Want some inspiration and ideas for developing an outdoor classroom? Wondering what you can do to your existing landscape to boost the learning potential, play value, and sensory experiences?

Head on over to the 2020 Outdoor Classroom Summit, a five-day event that “invites Natural Teachers to ‘dig deep’ and explore all the options for creating a one-of-a-kind Outdoor Classroom.” The Summit includes conversations with eight leaders in the Children & Nature Movement (myself included), with our diversity of perspectives in what makes great play, learning, and therapeutic landscapes for kiddos of all ages and abilities.

The Summit runs from February 10-14, 2020, and includes:

Day 1. Welcome Keynote: Seeds of Inspiration for Outdoor Learning with Victoria Hackett, M. Ed., from Outdoor-Classrooms.com

Day 2. Gardens that Feed:

  • The Salad Days and Harvest Days Garden Program with Lara Lepionka from Backyard Growers
  • Cultivate Joy and Wonder through Nature, Food, & Community with Jed Norris from Shelburne Farms

Day 3. Gardens as Outdoor Learning Stations:

  • Messy Math Outdoors with Juliet Robertson from Creative Star Learning
  • The Just Play Project with Rusty Keeler from Earthplay

Day 4. Gardens that Attract Wildlife:

  • Save Our Monarchs One Milkweed at a Time with Ward Johnson from Save Our Monarchs
  • Not Gardens, but Guardians – The Rise of the Enlightened Yard with David Newsom from The Wild Yards Project

Day 5. Gardens for Art and Beauty:

  • Horticultural Therapy Activities for All Ages with Bobbie Make from Growth Through Gardening
  • The Power of Sensory Gardens with Jena Jauchius from SPVV Landscape Architects