News
Nature Play and Learning Areas Guidelines Registry
Call for Participation
Nature Play and Learning Areas Guidelines is a joint project between NLI and the National Wildlife Federation, with the support of national partners. The aim is to develop national design and management guidelines for nature areas in children’s outdoor play and learning environments.
The Guidelines Project is currently soliciting and compiling a registry of Nature Play and Learning Areas to support and potentially illustrate the best practice criteria specified in the Guidelines.
NC Children and Nature (NCCAN!) Conference - Thursday, March 7
The 6th Annual North Carolina Children and Nature (NCCAN!) Conference will be held in Gastonia, NC at the Schiele Museum of Natural History on March 7, 2013. This year's conference will be connected with the NC Environmental Education Centers Conference. This event will provide an opportunity for networking with professionals from across the state and country and to learn more about the children and nature movement through a new Open Space Technology conference format, and also hiking in the outdoors.
Events
Growing In Place Symposium 2013
Growing In Place: Sixth Annual NLI Symposium on Intergenerational Urban Design for Children and Families
Location: Marbles Kids Museum
201 East Hargett Street, Raleigh, NC 27601
2012 Theme: Intergenerational Urban Design for Children and Families
The majority of people live in cities. To encourage new families to embrace urban domestic life, and not move to low-density suburbs, cities need to be designed to support the healthy development of children and the adults that care for them.
10th Annual Natural Learning Design Institute
As we increase nature in children’s outdoor environments, a myriad of creatures are attracted to these restored ecosystems. While many people enjoy plants, flowers, fruit trees, and vegetables, others wonder what to do with all of the uninvited bugs and other small creatures that suddenly appear in these rich environments! Have we lost the understanding that the living environment includes animals as well as humans?
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.

