Connecting Young Children to Nature through the Grow Up Green Program
Written by Majae Baker, PPR PowerCorpsPHL Outdoor Experiences Fellow
I began working for Philadelphia Parks & Recreation (PPR) as a PowerCorps PHL fellow, supporting the City of Philadelphia’s environmental stewardship initiatives by serving on a crew of seven fellows to complete environmental projects throughout Philadelphia. I then started working for PPR’s workforce program as an Outdoor Experiences Instructor, where I executed over 20 individual after-school programs for toddlers through eighth graders by designing and implementing nature-based programs. I recently began working as a PowerCorpsPHL fellow again, and I work alongside Mary-Grace Gorman, Grow UP Green Program Creator .
Each Thursday, Mary-Grace and I visit Columbus Square Playground in South Philly to present a nature-based program called Grow Up Green to the playground’s tot recreation program. This program was created to help kids grow more connected to nature and to show them the different ways they can interact with their outdoor environments. Grow Up Green addresses key educational and developmental needs while encouraging outdoor play for children between the ages of three-and-a-half and five.
This fall’s program at Columbus Square covered themes such as hiking, camping, fishing, birding, and building campfires. During each of the programs, we presented the children with plenty of fun facts and safety tips they should know when involving themselves with these types of outdoor activities. Each of the programs also included a hands-on craft or activity to go along with the week’s theme.
The kids were always excited to see to us and were interested in learning whichever new topic we had scheduled for them that day. The kids were engaged and excited to interact with us during each program, often seeming to remember things from the programs we taught in previous weeks. During my time teaching at Columbus Square Playground, I greatly enjoyed interacting with each kid and teaching them new things that they took home with them and can use in their lives.
(Kids from the Columbus Square Playground Tot Recreation Program with their Grow Up Green Certificates, which they earned by participating in Majae and Mary-Grace’s program.)
More About the Grow Up Green Program:
PPR’s Tot Recreation programs focus on building social and emotional strengths and a foundation for learning in the formal education system, including core competencies like colors, shapes, letters, etc. What is unique about Grow Up Green is that it also focuses on the environment and nature. Grow Up Green encourages outdoor play and a greater connection to the natural world while addressing key educational and developmental needs among children.
Grow Up Green program activities are classroom-friendly and incorporate story reading, songs, crafts, role playing, exploration, inquiry, and simple experiments. Additionally, children grow plants, germinate seeds, look at seasonal changes and weather, and learn about the wildlife they see in their neighborhoods as well as the wildlife they don’t see, such as night flying bats and owls. From tiny caterpillars to salamanders, children will learn the importance of nature in their lives.