Call for Applications: Nature Play in Your School
Take your professional development to the wild side! Nature Play in Your School is a one-week, hands-on professional development workshop designed to support teachers in urban schools learn how to incorporate nature play and nature-based learning into their schools and classrooms. This course will be taught in person at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and the Anacostia Community Museum in Washington, DC.
Accepted participants will explore how they can use their schoolyard and neighborhood resources, as well as the public green spaces that are part of the Smithsonian to create outdoor learning experiences for students. We will also explore how to bring nature indoors for an alternative approach to nature play.
The 2025 workshop will focus on content most appropriate for educators serving grades pre-K to 2. Ten educators will be accepted, with priority given to applicants who teach in Wards 7 and 8 of Washington DC.
Applications are due no later than Friday, May 23, 2025 at 5:00p.m. EST.
Commitments and Benefits
Accepted participants must attend all five days of the workshop from August 10-15, 2025. Participants will:
- Receive a $1500 stipend for participation in all five days of the workshop.
- Develop and present a proposal for a nature-based learning project that they will implement in their classroom or school during the 2025-2026 school year.
- Earn a $1000 development grant to fund the implementation of their individual proposal.
- Attend quarterly follow-up meetings/site visits with workshop leaders and small group cohort members to support their project implementation
- Have the opportunity to present on their work to a national audience at the 2026 Smithsonian National Education Summit.
- Receive professional development contact hours toward license recertification (dependent upon state requirements)
Application Criteria
Ten educators will be accepted into the 2025 Nature Play in Your School professional development cohort.
This workshop will take place in part in the public green spaces that are part of the Anacostia Community Museum and the National Zoo. In order to maximize the immediate impact of this workshop for students, we are prioritizing applications from education staff who work in schools in Wards 7 and 8 of Washington DC.
We will consider applicants from outside of Wards 7 and 8 if space allows in the following order:
- Education staff from schools in Washington DC
- Education staff from schools in Maryland or Virginia
- Education staff from schools in states outside the DC, Maryland, Virginia region.
Please note that participants are responsible for all food, lodging, and travel costs associated with attending the program.