About the Design Institute

The Natural Learning Initiative, a unit of North Carolina State University, is committed to promoting the importance of the natural environment in the daily experience of all children and families, through environmental design, research, education, and dissemination of information. For the 5th year in a row, we’ve conducted the Annual Design Institute, which is geared towards education and practice in designing for children in nature. The Design Institute continues to grow every year due to the high demand for professional training from various institutions such as museums, zoos, childcare centers, schools, etc.

This year the Design Institute was hosted by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at the National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia, from August 9-11, 2007.  The theme this year was "Design for Children IN Nature". For two and a half days, participants learned:

• Why is community design for children and families important?
• What can be done through design to address the lack of contact with nature?
• How can outdoor environments for children and families be better designed?

During the conference participants also experienced an outdoor activity with children where they rediscovered their inner child and learned how to create a magical and imaginative outdoor environment.

Thank you to all the participants, speakers and sponsors for making the 2007 Design Institute a success. We had outstanding reviews from everyone!

Thanks to Landscape Structures and Kompan for their sponsorship and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, National Conservation Training Center for hosting the institute.