History of East Bay Children & Nature

Emeryville Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee

East Bay Children & Nature was born from the efforts of the Emeryville Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. Committee members began discussing and recommending alternative park features in 2019, such as adding loose parts to a playground for creative play, and adding logs to our park lawns for sitting. While the city was unable to implement either at the time, the discussions led committee members to learning about nature playgrounds and  the robust San Francisco Children & Nature program.  

Emeryville Children & Nature is Founded

Members of the Emeryville Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee applied for an Emeryville Community Grant in early 2023 to launch a new organization, Emeryville Children & Nature. A small grant of $4,050 was awarded to build a website, prepare a large Create-with-Nature kit for programming through the Emeryville Center for Community Life (ECCL), and to host a Nature Pop-up at a city event. In 2024 second grant of $9,000 was received to host a series of Nature Pop-ups at city parks and community gardens, and Emeryville was selected as a Nature Everywhere Accelerator Community. 

Expansion to East Bay Children & Nature

As a Nature Everywhere Accelerator Community, a collaboration was formed between the City of Emeryville, Emery Unified School District, Emeryville Child Development Center, Head Start Ralph Hawley that took over the name and mission of Emeryville Children & Nature, with a focus on early childhood. The founders of the original Emeryville Children & Nature saw the opportunity to continue their partnership with this new version of the organization, as both the team lead and fiscal sponsor, all while expanding their efforts to the entire East Bay region. East Bay Children & Nature was officially launched and certified as a 501(c)3 in 2025.