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NLI 25th Anniversary Exhibition – Rooting Childhood in Nature

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NLI 25th Anniversary Exhibition – Rooting Childhood in Nature

The NLI 25th Anniversary Exhibition, held October 21-31, 2025, in the Brooks Hall Gallery at NC State University’s College of Design, beautifully showcased 25 years of impact advancing children’s health, learning, and joy through nature.

Through stories of community co-design, research, education, professional development, resource creation, and communication, the exhibition traced NLI’s evolution and enduring influence in shaping outdoor play and learning environments.

Visitors explored the people, partnerships, and projects that have defined NLI’s mission—designing for a world where every child experiences the benefits of daily contact with nature.

Thank you to all who visited and celebrated with us. Here’s to the next 25 years of design innovation and collaboration in the global children and nature movement!

25th Anniversary poster for Natural Learning Initiative, celebrating outdoor play and nature-based child environments.

A glimpse of the 25th Anniversary Exhibition, Rooting Childhood in Nature.

Digital Exhibition Gallery

Natural Learning Initiative promotes outdoor play, nature-based environments, and inclusive playground design for children.
About NLI: Outdoor play, nature-based child environments, and educational playground design.
About NLI: Natural Learning Initiative promotes outdoor play, nature-based child environments, and educational playground design.
Comprehensive outdoor play projects, nature-based child environments, and educational playground design by Natural Learning Initiative.
Comprehensive Projects 2: Outdoor play, nature-based child environments, and educational playground design.
Kids Together Park showcases inclusive, nature-based play areas with accessible features, promoting universal design and biophilic principles.
Comprehensive Projects 4: USDA Childcare Outdoor Learning Environments as Active Food Systems (COLEAFS) showcasing research, education, and gardening activities for young children.
Design Assistance: Playful Learning Forest Master Plan, site plan, community survey, stakeholder workshop, and hands-on workshops for children.
Outdoor play areas, nature-based settings, and children engaging in activities at the Hamill Family Play Zoo and First Environments Early Learning Center.
Teardrop Park North: Children play on rocks, pathways, and greenery. Boston Children's Museum: Interactive exhibits, water views, and urban green spaces.
Design Assistance 4: Brooklyn Bridge Park & The Raleigh School, outdoor play areas, nature-based environments, children engaging in activities, educational playgrounds.
Design Assistance 5: Buffalo Bayou Park & San Antonio Family Adventure Garden, showcasing outdoor play areas, nature-based environments, and educational playgrounds.
Greenspring Montessori School outdoor play areas, Rash Field Park playgrounds, and educational nature-based designs.
Conestee Nature Playscape: Outdoor play structures, children exploring natural elements, and Brentwood Head Start: Children engaging in hands-on learning activities in a nature-based environment.
Dissemination & Communications: Natural Learning Initiative promotes outdoor play, nature-based environments, and educational playground design, featuring resources and user statistics.
Natural Learning Initiative promotes outdoor play, nature-based environments, and educational playground design, featuring videos on affordance, urban form, and child-centered learning.
Dissemination & Communication: Preschool Gardening Activity Guide, Best Practice Toolkits, NLI Newsletter, and social media showcasing outdoor play and nature-based learning environments.
Professional Development: Outdoor Play & Nature-Based Learning Environments, NC State University.
Professional Development: Outdoor play, nature-based environments, and educational playground design showcased at the 18th NLI Design Institute.
Research and Evaluation: Outdoor play, nature-based child environments, and educational playground design showcased.
Research and Evaluation 2: COLEQT and POEMS tools assess outdoor play, nature-based environments, and educational playground design for child development.
Research and Evaluation 3: Environment-Behavior Mapping (EBM) for outdoor play, nature-based child environments, and educational playground design.
Research and Evaluation 4: Childhood's Domain, Plants for Play, Natural Learning. Outdoor play, nature-based environments, and educational playground design.

Event Highlights

Willow Oak Montessori School's Schoolgrounds Concept Plan highlights outdoor play and nature-based learning spaces.

2 of 14 research, policy, and professional development publications on display.

Two women examine a plant habitat display, showcasing outdoor play and nature-based learning at Natural Learning Initiative.

Nilda Cosco shares the plant “habitat”, part of the publication display, with Rachael Wooten.

Three adults discuss NLI exhibition, showcasing outdoor play and nature-based child environments.

Kim Shaw and Alberta Forney, longtime NLI Collaborators, discuss the exhibition with other guests.

Three adults discuss outdoor learning posters, highlighting nature-based child environments and educational playground design.

Matt Urbanski and Maria Bellalta share memories of their graduate student days at Harvard with Soolyeon Cho.

Cheryl Charles and Cathy Jordan explore an exhibition, showcasing outdoor play and nature-based child environments.

Longtime colleagues and speakers Cheryl Charles and Cathy Jordan explore the exhibition.

Two men discuss outdoor play and nature-based child environments in a modern office setting.

Soolyeon Cho chats with Dwane Jones, who studied with Robin Moore, now a Dean at the University of DC.

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