Nature Everywhere
Creating equitable access to nature everywhere
children live, learn and play
The evidence is clear: spending time outdoors, in nature, is essential for children’s healthy development. From improving academic and social-emotional learning outcomes, to supporting physical and mental health, children thrive when they have frequent access to outdoor spaces, experiences and learning.
Nature Everywhere in 100 communities by 2025
Every child deserves a meaningful connection to a healthy, natural world. But the systems that create disparities in housing, employment, food, health and education are also present in the design, distribution and programming of green spaces and natural areas. This is especially troubling because research indicates that children impacted by the greatest disparities can experience proportionally greater benefits from regular time in nature.
We are working to advance Nature Everywhere in 100 U.S. communities by 2025. Participating communities are selected through an open application process.
We will provide the following support to help selected communities achieve their Nature Everywhere goals:
- Community visioning – resulting in a culturally relevant, cross-sector community vision for creating equitable access to nature
- Seed grants – to support start-up planning and community engagement
- Equity, policy and funding assessments – resulting in a shared understanding of community needs and assets to inform equitable decision making
- Planning resources and support – resulting in community-led, data-informed and measurable plans for increasing equitable access to nature
- Catalytic grants – to ensure communities have resources to implement plans
- Peer learning – Nature Everywhere community teams join our national peer learning networks, conferences and professional development opportunities
- Tracking and communicating impact – to support measurement, outcome reporting, ongoing funding and ability to make equitable decisions and investments
To learn more about becoming a Nature Everywhere community, visit the 2023 Request for Applications page for more details about the application process and to apply.
Learn MoreNature Everywhere is designed to support communities in bringing about these transformational changes:
- Access to the benefits of nature will not be determined by a child’s skin color, ethnicity, culture, income, ability, identity, sexual orientation or zip code.
- The diversity that exists in communities will be reflected in those who design, program, visit and care for natural areas.
- Nature-based experiences, learning opportunities and infrastructure will be equitably designed, programmed and resourced with the recognition that connection to nature is fundamental to human health and happiness.
- Narratives about who belongs in the outdoors, in nature, will reflect the ways that people from all cultures and backgrounds connect to the natural world.
Bring Nature Everywhere to your community!
Learn MoreOur work with communities and national partners over the past 15 years helps us understand what it takes to achieve – and scale – transformational change. Through a joint initiative with the National League of Cities, we’ve provided multi-year technical assistance, training, resources and catalytic grants to advance equitable access to nature in more than 50 communities like these:
If you would like to invest in Nature Everywhere in your community or help fund this effort nationwide, contact Jaime Zaplatosch Ehrenberg, Sr. Vice President, Development and Partnerships.
Nature Everywhere partners:
Nature Everywhere is made possible with major support from:
