Families in Nature

Courtesy Kuhlken Photography

Families in Nature
4610 Shoalwood
Austin, TX 78756
Heather Kuhlken (512) 710-7346
E-Mail: info@familiesinnature.org
Net: familiesinnature.org
Facebook: facebook.com/familiesinnature.org
Families need time to connect without screens and overscheduling and the million other things that fool us. Children do not have the time and space and experience to fall in love with nature. Families in Nature’s (FIN) mission is to connect families to nature and to each other through time playing, learning and volunteering together outdoors.
Audiences: Familes from babies to adults; Schools.
Campus Campout Program: Campus campouts take the best parts of a wilderness camping and recreate them on school campuses in a fun, safe, community-building way. FIN’s Schools-to-Parks Campout Program breaks down the most common barriers to wilderness camping for families – cost, transportation, gear, real and perceived risks, lack of time, lack of outdoor skills – many of which may disproportionately affect under-resourced and under-represented families. The final step of the program’s progression is camping in Texas State Parks. Title 1 schools are free as funding is available.
Guide Development and Ecologist School: FIN conducts Guide Development training that gives you over 1,400 ideas for teaching nature education to all ages through our Ecologist School Program. This program is designed to foster nature connection in all ages within the context of outdoor family adventures. It encourages hands-on experiences that add up over time to a well-rounded knowledge of ecology.
Nature Communities: We train parents, teachers, and community leaders to support creation of Nature Communities in your school or neighborhood – families that play, hike, camp, and volunteer together instead of being divided by age and gender. Once trained they can borrow camping and teaching equipment from our Gear Library.
Most activities are science-based, but there is a considerable amount of time for unstructured play. Nature Communities are encouraged to meet about twice a month during the school year, usually at a park or preserve.

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