keeps those community ties strong.

As word of PopUp StoryWalk has spread, the team has received requests from all over the Puget Sound area. Given that the founders volunteer their time and labor, they can鈥檛 meet all those requests but are more than willing to train people how to replicate the project; they鈥檝e created a travel kit to help them get started.

Lepine says the team is happy to talk with others who are interested in starting a PopUp StoryWalk in their community. If someone wants to create a StoryWalk庐聽they need to include the trademark symbol and the official statement found on the on all promotions of the project, which PopUp StoryWalk includes at the bottom of every page of its website and on the first panel of each story.

Lepine, Yost and Thankachen have now installed the first two of their 2021 diversity series but haven鈥檛 announced all the locations yet. They like the element of surprise, so patrons never know where they鈥檒l pop up next.

Little Peepers is located at the South Shore Nature Center in East Islip, New York, and is a program of the , an organization devoted to conserving Long Island鈥檚 wildlife. It is one of a small but growing number of preschools in the U.S. that make conservation and a science-based outdoor education their programs鈥� core. The daily activities of its small students, aged 3 to 6, may sound like a field trip every day, but the curriculum is actually a formal education in the most informal of settings: the forest, the beach, the salt flats.

鈥淲e teach science, math, music, language 鈥� all the standard preschool curriculum 鈥� using nature as the guiding theme,鈥� says Walsh, the organization鈥檚 education director. 鈥淭eaching in an outdoor setting is very fluid, very dynamic. If we want them to study shapes, we鈥檒l go outside and have the kids collect some things. Then we have them look at the items, sort them and talk about 鈥榃ell, what鈥檚 different from one over the other?鈥欌��

鈥淚n a traditional classroom when you do shape sorting, you鈥檙e dealing with pre-cut shapes. They鈥檙e exact. 鈥業t鈥檚 a star. It鈥檚 obviously a star.鈥� But a leaf? Well, what shape is that? The kids really interact with each other. They debate about it and come to an agreement.鈥�

Not only did the children in that instance learn about shapes, they learned how to discuss the evidence, process the facts and have their minds changed by their and others鈥� observations. They can then take their collection of leaves and talk about the different textures, colors and patterns they observe.

鈥淧attern recognition is one of the early reading skills,鈥� Walsh says. 鈥淎nd in this setting, it just flows for them without feeling like they鈥檙e sitting down for a big lesson. They may go and make a mud pie, and it might seem like 鈥榡ust play,鈥� but while they鈥檙e making those mud pies, they鈥檙e learning about mixtures and solutions. They get a stick, the stick breaks and they have to ask, 鈥榃hat do I need to have this work? I need a bigger stick. I need to use it this way鈥︹��

鈥淭hey won鈥檛 have the terminology for a while, but they will have a direct experience of what, for example, a fulcrum is. Those pathways get set in early childhood and that will serve them throughout their education.鈥�

When it came time to name the preschool program, all the staff had to do was look and listen to the forest around them. Springtime there is heralded by the that sounds like sleigh bells when they all get going. They鈥檙e good climbers, Walsh says, who also like to be on the ground hidden in leaf litter.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e small, robust critters that are good climbers and make a loud noise,鈥� Walsh says. 鈥淪ound familiar? As we witnessed our young students running through the woods, jumping in puddles, exploring the dirt and climbing trees as they squealed with delight, we immediately made the connection with our native spring frogs.鈥�

Little Peepers鈥� teacher-pupil ratio is an enviable one teacher to five children, Walsh says, which allows a great deal of personal interaction with each child for the full two and a half child-centered hours of their preschool day. The teachers are trained, certified and are united in their own connection to nature. They also, Walsh says, have a deep bag of tricks to rely on when nature spins the lesson plan in an unanticipated direction.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e planning on having today be leaf day and the kids discover a bunch of salamanders,鈥� he says with a laugh. 鈥淪uddenly, it鈥檚 salamander day. As a teacher, you have to be really flexible and alright with that 鈥� a skill set that鈥檚 not always easy to master.鈥�

Classes are held outdoors rain or shine, Walsh says, with the determining factor being the children鈥檚 safety. The children are geared up for all kinds of weather, but because the Center is right on the water, high winds can come in with the nor鈥檈asters that barrel through the region. The kids predictably will be out in seven-degree winter weather, in snowstorms or in the rain, but when the wind gusts through the forest, branches and flying debris make staying indoors or playing in a protected area advisable.

Risk is always something to consider in outdoor settings and understanding and managing it are major skills the Little Peepers learn. The children are taught how to whittle and start fires. They learn to make tea over a campfire, and they are always, always climbing, Walsh says.

鈥溾�楽top, get down, you鈥檙e going to hurt yourself鈥� are definitely things you will never hear in our program,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou鈥檒l hear, 鈥楢re you making a good choice? Are you looking where you are?鈥� There are definitely rules, and our staff is vigilant, but the children are allowed to learn about risk. You鈥檒l hear a 3-year-old asking a 4-year-old, 鈥業s that smart? Do you think that鈥檚 a good idea?鈥� They really talk to each other and help each other assess their actions.鈥�

The children are a robust little cohort. Walsh says the program sees very few sick days and often that鈥檚 when a child has an older sibling in elementary school. They鈥檙e also an agile bunch. When groups of school children visit the center, program staff have observed that the visiting kids have trouble walking on uneven terrain. Elementary students navigating the trails are slow, unsteady and struggling to maintain their balance. The Little Peepers? Like little mountain goats.

Schools like Little Peepers offer a completely different paradigm from what children鈥檚 time outdoors has become in most American schools, where recess is viewed as a way for children to burn off excess energy and playgrounds are often more designed for easy surveillance, avoidance of liability and control of the students. Play is viewed as discretionary and beside the point of education. With forest schools and other outdoor-based programs, play is the education and nature the lead teacher.

In creating Little Peepers, Walsh and fellow staff members at the Seatuck Environmental Association undertook a process initially inspired by journalist Richard Louv, whose 2005 book, 鈥淟ast Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder鈥� introduced the term “nature-deficit disorder” to describe possible negative consequences to individual health and the social fabric as children move indoors and away from physical contact with the natural world.

鈥淥ne of the challenges we face in the outdoor education field is how do we connect to the general public,鈥� Walsh says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e found that a great way is to reach people with young children. So, we got together with a team 鈥� one person who was an early childhood educator for 20 years and was the head of a preschool program, one who was head of the Nassau County Childcare Council. Some were informal educators like me, and then we met with people around the country who ran other programs.鈥�

In addition to being outdoor-based the curriculum was designed around the science of brain development. The outdoor experience is the pathway to the child鈥檚 ability to self-regulate, juggle multiple tasks, use their judgment, be mentally flexible and empathize with those around them, as well as a dozen other intellectual assets that will shape that young brain for a lifetime.

鈥淭hose are all skills you鈥檙e not really born with but that you鈥檙e expected to go into school ready to handle. What we鈥檝e seen is that our children transition beautifully into a traditional classroom setting. They stay on par with their peers until about third or fourth grade, then that executive function really sets them apart from their peers in a positive way.鈥�

Tiny Trees鈥� children are not outside on recess, nor are they on a field trip. The school itself 鈥� all classes, every day, rain or shine (in Seattle, that can involve significant portions of the former and not so much of the latter) 鈥� take place outdoors. The school operates year-round and is the largest outdoor preschool in the U.S. and possibly in the world, according to philanthropy and communications manager Katie Weiss. After three years working with the state as part of the outdoor preschool licensing pilot program, the state Department of Children, Youth and Families has created licensing requirements for outdoor preschools, which means Tiny Trees will be one of the first licensed outdoor preschool programs in the U.S.

鈥淧rior to this,鈥� Weiss says, 鈥渢he state licensing regulations were a lot about 鈥楬ow many outlets do you have and how high up are they and what sorts of faucets do you have?鈥� Mostly, that isn鈥檛 relevant to outdoor schools.鈥�

What licensing means in part is that the idea of outdoor preschool itself is legitimized. It creates a roadmap for new programs so others don鈥檛 have to bushwhack through such a bramble of licensing challenges and will have established language for how to handle 鈥渂ath-rooming and hand-washing, which may have been kind of a mystery,鈥� she says. Best of all, licensing means that low-income families can now access government funding to allow their children to attend the outdoor preschool.

Equity is a big part of Tiny Trees鈥� mission, she says, and 50% of its students receive free or reduced tuition. 鈥淲e really want to make sure every child has access to quality, healthy, safe outdoor learning experiences. When we talk about equity and access, we鈥檙e not just talking about access to early learning programs. We鈥檙e talking about access to the outdoors. We work with families to make sure they have the resources they need and the information they need to know what sort of gear they need. We can provide them with discounted gear or gear swaps with other families so that they have what they need.

鈥淲e鈥檙e working with program on a project that鈥檚 called 鈥榙ecolonizing the outdoors,鈥� specifically focused on creating new programming to provide opportunities to families of color, low-income families, and refugee and immigrant families to engage in quality outdoor learning. There are a lot of systemic barriers, such as neighborhoods with fewer green spaces that are safe and healthy or historical trauma that might not be the same for everyone. So, we are in the community-building phase with that where we鈥檙e talking with different community partners, organizations and neighborhoods to find out what people want and what works for them in creating opportunities to spend time outside.鈥�

Tiny Trees鈥� funding comes from a variety of sources, including a boost in the beginning from Washington State鈥檚 No Child Left Inside grant program. Public funding is important, she says, because it allows the school to open access to new families and to have a more sustainable program without the cost normally associated with the high-quality education it provides. About 15 to 25% of the school鈥檚 funding comes from philanthropy, including purchase of all that tiny, high-quality rain gear 鈥� made of the same material you鈥檝e seen on fishermen in shows like 鈥淒eadliest Catch.鈥�

Whether the quarry is Alaska king crabs or earthworms, good gear makes all the difference. To paraphrase the Scandinavian programs where outdoor preschools are commonplace, Weiss says, Tiny Trees鈥� philosophy is that 鈥渢here is no bad weather, there is just bad clothing.鈥�

So, they zip up their rain suits, pull up their boots, and a pack of exuberant preschoolers head off to discover their world in all its moods, complexity and seasons.

Even for computers, says , author and internationally recognized leader in the study of children鈥檚 learning, unstructured play that gives curiosity free rein creates a stronger, more resilient mechanism for thinking about the world in a creative, generalized way. For children, the ability to go where curiosity leads them creates the capacity to be self-driven, self-motivated learners.

Developing those skills, Gopnik says, is much harder if a child spends all day inside a school room.

鈥淭he idea of a childhood that鈥檚 mostly spent inside with adults determining what you do is actually very strange from a historical, evolutionary perspective,鈥� Gopnik says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something of an aberration that we now have the childhoods we do (in the U.S.).

鈥淚f you look anthropologically at kids in other cultures, most of the time from when they are very little, children are interacting with animals and exploring 鈥� importantly, going out and exploring on their own. Exploring the forest or the natural world around them, sometimes with groups of other children, without a lot of adult hovering and supervision.鈥�

Throughout most of human history and in most of the world, that paradigm of children playing outdoors as a part of childhood has been so integral as to be transparent. Not so in the U.S., where, according to the , the average American child spends four to seven minutes a day in unstructured play outdoors and more than seven hours a day in front of a screen.

If we were a forager culture, or even a society in which outdoor life were integrated into adult experience, such knowledge and natural connection would happen as a matter of course. That is not the case in the world most of us inhabit.

鈥淲e have to have public support for programs like this if that kind of learning is going to happen,鈥� Gopnik says. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 just rely on the fact that this natural infrastructure is available anymore. We need institutions that can come in and help.鈥�

Washington State Makes A Commitment to Get Kids Outside 鈥� Serves as Model for Others

The Washington State Legislature has embraced that mission. Inspired in part by journalist Richard Louv鈥檚 2005 book, 鈥淟ast Child in the Woods,鈥� Washington鈥檚 legislature created the No Child Left Inside grant program to provide the state鈥檚 young people quality opportunities to be outside in the natural world. Focusing on under-served populations, the program is designed to empower local communities to create outdoor programming. The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission has now received funding to the tune of $1.5 million every biennium for the program.

鈥淭he 鈥榥ature deficit disorder鈥� described in 鈥淟ast Child in the Woods鈥� underscored this fear that we are losing a generation to online activities instead of experience in the outdoors,鈥� says Jon Snyder, senior policy advisor on Outdoor Recreation and Economic Development for Washington Governor Jay Inslee.

鈥淭wo things are putting roadblocks in front of kids these days. One is the all-encompassing online environment that is so powerful and alluring 鈥� and even vital in some ways 鈥� that it鈥檚 incredibly engaging and enveloping for children. On top of that, we鈥檙e paving over impervious surfaces and developing our natural places at a pretty fast clip, so a lot of folks felt that access and the ability of kids to have these experiences was in jeopardy.鈥�

Because affluent Washingtonians generally have access to the outdoors and the leisure and equipment to enjoy their experience, the Washington State program is particularly focused on underserved populations. This includes low-income communities and urban communities of color, but also very rural communities with immigrant populations, such as programs serving the families of farm workers in the agricultural Yakima area. Grants cover programs for preschoolers, such as the Tiny Trees outdoor preschool, to high schoolers such as the 鈥檚 youth leadership program.

Washington wants its children outdoors: The program has proven so successful that the last funding round saw five times as many applications for the program as could be funded, according to Kyle Guzlas, grant services section manager for the Recreation and Conservation Office, which administers the grant program on behalf of the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.

鈥淭his year was the most competitive grant round we鈥檝e seen, with applications from all over the state,鈥� Guzlas says. 鈥淲e had 173 applications and were only able to provide funding for 30 projects. It鈥檚 pretty clear from how competitive it is that there are a lot of great projects not getting funded because we just need more money for the program. So, a coalition of nonprofits and citizens are working toward encouraging the Legislature and the governor鈥檚 office to allocate more in the future.鈥�

The benefits for Washington鈥檚 children are unmistakable and well-documented, Guzlas says.

鈥淲e know from existing data that there are benefits to academic performance, and benefits to the kids鈥� health and self-esteem. With these experiences in the outdoors, children begin to understand who they are and develop a sense of personal responsibility and an understanding of how they relate socially and within their communities.

鈥淓qually important is that they start to understand about natural resources and concepts of conservation,鈥� he says. Some of the programs are designed to provide pathways that take children from an outdoor preschool environment to outdoor leadership experiences in middle school. By the time they are in high school, some of these young people will be peers who are counseling and mentoring the next generation of kids coming through.

鈥淚f they go to college, maybe some will want to study biology or wildlife sciences,鈥� Guzlas says. 鈥淭he pathway approach is creating the ethics of natural resource conservation throughout the whole structure in terms of understanding nature. You create a comfort level at a very early age that becomes ingrained.鈥�

Most of the organizations that receive funding are collecting data and doing their own analyses of results, which then become part of the feedback loop for the governor鈥檚 office and Legislature in looking at future funding.

According to Snyder, Washington state鈥檚 program is being used as a model across the country, with states including Minnesota and New Mexico creating similar programs. In Oregon, voters passed the Outdoor School Education Fund mandating an outdoor school program that gives all of the state鈥檚 fifth and sixth graders a week-long and approved $24 million for the program鈥檚 first two years. More than 30,000 children attended in the program鈥檚 first year.

鈥淭he next frontier for this [type of programming],鈥� Snyder says, 鈥渋s understanding outdoor recreation as a health and mental health intervention. The are leading the way in working on exploring the relationship between nature and human health.鈥�

Its role as a mental health intervention may be one of the most valuable benefits to spending time in nature. From the calming effects of Japanese to the confidence-building experience of learning to successfully react to unpredictable events, being in nature helps strengthen the human emotional scaffolding. Yet, according to the , despite evidence to the contrary, increasing parental fears about diseases and dangers of playing outside are a big factor in keeping children cooped up.

鈥淚 find this baffling and mysterious,鈥� Gopnik says. 鈥淭here is so much less danger these days and yet people are so frightened and protective of their children. The crime rate and even the accident rate have gone down and by any standards, children are much safer than they have been in the past.

Terror and fear become a reinforcing process she says. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e terrified, that just makes you more terrified. Telling children everything around them is scary is a good way of making them scared. There鈥檚 something of an analogy to the rise in allergies, where if the system doesn鈥檛 have a chance to face risks it can deal with itself, then it starts going off even when there鈥檚 actually nothing to react to.

鈥淥ne of the things we know about anxiety is that not being exposed to risk makes you more anxious. The way to cure anxiety is to expose people to the thing they鈥檙e frightened of, so if throughout your whole childhood, which is when you should be starting to deal with risk, you never get a chance to effectively deal with it, that seems like a pretty good recipe for anxiety as an adult.鈥�

The antidote can be as simple as a trip to the beach or a park or the forest. The harder part for some of us is to let the children play while we master the fine art of minimal intervention.