Natural Play, Natural Learning, Natural Food
Sometimes things have to change. We realized that our previous project title (Project Outdoor Learning) didn’t encompass all that we are doing so we have changed it to the Natural Neighborhood Initiative. Categorizing our vision has been challenging because it is multi-faceted and doesn’t fit into a nice, neat nonprofit box. The full scope of our mission is to transform the way city children and their families live and interact for a higher, healthier, and more resilient life. To accomplish this, the neighborhood “landscape” must be altered. Access to what families need must be provided one way or another. The basic needs for healthy child development, for example, do not change as a city becomes more densely populated. Therefore, we must restore what’s missing if we want to enable today’s children to thrive as well as city kids did in the 1950s and 1960s. Restore the natural, basic elements needed by humanity. It’s really that simple. Restoration equals transformation. This is the core of our mission.
While we cannot turn back the clock, we can naturalize neighborhoods to create access to the basic, natural things that children and adults need to thrive and enjoy life in the city they call home. Places where daily* (*important word here) outdoor interaction with nature and each other can happen are vital in every neighborhood. Places that enable natural play, natural learning, and natural food growing will change any neighborhood for the better. Intentional
change has begun in Elizabeth, in a neighborhood called Peterstown. You can partner with us to transform neighborhoods and the way city children and families experience daily life, because it’s time to change things.