A Melted Puddle of Goo!
A caterpillar forms itself into a chrysalis,
and later a butterfly emerges.
But inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar has really become
a melted puddle of goo!
The goo is made of “imaginal cells,”
which can become anything the growing butterfly needs them to be.
After several years of hard work, Nature Learning Community had found a rhythm, accumulated some learnings, and was steadily growing. And then… pandemic!
Overnight, our fresh-air, hands-on, fireside classes went… online! We refunded about 80% of class fees, and our hardworking, dedicated team became volunteers as we finished our semester, continuing to serve dozens of kids through the spookiest part of pandemic.
Overnight, our fresh-air, hands-on, fireside classes went… online! We refunded about 80% of class fees, and our hardworking, dedicated team became volunteers as we finished our semester, continuing to serve dozens of kids through the spookiest part of pandemic.
And then we wondered…is this the end?
Will we have to close our doors?
(Imagine a blanket swishing across the entrance to our strawbale shelter!)
Our volunteers worked through the summer, hosting test events to learn how to mask and distance with kids outdoors. After many hours of planning, we launched fall programs.
The response was epic! With Ann Arbor Public Schools closed, parents who’d never noticed us before came looking for something their kids could do safely outdoors. And we were ready! And since nature connected community isn’t just for kids, we expanded teen mentoring opportunities and our free community conversation programs for adults.
The response was epic! With Ann Arbor Public Schools closed, parents who’d never noticed us before came looking for something their kids could do safely outdoors. And we were ready! And since nature connected community isn’t just for kids, we expanded teen mentoring opportunities and our free community conversation programs for adults.
We think we’re a butterfly now!
But as we know,
butterflies need all the help they can get in this world.
Our costs have gone up, but we continue to provide scholarships to everyone who needs one. Because fresh air, sunshine, skillful hands and nature-connected community are our birthright!
Please help us meet this moment by donating to our Fall Fundraiser! Your contributions will take flight, become the next generation of nature-connected children and adults, and help us carry our campfire magic into new realms!
Rowena Conahan
Director
Please help us meet this moment by donating to our Fall Fundraiser! Your contributions will take flight, become the next generation of nature-connected children and adults, and help us carry our campfire magic into new realms!
Rowena Conahan
Director
Nature Learning Community is recognized as a Federal Tax Exempt Organization under IRS code section 501(c)3. Tax ID # 46-3492516. We'll gladly provide you with a receipt for tax purposes.
Celebrations and Aspirations!
Nature Learning Community is becoming a presence in the Ann Arbor Community! From our beginning as a single class with a handful of homeschooled kids, we’ve grown, over nine years, into an organization serving more than 110 young people in 2020!
Celebrations!
In 2020 We hosted numerous free public events supporting nature connection, community building, and social justice, including Campfire Conversations, Ancestor Feast, Story Feast, and a Book discussion group about Carolyn Finney’s Black Faces/White Spaces.
We launched our Multicultural Nature Connection Studies, beginning by inviting Panoka Walker, and Anishinaabe storyteller, to share with us about her people’s nature connection experience and practices. We’re currently learning about Black Nature Connection by talking with our friends L’Oreal Hawkes-Williams of New Leaf Detroit and Nuola Akinde of Kereke Freedom School. You can look forward to an interview with them in the new year.
We launched our Multicultural Nature Connection Studies, beginning by inviting Panoka Walker, and Anishinaabe storyteller, to share with us about her people’s nature connection experience and practices. We’re currently learning about Black Nature Connection by talking with our friends L’Oreal Hawkes-Williams of New Leaf Detroit and Nuola Akinde of Kereke Freedom School. You can look forward to an interview with them in the new year.
To meet the needs of this extraordinary year, we’ve reduced class sizes, offered shorter sessions for more flexibility, implemented safety protocols specified by the Michigan Safe Start Plan, and continued to offer scholarship to everyone who asked. All of this increased administrative work and the costs of running classes.
In addition to expanding our regular lineup of daytime classes for early childhood through early teens, we’ve added after-school classes to include more kids, offered online classes to support kids who aren’t able to join in person, and increased teen mentoring opportunities.
And as always, we continue to weave a focus on community building and peacemaking through everything we do!
In addition to expanding our regular lineup of daytime classes for early childhood through early teens, we’ve added after-school classes to include more kids, offered online classes to support kids who aren’t able to join in person, and increased teen mentoring opportunities.
And as always, we continue to weave a focus on community building and peacemaking through everything we do!
Our Aspirations for 2021
Like everyone else, we have some New Year’s goals. We’d like to:
We hope our work and goals inspire you, and that you’ll consider donating to Nature Learning Community!
With appreciation for your kindness,
Rowena Conahan
Director
- Offer more after school classes
- Try new locations at local parks (bringing nature class closer to where folks live!)
- Expand summer camps
- Continue to grow opportunities for teens exploring mentoring
- Offer more classes for adults
- Designate scholarships to encourage more Black, Indigenous and People of Color to join our classes
- Continue to meet all scholarship requests
- Adequately fund administrative work so Nature Learning Community can grow and thrive in the future
- Produce a seasonal calendar of nature happenings
- Continue our multicultural Nature Connection Studies
We hope our work and goals inspire you, and that you’ll consider donating to Nature Learning Community!
With appreciation for your kindness,
Rowena Conahan
Director
Nature Learning Community is recognized as a Federal Tax Exempt Organization under IRS code section 501(c)3. Tax ID #46-3492516. We’ll gladly provide you with a receipt for tax purposes.