Live Schedule

The live portion of the 2020 conference is taking place the week of July 27, and all live sessions are listed below. If you’d like to see all sessions, including poster sessions and on-demand sessions, visit the session gallery.

Monday, July 27

3:00 PM EDT

Be our Guest: Welcome and Tips from a Natural Start Volunteer

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Sheila Williams Ridge

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Featured

Tuesday, July 28

11:00 AM EDT

Outdoor Learning: A Solution for Schools During COVID-19

Marie Robinson, Anna Dutke, Dr. Andy Russ, Owen Bradley, Anne M Stires

Strand  

Strategies for Change

Wednesday, July 29

11:00 AM EDT

Welcome and Kickoff

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Christy Merrick, Judy Braus

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Featured

11:30 AM EDT

Diversifying Your Outdoor Experience

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Dr. Michelle H. Martin, J. Elizabeth Mills

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Featured

1:00 PM EDT

Reopening Roundtable: Expanding Existing Programs

Reopening Roundtable: Learning at Home

Reopening Roundtable: Social-Emotional Support for Children and Families

Reopening Roundtable: Stepping Out for the First Time

Reopening Roundtable: Troubleshooting Reopening Challenges

2:00 PM EDT

Adding the Nature to Nature Play

Bev Walborn, Natalie Schroder

Strand  

Teaching

Equity and Inclusion in Outdoor Learning with Diverse Communities

Jill Shashaty

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Teaching

Practical Planning and Endless Imagination: Planning Your Outdoor Classroom

Edward L. Melvin

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Administration

The Magic is in the Mess: Engaging with Adult Caregivers During Children's Programming

Melissa Sabo, Anne Horne

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Strategies for Change

3:00 PM EDT

Animal Architects: Using Nature's Builders to Teach STEAM

Julie Travaglini

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Teaching

Here’s to You! Puppet Plays, Nature, and Anti-Bias Education

Julia Robinson, Ashley Kramer, Margaret (Tad) Liechty

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Teaching

Research Collaborative

Victoria Carr, Patty Born Selly, Sue Elliott

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Research

Stick Play: The Power of Imagination

Adrienne Hofmann

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Teaching

Tales From The Trail

Peter Dargatz

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Strategies for Change

4:00 PM EDT

"Oh the Stories We Will Tell": Children and Nature Growing and Learning Together

Natalie E. Reder, Jen Dennison, Tina Spaulding

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Teaching

Fire Pit Safety for Outdoor Early Educators

Jason Hamzy, Lee Hamzy

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Teaching

Inclusive Forest Preschool

Vanessa Jayne Daquilante

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Teaching

Outdoors with All Kids: Garnering Administrative Support for Nature-Based Programs

Marie Robinson

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Strategies for Change

5:00 PM EDT

Attitude of Gratitude

Rebecca Maglischo

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Teaching

Nature-Based Practice, a Right for Every Child but How?

Niki Buchan

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Strategies for Change

Once Upon a Time: Why and How to Use Oral Storytelling in Your Preschool Classroom

Kaitlin Erpestad

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Teaching

Play Potential of Natural Loose Parts: Creative Play in Formal and Informal Settings

Carmen Rietta

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Teaching

Thursday, July 30

11:00 AM EDT

"Kahaniya" - Storytelling for Change: Sharing Case Studies for Promoting Inclusive and Anti-biased Approaches in Innovative Early Childhood Learning Program

Archana Panicker

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Strategies for Change

"Scientists Don’t Say 'Ew!'": Helping Young Children Explore Plants, Animals, and Insects That Are Overlooked, Undesirable, or Otherwise "Gross"

Leigh Ann Fish

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Teaching

Earning Federal Recognition for Your Sustainable Early Learning

Andrea Falken, Maggie Johnston, Catherine E Koons Hubbard

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Strategies for Change

The Story of Vermont Forest Days

Eliza Minnucci

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Teaching

12:00 PM EDT

"Trees Can Talk Too You Know, Just Different Than You and Me": Storytelling Incorporating Plants with Personality

Liz Boyle

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Teaching

Minnesota's Nature Endorsement for Early Childhood Programs

Jenny Hanlon, Anna Dutke, Heidi Faris

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Strategies for Change

Surprising Soil Secrets

Linda Pettit, Amy Tressler

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Teaching

Teaching and Learning in a Nature Preschool

Jennifer Gallo-Fox, Susan Lewis, Katie Pollock

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Research

1:00 PM EDT

Regional Roundtable: Illinois (NINPA)

Regional Roundtable: Michigan (MiTIN)

Regional Roundtable: Minnesota (MNECO)

Regional Roundtable: New England (Inside-Outside)

Regional Roundtable: Ohio

Regional Roundtable: Texas (NEST)

Regional Roundtable: Washington (WaNPA)

2:00 PM EDT

A Compassionate Approach to Conflict Resolution in Nature Education

Takako Kono, Yinan Lu

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Teaching

A Post-Human Perspective on Child-Animal Encounters

Elizabeth Boileau, Patty Born Selly

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Teaching

Advocacy through Storytelling

Nicole Corbo

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Strategies for Change

Bats Eat Bugs and Other Natural Wonders: Inclusive Learning with Camp Read-a-Rama

Dr. Michelle H. Martin

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Teaching

Bees Attacking, Mouse Nest Finds, Snakes Inside: Undergrads' Fears Conquered Through Mindfulness

Katie Pollock, Laura Morris

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Teacher Development in Higher Education

3:00 PM EDT

Early Science Learning: Using Outdoor Environments to Engage Children

Meg Gravil

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Research

Past-Present-Future: Regional Associations and Their Role in Our Growing Communities

Curtis Ludwig, Kit Harrington, Megan Gessler, Liza Lowe

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Strategies for Change

Planting Seeds of Social Change Through Nature-Based Learning

Cheryl Ryan

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Teaching

Resilience Planning: A Story of How We Prepared for the Worst So We Can Enjoy the Rest

Rebecca P Hackett-Levy

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Administration

The Sky Will NOT Fall: How One Early Childhood Program Socialized Chicken Little

Andrea Sambrook, Maeghan Booska

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Strategies for Change

4:00 PM EDT

Rethink Outside: Let's Tell a New Story!

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Anupama Joshi, Nilda Cosco

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Featured

5:30 PM EDT

Movie Night: Turning School Inside Out

Liza Lowe

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Strategies for Change

6:00 PM EDT

Panel: Turning School Inside Out

Liza Lowe, Laura White, Gina Gitchell

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Strategies for Change

Friday, July 31

11:00 AM EDT

How to Nap in the Grass

Bailey O'Reilly

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Teaching

Playing in Nature When the World Is on Fire: Seeing, Listening, and Responding to Young Children and Families in a Time of Climate Crisis

Jill Canelli, Patty Born Selly

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Strategies for Change

Working With Puppets: A Guide to Puppets and Inquiry

Emilie Hanson

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Teaching

12:00 PM EDT

A Panel Discussion on Integrating Environmental Education Pedagogy into Early Childhood Teacher Preparation

Sylvia Collazo, Sarah Foglesong, Patti Bailie

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Teacher Development in Higher Education

Answering the Frequently Asked Questions of Starting a School: Live Q&A with Rachel Larimore and David Catlin

Rachel Larimore, David Catlin

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Administration

Safety and Healthy Risk-Taking in Nature-Based Education: Live Q&A with Anne Stires and Amy Butler

Anne M Stires, Amy Butler

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Teaching

Unlocking the Potential: Using Digital Training Modules to Promote Best Practices in Nature-Based Learning Environments

Rachel Konerman, Sue Schlembach, Victoria Carr, Yuchang Yuan, Ann Rossmiller, Leslie Kochanowski

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Teacher Development in Higher Education

1:00 PM EDT

Outdoor Preschool for All

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Kit Harrington, Lynny Brown, Megan Patterson, Aliza Yair

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Featured

2:30 PM EDT

George Washington Carver and the Nature Study Movement and Its Relevance Today

Jim Embry

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Teaching

Little Trees of Life: Bible Texts for Nature Education in Early Childhood

Elyssa Austerklein

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Teaching

The Effect of Access to Greenspace on the Occurrence of Outdoor Play for Children’s Physical and Mental Health Outcomes

Kelley Prendergast

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Research

The Joys of Farm to School: How to Implement Fun Indoor and Outdoor Activities That Instill Healthy Habits and Environmental Stewardship

Andrea N Zoppo

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Teaching

3:30 PM EDT

Birds and Birdhouses with Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Preservice Teachers in a Laboratory School

Jennifer Gallo-Fox, Katie Pollock, Deborah Torbert, Susan Lewis

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Teacher Development in Higher Education

Early Literacy Benefits of Nature-Based Learning

Anna Jennerjohn, Jen Heyer

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Strategies for Change

Starting From (Almost) Scratch: Founding an Equitable and Accessible Nature-Based Preschool in the City

Alyson Quinn, Sheila Williams Ridge

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Strategies for Change

The Therapeutic Benefits of Nature for Children

Jenny Hanlon

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Teaching

4:30 PM EDT

Conference Closing and Happy Hour

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Christy Merrick

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Featured