When Founder Stephanie Derammelaere’s oldest child hit preschool age, she noticed that, although there were many programs, activities, and events available for this age group, none appeared to be nature-based. Likewise, although there are quite a few environmental education programs today, both in schools as well as private, they all appear to start at the elementary school level, at the earliest. At the same time, she noticed that almost all children seem to be born with an innate curiosity and wonder of the natural world. Every spider, every blade of grass, every rock, can capture a child’s attention and imagination.

During this period, Stephanie noticed that many children do not get regular exposure to the outdoors. One book in particular, Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv, captured her attention in that it outlined why many children are not getting outdoors anymore (i.e., less time with both parents working, competition from media like television, video games, and the internet, fear of the unknown, etc.) and the ramifications of this. For example, according to the National Parks Service, camping and backcountry stays in national parks dropped 24% between 1995 and 2005, alarming environmentalists because of what this means for future conservation efforts. For, if children are not exposed to the outdoors, why will they want to protect something they do not care or know nothing about? In his book, Louv also coins the phrase “Nature-Deficit Disorder”, describing the social, psychological and even spiritual ramifications of what an absence of outdoors experiences causes for a generation raised on electronic, rather than natural, stimulation and entertainment.

In short, getting more children outside is good for themselves, and for the planet! (And it doesn’t hurt for Mom or Dad to get some outdoor time as well!) With these ideas in mind, Nature Tots was born, with the goal of providing preschoolers with a fun, creative, and educational experience of their own environment.

Today Nature Tots is a recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit and is currently seeking funding to offer these classes for free to the public.