Reconnecting Community Through Nature

At Friends of Curious & Kind Education, we believe nature is a powerful teacher and that everyone should have access to its benefits.
 

We host free outdoor events that invite children and families to slow down, connect, and rediscover the joy of unstructured play. These gatherings foster mental and physical wellness, spark creativity, and strengthen community bonds.
 

Why Nature Play Matters

Play is more than fun; it’s fundamental to learning. Open-ended, nature-based play supports:

• Emotional resilience and self-regulation

• Improves attention spans, sensory integration

• Builds immune system function, reduces cortisol levels, and allows for better sleep

• Promotes physical activity, balance, motor skills, and body awareness

• Safe risk taking is critical for resilience and independence

• Social development and empathy

• Free play reduces stress, anxiety, and symptoms of depression.

• It provides a safe outlet for emotional expression, exploration of fears, and building a sense of control over the environment.

• Supports language acquisition, negotiation, cooperation, and turn-taking.

• Unstructured play helps develop executive functions like working memory, cognitive flexibility, and self-regulation, which are foundational for lifelong learning.

• Children who engage in imaginative and social play show stronger development in problem-solving and decision-making skills.

In a time when screens dominate and stress levels rise, nature play offers relief, renewal, and real connection.

 

How We Sustain This Work

To keep our public events free and accessible, we fundraise through seasonal paid events, grants & community support. Every dollar raised helps us continue offering inclusive programming that benefits the entire community.

 

How You Can Help

With your support, we can expand our reach and create more opportunities for families to experience the healing and joy that comes from time spent in nature.

• Attend and share our events

• Support our fundraising efforts

• Volunteer your time or talents

• Donate to help us grow
   

Together, we’re planting the seeds of a kinder, healthier, more connected future.

 

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

Sources: Children & Nature Network, Richard Louv’s “Last Child in the Woods,” Journal of Environmental Psychology

Source: Outdoor Play Canada, Journal of Pediatrics

Source: The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, AAP, and Play England

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

Source: Center on the Developing Child – Harvard University