Shannon Rozea, founding director of Thrive Outside, is trying to start a movement born from her desire for every child to have the opportunity to fall in love with nature. “I was fortunate to be surrounded by nature in my childhood, and it shaped who I am,” she says. But when she had children of her own, she saw that the landscape of childhood had changed.
Today, kids spend most of their school hours indoors, only going outside for recess. At home, their schedules are packed with activities, often leaving little time for free outdoor play. “Kids live very structured, indoor-oriented lives,” Rozea says. “They don’t have time to be on
their own outside.”
Even if children had more free time, many live in communities with little access to nature. Some neighborhoods lack green spaces, making it difficult for kids to experience the wild, open-air environments that once defined childhood. “Lack of access to nature has a huge impact on kids’ mental and physical health,” Rozea explains.
Thrive Outside seeks to bridge the growing disconnect between children and nature in three key ways: schoolyard transformation projects, outdoor education training, and community and after-school programs.
A schoolyard project might be as simple as adding a rain garden near the playground or as ambitious as creating a full outdoor classroom, designed for hands-on learning in every subject. A vital part of these projects, one of which is currently in progress at Kickemuit Middle School in Warren, is equipping educators to make the most of these outdoor spaces.
For teachers eager to incorporate outdoor learning but lacking a designated space, Rozea offers the Teacher Learning Circle. “It’s a free program that runs from September to May,” she explains. “Teachers opt into this cohort, where they learn from experts and each other. It’s beautiful to see them build a community and become ambassadors for outdoor learning.”
Rozea recognizes that today’s kids often socialize through screens and video games. “Screens are so alluring, and once their friends are online, there’s this perception that everyone is there,” she says. Thrive aims to reclaim valuable after-school hours and currently has programs in Central Falls, Pawtucket, and Providence.
“We focus on kids in marginalized communities who might not have access to nature,” Rozea explains. She describes Thrive’s after-school programs as a mashup of mindfulness, movement, and art. “It’s an opportunity for kids to get their hands dirty,” she says. However, Rozea knows that inspiring kids starts with engaging their parents. “We’re trying to shift adults’ relationship to the outdoors in the hopes that it will trickle down to children. If adults are thinking differently and encouraging their kids to think differently, whole families could be more connected to nature.”
Thrive hosts themed family nature walks every other month where participants get together and simply take a walk with a guide who can point out wildlife and other features along the chosen path. The organization also offers litter cleanups as a way to interact with the community and have a positive impact on the environment, and regularly holds workshops on mindfulness through bird watching. “We don’t tell kids the workshop is about mindfulness,” Rozea explains. “We just let them experience it. Kids really get into it.” But the most popular event Thrive holds is its annual community event and fundraiser called The Great Mud Escape. “It’s an obstacle course that starts and ends in a mud pit. Families love to experience it together.”
Thrive Outside isn’t the only East Bay organization encouraging children to get a little muddy. Aquidneck Community Table (ACT) works to build a strong, equitable food system and that starts with helping kids develop a love for gardening at school. The organization placed 13 raised garden beds on the grounds of Pell Elementary School in Newport and invites students in grades one through four to be part of a gardening education program. “The kids spend part of their day in the gardens,” explains Rose Jones, executive director of ACT. “They learn about growing, harvesting, composting, and reducing food waste, and they also learn about the critters that call a garden home.”
Students in the program gain an appreciation not only for growing food, but also how delicious the result of their hard work is. “In many cases, they’re trying some of these vegetables for the first time,” Jones says. ACT collaborates closely with educators to develop lesson plans that integrate gardening into the curriculum. “Our Pell program is one of my favorite aspects of what we do,” Jones says. “The kids are the cutest and want to be part of every facet of gardening.”
With the success of its Pell Elementary program, ACT sought funding to expand its reach. A recent federal grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was expected to allow the gardening program to serve all grade levels and expand to other Newport schools. However, uncertainties surrounding funding have put those plans on hold. In the meantime, ACT is exploring other opportunities for growth while maintaining its current initiatives, including a summer camp at the Great Friends Community Garden in Newport.
Jones says the summer program mirrors the experience at Pell Elementary. “In close collaboration with the MLK Community Center, we have kids over once a week for an hour,” she explains. “They plant, raise, and harvest vegetables, and each session ends with a snack and a story.” As little gardeners grow, some develop an interest in turning food into a business. ACT nurtures that curiosity through its Root Riders workforce development program for high schoolers. Students cultivate food at Newport community gardens, then sell their produce at ACT’s farmers market. “It’s a paid summer job that gives students both horticultural and food-based business experience,” Jones says.
Programs like those at ACT help address a larger issue: while Rhode Islanders are fortunate to be surrounded by nature, far too many children lack access to its benefits. “Kids need to be given the opportunity to be outside and the encouragement to embrace it,” Rozea says. “Being in nature is critical to their development.”
Learn more about community gardening plots, youth education programs, and more at AquidneckCommunityTable.org.
Watch for family hikes, outings, and community events by visiting ThriveOutside.info.
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