LEAF Initiative

08/25/2026

So proud to partner with Fremont Children's Academy, Inc. and Bergan ECEC for continuing education for their staff. These amazing directors know that when teachers grow, children thrive! Bergan is wrapping up their time with LEAF, and FCA is starting soon! We couldn't do this important work without directors like Genna, Rylee, April, and Mikayla who know the impact of early childhood ripples out through a lifetime and throughout the community.

08/19/2026

So proud to collaborate with amazing programs like Natural Learning Initiative and their friends at Early Childhood Health Outdoors! Thanks for leading the way for more kids to explore outdoors in their everyday environments!

08/17/2026

It's a busy week at our LEAF sites! Our friends at Fremont Bergan ECEC spent Saturday morning prepping their site for construction week! There's nothing like demo day to bring staff together😘 Connor and the crew from Groundbuilders will dig in Monday to move fences, add a dry creek bed, and a few paver patio transition areas in place of the muddy entrances. Thanks to Watkins Construction for the paver donations! Fewer lakes at the entrance mean more days outside for Bergan Catholic Schools' little ones!

08/05/2026

Transformation is underway at The Children's Place in Lincoln! If you drove by 40th and Vine you might have noticed James and the crew from Midwest Walls and Landscapes who persevered through the crazy rain last week to make the magic happen including a log and stump building corner, a traffic circle complete with concrete looping path, repurposed bus and train, and a paver patio! They had a full audience of children at the window for construction week and might have inspired some future landscapers 😅 Thanks to Watkins Construction for the donation of the gorgeous pavers! You might be asking, what do a paver patio and concrete path have to do with nature-based learning? I'm glad you asked! Check out the resources from our friends at NLI to learn how a looping path connects activity settings and encourages movement between them, and a paver patio gives teachers a place to bring indoor activities, like lunch and crafts, outside!
https://naturalearning.org/looping-primary-pathway/
https://naturalearning.org/02-top-ten-activity-settings-for-outdoor-learning

07/23/2026

LEAF is on the road to California!!! We are so proud to share that Justin Hernandez, a UNL McNair Scholar, is presenting his LEAF-based research at the McNair conference at UCLA. His Presentation titled "Which Playground Features Do Children Use Most? Examining Children’s use of Natural and Manufactured Playground Features in Early Childhood Outdoor Environments", is based on our LEAF pilot study at Ruth Staples Child Development Laboratory.

In his own words, "LEAF was a huge support because I not only gained faculty mentorship but also the support from all the graduate students. LEAF was the reason I had the opportunity to conduct research and gain the professional experience that has made me more confident and prepared for graduate school. Being a part of LEAF helped me contextualize how research can go from data and behavioral coding to results that can impact the community."

The McNair Scholars Program is focused on preparing undergraduates for graduate school through faculty mentorship, research, and professional development. They offer opportunities to present at UNL and UCLA conferences. Good luck, Justin!! We can't wait to see where LEAF takes you next! 😄

07/16/2026

We are excited to share the news that our design partners at ECHO (Early Childhood Health Outdoors) have a new home at PLAE, Playing and Learning in Adaptable Environments! In their own words, "Young children across the nation are spending more time indoors. On average, American children spend less than ten minutes in unstructured outdoor play each day, and over seven hours inside in front of a screen. Here at ECHO, our vision is to change that by bringing nature and outdoor play to every young child, every day." Check out their website for fun 3-D tours of their sites and more great resources to make your outdoor learning environment come alive!
https://www.plaeinc.org/echo

07/10/2026

Some kids have all the fun! Happy Mud Day, from Ruth Staples Child Development Laboratory

Children at Ruth Staples Child Development Lab School mark International Mud Day with outdoor play.

05/31/2026

Community at its finest!!! Love seeing Ravenna come together for their littlest people.

05/29/2026

So grateful to be part of this amazing transformation at Graceful Beginnings in Ravenna! Thanks to Todd for making the trip with a truckload of NATURE!!! 🤩 WE CAN’T WAIT to see what community day looks like tomorrow!!! ☀️🪏🌳🌲

05/15/2026

Meet the Project Manager behind the LEAF team, Matt Brooks! Matt is an educator passionate about the benefits of nature, more organized than the rest of us put together, expert in stitching go-pro camera footage from every angle, and a PhD candidate to boot! If we didn't keep him so busy, he'd have that dissertation finished! Sorry, Matt 😅

In his own words, "LEAF has given me a chance to get back out on the playground again and marvel at the world from a child's point of view. I spent more time outdoors than in as a kid (my parents could only handle so much) and being involved in researching why that may have been good for me has been a wonderful experience!"