Today Mary is talking to Nancy Striniste, as part of our mini series of nature educators. Nancy has a lot of amazing advice to offer. She is Director of East Coast Programs for Green Schoolyards America; and founder and principal designer at EarlySpace. Nancy has a unique background as both a landscape designer and an early childhood educator and she has worked with schools, childcare centers, municipalities and organizations across America to create beautiful, sustainably designed natural play and learning spaces.

Nancy is the author of Nature Play at Home: Creating Outdoor Spaces that Connect Children to the Natural World. She teaches at Antioch University New England in their Nature-based Early Childhood Education Graduate Program, serves on the Nature Play Work Group of the Maryland Partnership for Children and Nature, and on the Leadership Team of NoVA Outside.

Recommended books:
Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation by Sharon Danks

Schools That Heal: Design with Mental Health in Mind by Claire Latané

How to Grow a School Garden: A Complete Guide for Parents and Teachers by Arden Buckin- Sporer and Rachel Kathleen Pringle. (that one is out of print but available used online)

The websites mentioned are
GreenSchoolyards.org

The National Outdoor Learning Library can be found at https://www.greenschoolyards.org/covid-learn-outside

Contact Nancy at www.earlyspace.com

Contact Mary Bermingham at
mary@burrennaturesanctuary.ie

Check out Burren Nature Sanctuary at
www.burrennaturesanctuary.ie

Support the Nature Magic Podcast at
https://www.patreon.com/naturemagic

Show website
www.naturemagic.ie