Brave Nature School Collaborative

At A Glance

Location: 

New Haven, Connecticut

Primary Issue Area:

  • Living Economies
  • Environmental Health
  • Food

Active since:

2023

  • Community gathering
  • Becoming friends with the trees
  • Child-led exploration
  • Solo play in nature
  • Insect observation with a friend
  • Identifying lemon balm with mom
  • Playing with mud
  • Practicing care with the smallest of creatures
  • Making music together in nature
  • Theme of the day
  • Collaborative plant-based art
  • Children lead the way

Our Purpose

When Kimberly Gill, an anti-racist environmental educator, became a mom, she struggled to feel belonging in many family-oriented outdoor learning programs in New Haven. She noticed that caregivers passionate about social and environmental justice did not have a dedicated space to hold honest conversations about topics ranging from colonialism to the climate crisis or the implications for their children’s futures. She connected with New Haven’s Dept. of Economic Development, Edgerton Park Conservancy, and a handful of diverse leaders across the Early Childhood Education and Environmental Education landscape to establish Brave Nature School (BNS). For the past three years, BNS has created accessible outdoor spaces where children and families build kinship with nature while developing the relational skills and social-environmental consciousness needed to create a more just future. BNS fosters intergenerational learning that center children's autonomy and dignity through joyful outdoor education, while supporting caregivers in unlearning oppressive systems. Since then, BNS' programs have grown in size and scope. The Equity Membership Model has offered access to 200+ families facing financial hardship. The goal continues to be – to expand equitable access to transformative outdoor experiences that strengthen community resilience, ecological connection, and collective action for environmental and social justice.