Design Assistance
Shape NC
Shape NC is a three-year project expected to reach thousands of preschoolers in a state where more than one-third of children two to four years of age are considered at risk for becoming obese.
The state’s Smart Start program administers Shape NC. Local Partnerships for Children support community planning on early childhood obesity and identify Model Early Learning Centers (MELCs) to host Shape NC. These locations become resource centers for other early childhood educators, allowing the program to reach many more professionals. The Natural Learning Initiative provides participatory community design services and technical assistance to create healthy outdoor learning environments (OLEs) including designated vegetable gardens and permanent edible landscaping to support healthy eating.
The Montessori School of Winston-Salem, NC
The Natural Learning Initiative (NLI) worked with the Montessori School of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to create a Design Program and Schematic Master Plan for the development of the school grounds.
Montessori Children's School, Jacksonville, NC
The Natural Learning Initiative (NLI) worked with the Children’s Montessori School of Jacksonville, NC, on Project Greenspace, a comprehensive Design Program and Master Plan. The community design process for the project included a series of workshops with children, director and directresses, parents, administrators, the Board of Trustees, and community stakeholders.
First Baptist Kindergarten Outdoor Environment
The First Baptist Kindergarten, a private preschool founded in 1952. The program serves 225 children ages two through five. NLI was appointed to help the First Baptist Kindergarten improve the outdoor environment as a complement to the well-established, progressive early childhood program already developed by the teaching staff.
Clairmont Campus, Clifton School
The Clifton School, Atlanta, occupies two sites: the Clifton Campus, serving Emory University, and the Clairmont Campus, serving the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC). In 2006, the Clifton School, appointed NLI to develop schematic designs for renovation of the outdoor environments of both campuses. The aim in both cases was to improve connections between indoor and outdoor classroom spaces, to improve links between outdoor play and learning settings, to increase the diversity of natural settings, and to focus on gardening and the aesthetic quality of setting components – and to address issues of stormwater runoff.
The Elizabeth Ann Clune Montessori School of Ithaca
The Elizabeth Ann Clune Montessori School of Ithaca, New York consulted the Natural Learning Initiative to create a comprehensive design program and master plan for the school grounds, with the mission "to nurture the hearts, minds, and spirits of children and adults in the Ithaca community through stewardship of the land."
Field of Dreams
The Field of Dreams Nurture and Education Center is located in the center of Baxter Village, a "new urbanism" mixed use development near Fort Mill, South Carolina. The Field of Dreams mission is: "To nurture children in an innovative learning environment while making life easier for busy families." The local owners appointed NLI to design a natural playground that supported the owners' understanding that "each child is unique. Each child learns differently from the next, has different interests, and will learn at a different pace. Children learn best when they feel secure, are well-nourished, and are having fun."
Wellesley College Child Study Center
Wellesley College Child Study Center (WCSC) is a laboratory preschool for the Wellesley College Psychology Department, located in Wellesley, MA. Built in 1913 and originally named to honor a prominent 19th century early childhood educator (Anne L. Page), the center was one of the first laboratory schools in the United States. When the center was required to upgrade their outdoor environment to meet new State of Massachusetts early childhood safety regulations, NLI was contacted for assistance. The redesigned outdoor environment (the new Children's Garden) was also required to meet the Federal and State of Massachusetts accessibility standards. NLI collaborated with campus landscape architect, Michael Van Valkenburgh and Associates (MVVA), to meet these stringent requirements on the steeply sloping site, which was subdivided into areas for three age groups (younger, middle, and older).
Heritage Park Natural Learning Environment
Heritage Park is a public housing community administered by the Raleigh Housing Authority. Communities in Schools North Carolina (CISNC), the leading dropout prevention organization in the country, established an after-school tutoring program based at the Heritage Park Community Center and wanted to create an outdoor learning area with easy access from the building. In 2002, the Junior League of Raleigh committed to assist and appointed NLI as a partner to facilitate the community planning process and to develop a schematic design.
Kids Together Playground
Kids Together Playground (KTP) is a universally designed family recreation facility, containing many uncommon settings and features, located in Marla Dorell Park, Cary, North Carolina. Design of the park started in 1994 with a community workshop involving children and adults in the design process.