Enriching Education - Learning from, in, and with nature: urban students thrive with nature-based learning opportunities

The benefits of outdoor learning are well-known, especially in early childhood development.  Unfortunately, outdoor learning spaces aren’t always easily accessible, especially for students from largely urban or suburban areas. 

 

To that end, Remake Learning has awarded Moonshot Grants to three new programs designed to increase access to nature-based learning opportunities for Pittsburgh-area students: 

• Turning vacant land into an outdoor learning lab: Grounded Strategies will develop an outdoor experiential learning and research lab space built on formerly vacant land that focuses on sustainable tech and workforce development 

• Inspiring youth-driven civic engagement in nature: Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy will launch a 12-week project providing high school teens with interconnected outdoor experiences that support nature-based learning, park activation, art-making, recreation, and real-world civic learning. 

• Combine gardening and therapy to help students grow: In collaboration with Chatham Eden Hall, Oasis Farm & Fishery, AHN Chill Network, and AGH Suburban, Northgate School District will offer horticulture therapy and paid internships for students working and learning in the school’s garden club.

 

“By connecting students with nature through direct engagement with green technology, outdoor stewardship, and horticulture therapy, these projects give students and their communities an active voice in the future of their region and the tools to shape their environments,” said Tyler Samstag, Executive Director at Remake Learning.

 

Since 2021, Remake Learning has awarded over 50 Moonshot Grants, totaling more than $3.5 million invested in bold ideas that have the potential to shape the future of teaching and learning.

 

Support for Moonshot Grants is generously provided by The Grable Foundation and The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.

About Remake Learning
Remake Learning is a free peer network for educators and innovators in the greater Pittsburgh region. The network helps people connect, exchange knowledge, collaborate on new ideas, improve their practice, and find funding to spark more engaging, relevant, and equitable opportunities to enrich Pittsburgh’s learning ecosystem.Learn more at remakelearning.org.