Featured Image Credit: wildlifetrusts.org
By K. Snyder
Whether rolling in the mud, taking a hike, or meeting zoo animals, a connection to nature is key for healthy youth development. Nature play is a method for all children to learn independence, foster curiosity, and build awareness for the environment around them. However, for urban youth, connecting to nature can prove difficult inside cities where natural features are less accessible and more barriers to safe use of nature exist.
Nature play programs through zoos and aquariums provide paths through these barriers, connecting the entire family to the natural world through hands-on learning, exploration, and free educational resources.
In September of 2016, the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) awarded 37 “Nature Play Begins at Your Zoos & Aquariums” grants to institutions across the country. The chosen institutions are making the effort to bring families and communities together for formative experiences with the natural world. You may recognize some of the names on the list below, which range from programs hosted by all kinds of institutions; from large metropolitan zoos to small aquariums. Each recipient was selected through a rigorous application process and chosen on the basis of their family programs and their coordination with other community organizations to reach diverse audiences.
“AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums play an important role in connecting children and families to nature,” says Amy Rutherford, Director of Professional Development & Public Engagement at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. “These grants support programs that engage community partners to reach new audiences, help families develop comfort and confidence spending time in nature, and inspire the next generation of conservationists.”
Supported by the Disney Conservation Fund and the Children & Nature Network, these grant awards $5,000 or $10,000 dollars to a recipient for the development, maintenance, and implementation of new or existing family-based nature play programs.
A total of 37 grant recipients were selected to receive a combined total of $270,000 in awards. They include (institution, project/program):
Adventure Aquarium, “Family Fun with Nature”
Blank Park Zoo, “Permanent Natural Playscape”
Brevard Zoo, “Brevard Families Out to Explore”
Bronx Zoo/Wildlife Conservation Society, “Bronx Zoo Nature Club – Family Events”
Buffalo Zoo, “Nature Play Begins with Nature Play Events and ‘Drop-ins'”
Buttonwood Park Zoo, “Nature Connection Education Center – Nature Play Area”
Chicago Zoological Society – Brookfield Zoo, “Nature Play for Zero to Three”
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, “Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Family Nature Club Expansion”
Cooley Zoo, “Cosley Zoo Nature Play for All!”
Dallas Zoo, “WildFUN”
Denver Zoo, “Nurturing Scientist through Nature Play”
Detroit Zoological Society, “Nature Tots”
Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History, “Great Plains Zoo Nature Play Club Continuation”
Greenville Zoo, “Greenville Zoo Nature Play Outreach to Early Head Start Classes”
Houston Zoo, “Houston Zoo Family Nature Club”
Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, “Nature Trail Enhancements”
Milwaukee County Zoo, “Nature Wonderland”
Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, “Mommy and Me at Mote ‘Exploring the Bay'”
Mystic Aquarium, “Family Nature Club – Field to Sea”
North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island, “The Lost Woods, Yr. 2 Expansion”
North Carolina Zoo, “Nature Rocks! Dream Center Family Club”
Oglebay’s Good Zoo, “‘Nature: Get IN it’ Family Nature Play Club”
Phoenix Zoo, “Creating a Community of Nature Play-Get Outside and Play in Arizona!”
Pueblo Zoological Society, “Plant.Grow.Fly.Pueblo”
Queens Zoo/Wildlife Conservation Society, “Wild Inquiries Nature Club”
Reid Park Zoo, “Nature Play Days for Families”
Riverbanks Zoo and Garden, “Nurturing through Nature”
Roger Williams Park Zoo, “Urban Nature Explorers”
Saint Louis Zoo, “Saint Louis Zoo Family Nature Club”
Sequoia Park Zoo, “Family Nature Play at Sequoia Park Zoo”
Tennessee Aquarium, “Nurturing Our Next Nature Nuts”
The Wilds, “Nature Center, Play Space and Family Nature Club at the Wilds”
Tracy Aviary, “Nature in the City”
Utah’s Hogle Zoo, “Utah’s Hogle Zoo’s Family Nature Club”
Virginia Living Museum, “Play Date with Nature!”
Western North Carolina Nature Center, “Play Like Animals with the WNC Nature Center”
Zoo Miami – Zoological Society of Florida, “ZooNature Family Adventures at Zoo Miami”