City leaders across the country are grappling with a shared question: How can we ensure that every young child grows up healthy, resilient and ready to learn? One powerful, often overlooked solution lies just outside our doors: expanding equitable access to nature for children from birth to age five.
A growing body of evidence shows that regular time in nature strengthens early brain development, supports social-emotional growth, boosts physical and mental health and enhances school readiness. Yet access to safe, developmentally appropriate outdoor spaces remains deeply uneven, particularly in historically under-resourced neighborhoods. Many families and early childhood providers want more nature-rich experiences for young children but face structural barriers ranging from limited green space and outdated licensing rules to staffing, funding and design challenges.
To help cities meet this moment, the Nature Everywhere Communities initiative, a joint partnership with Children & Nature Network and KABOOM!, has released the Nature in Early Childhood Toolkit, a free, comprehensive resource created for municipal staff, policymakers and cross-sector partners who are working to integrate nature into early childhood systems. The toolkit distills a decade of city partnerships into actionable strategies that can be adapted to local context, from infrastructure improvements to workforce capacity, programming and family engagement and policy change.
The Toolkit explores a multi-layered approach to ensure that nature is fully integrated into early childhood education systems. Rather than a one-time intervention, this approach builds long-term, self-sustaining nature access by working across four interconnected layers, outlined below.
Four Layers to Integrating Nature in Early Childhood Systems
1. Early Childhood Infrastructure: Designing Nature-Rich Spaces Where Children Spend Their Days
Cities play a major role in ensuring young children have access to high-quality outdoor learning environments, not just in parks, but in child care centers, preschools, family child care homes and community hubs. The Toolkit includes guidance on:
- Adding natural elements like logs, stumps, pathways, gardens, sand and water features.
- Developing Nature Exploration Areas (NEAs) in parks, libraries and other public spaces.
- Partnering with forestry, parks, public works and local environmental organizations to source natural materials. For example, a fallen tree can easily become part of a playground.
- Incorporating climate-conscious design, such as shade trees, cooling strategies and native plantings, to ensure children can safely play outdoors year-round.
The Infrastructure section also highlights emerging city standards and local design guidelines that can streamline implementation and ensure safety, quality and equity.
2. Programming & Family Engagement: Activating Spaces for Belonging and Joy
Building nature-rich spaces is only the first step. Young children, and the adults who care for them, also need opportunities, encouragement and support to use these spaces regularly. The Toolkit offers strategies to:
- Codesign programs and playspaces with families and early childhood providers.
- Honor cultural traditions and stories that shape how families experience nature.
- Partner across sectors, such as libraries, parks, health departments and childcare programs, to embed nature into existing services.
- Integrate nature into everyday moments, from story walks to family nature days to park-based parent–child learning groups.
This approach recognizes that caregivers are a child’s first teachers and that strong, culturally grounded family engagement is central to early learning and community well-being.
3. Workforce Capacity & Professional Development: Equipping the Adults Who Shape Children’s Early Experiences
Early childhood educators, home visitors, librarians, pediatric staff and other professionals need training, resources and confidence to integrate nature into their daily practice. The Toolkit outlines ways to:
- Offer high-quality, relevant professional development that aligns with licensing and degree requirements.
- Create ongoing coaching, mentorship and communities of practice — not just one-off workshops.
- Embed nature-based practices into state and local early learning standards, QRIS systems and licensing frameworks.
- Strengthen the training pipeline by incorporating outdoor learning content into early childhood degree and certification programs.
A strong workforce is critical for sustaining nature-rich learning environments over time.
4. Public Policy & Funding: Embedding Nature in Early Childhood Systems
For nature access to become a standard component of early childhood care and education, cities must address the policy and funding conditions that shape program design and delivery. The Toolkit includes guidance on:
- Updating licensing and regulatory language to support safe outdoor learning environments.
- Expanding access to nature-friendly public spaces, such as parks, libraries and recreation centers.
- Identifying funding opportunities, from early learning facilities grants to park levies, philanthropic partnerships and voter-approved taxes.
- Advocating for state and federal policies that recognize nature-based learning as an essential part of early childhood education.
These strategies help cities scale and sustain their efforts long-term.
Explore the Toolkit
Visit the Nature in Early Childhood Toolkit and gain actionable strategies that can be adapted to your local context, including infrastructure improvements, workforce capacity, programming, family engagement and policy change.
About the Author
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