Free Forest School
FFS Launches “Our Outdoors” – New virtual platform and community to help families get outside to play in nature
FREE FOREST SCHOOL (FFS), the Minnesota-based nonprofit with a vision to nurture a world in which every child grows up playing outdoors, today announced the launch of “Our Outdoors,” a new virtual platform for their community of over 50,000 parents and caregivers in the US and Canada.
Our Outdoors is the first program of its kind and offers a completely interactive virtual platform that supports: groups to get users connected with others based on location, interests, and affinities; fun, interactive learning modules and guided reflections empower community members to dig deeper into unstructured outdoor play, and; events where people can sign up to meet with other families outdoors!
“Outdoor play is a foundational childhood experience, yet many kids today lack access. Between busy schedules, lack of parent know-how, and an early emphasis on academic learning, nature play has been crowded out of many kids’ lives,” said Anna Sharratt, Founder and Executive Director of Free Forest School. “Fortunately, our work has shown us that a few key components--community connections, educational offerings, and in-person gatherings--really open doors to nature play. We’re ecstatic to bring these experiences together in one place that celebrates community wisdom and nature right outside your door.”
Our Outdoors is built on the Crew Platform, an online community platform serving more than 50 social movements and education programs. These organizations benefit from the Crew Platform’s collaborative model, where funds raised by one organization benefit all organizations through shared tools that activate communities of change.
Previously, Free Forest School convened and organized its community meet-ups on Facebook, or through its website. Crew’s dedicated platform enables Free Forest School to bring new, dynamic educational offerings - such as Our Outdoors - to its wider community, with an intentional emphasis on creating an inclusive and accessible space for parents and caregivers of diverse backgrounds.
“Free Forest School has been an amazing partner in co-envisioning, testing and launching a lot of new features for the Crew Platform designed to serve much larger movements,” said Talis Apud Martinez, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Crew Platform. “Together, we’ve been able to evolve our platform to better meet the needs of Our Outdoors, which in turn benefits the more than 50 nonprofits in our network that also use the Crew Platform to mobilize, train and connect their communities.”
The Our Outdoors platform offers community members an all-in-one hub to connect with local groups, organize events and access “Explorations,” a series of short and inspiring educational modules that feature tools and ideas for how to raise kids who feel connected to nature within the context of their culture and environment.
“I have been involved with Free Forest School for a few years now, and it has been such a positive influence on my parenting and on my kids,” said Brookelyn Rambadt, a parent participant and volunteer. “I think what excites me most about the new Our Outdoors platform is that it will unite the entire Free Forest School community - and all of its collective knowledge and experience - in one place.”
To learn more about the Our Outdoors community and join the mission to get kids and families playing outside in nature, visit: https://www.freeforestschool.org/ouroutdoorsfaq
