What’s the point of this project?

Child development studies prove that kids who are immersed in nature – even just for a few days – show significant cognitive improvement. They perform better on tests. They’re healthier. With this in mind, A Kid By Nature is starting a pilot program with Berkeley elementary schools to help kids get outside while learning about sustainability. This program is funded by A Kid By Nature, and free to public schools and we’re working with teachers to make sure that we enhance their curriculum. Kids and teachers are our priority.

The second priority is teaching children how to be good stewards of the planet. We’ll start by showing children what can be done with their old toys: we’ll show kids where most toys go and how they can be smart about the toys they no longer use, donating, upcycling, and recycling to help others in our community. This project is designed to help all of us – childrenand adults – ask the big questions: “Do we need more stuff? What happens to the stuff we already have?” Most toys are not recycled and end up in landfills. This project starts with a used toy drive and environmental art project and ends with the notion that we can slow our purchasing and flex our power by working with one another to make the planet healthier. Plus we can do this while having fun together. Please contact us if you have questions or suggestions. We welcome the opportunity to hear your ideas.

If you’d like to read more about building sustainable communities, click here to see John Galloway’s thoughtful blog. 

Stewardship one school at a time

     All of us at A Kid By Nature see educators as heroes who do the challenging and admirable job of teaching, guiding, and setting all our children on a productive and healthy path. We see teaching sustainability as crucial,  to shift to a society that values and protects our natural resources.   We can't underestimate the importance of inspiring young people to steward our planet's resources. We believe that building a sustainable community has to start with schools but we want this project to give you a novel way of enriching your curriculum; we hope to enhance your work week without adding more stress to your schedule. If you’re not yet a part of this pilot program but wish to be, please contact us. We welcome your thoughts as we move forward building a sustainable community, one school at a time.

     We are hopeful that this first project – of creating an environmental art project after a used toy drive – will launch an increased awareness of the importance of sustainability education. Studies have shown that children who participate in this type of program function better in the classroom, and we'd love your thoughts on making this experience stimulating, educational, and inspiring for teachers and students. We want to work with you to make this community project fit your needs as we expand to include other schools in Berkeley, Marin, and San Francisco in the pilot program. We're grateful for the great work you do, we value your input and look forward to hearing from you.