Community Impact in Action
Our community partnerships bring our mission to life. With support from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' No Child Left Inside grant, Hennepin County Green Partners, the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, the Bryn Mawr Neighborhood Association and the University of St. Thomas, we're expanding access to outdoor learning and deepening our impact through collaboration, education and environmental stewardship.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
With support from the Minnesota DNR's No Child Left Inside grant, Minneapolis Nature Preschool invested in high-impact outdoor learning infrastructure within our school forest. Funding was utilized to install interpretive signage, including trail maps and native plant identification, enhancing environmental literacy and place-based learning across 11.5 acre school forest. We also created several outdoor learning spaces including a chickadee landing, designed to provide children with a calm environment that supports emotional well-being, connection to nature and close interactions with wild birds, typically black-capped chickadees.
Hennepin County Green Partners
Supported by Hennepin County's Green Partners program, Minneapolis Nature Preschool extended our high-quality nature-based programming across partner schools in the community. This funding enabled us to offer naturalist-led environmental education programs and stewardship initiatives such as forest clean-ups, native garden maintenance and the sharing of curriculum resources. Through these efforts we cultivate stewardship among a diverse range of learners at Bryn Mawr Elementary and Anwatin Middle School.
Minnesota Indian Affairs Council
Minneapolis Nature Preschool partnered with the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council (MIAC) and Dakhóta Iápi Okhódakičhiye to support Indigenous-led education and cultural immersion. MNP has hosted intergenerational Dakota Immersion Camps led by elders fluent in the Dakota language; integrating culture and ecological knowledge into early childhood learning. These camps served as a precursor to the University of Minnesota's Dakhódiapi Wahóȟpi Dakota Language Nest. Through these partnerships, we deepen our commitment to honoring Indigenous knowledge, language revitalization and cultural connection within early childhood education.