Nature play is critical for children’s health and wellness. Yet children today spend less than 30 minutes a week in nature. We worked hand-in-hand with this young, grassroots organization with an extraordinary goal: catalyze a local cultural shift so that time in nature is once again the norm for Bay Area children. We helped develop a strategic plan framework and targeted strategies with multiple approaches for implementation. We then helped them design and host a regional strategic planning event, successfully bringing together more than 35 diverse community organizations. A key task was developing a social impact network map, showing linkages between people and organizations to help the group increase its reach.

Our work has extended beyond the Bay Area, helping the International Children and Nature Network create social impact network strategies to grow the movement worldwide.  

The resulting Strategic Plan is fueling a grassroots movement as new partners take action. All the organizations are creating opportunities for children to connect with nature by leveraging efforts, developing partnerships, and implementing the Strategic Plan’s ideas and strategies in their own organizations. Acting together, inspired people are making the benefits of nature play a reality for children throughout the Bay Area.