Interested in connecting with fellow educators?

The Early Childhood Hoosiers Outdoors (ECHO) Network is designed to support education practitioners wanting to get students into outdoor learning settings.  We meet on the second Monday of odd months at 4 pm by zoom.

Integrating Pediatric Therapy Services into Forest Schools

Forest schools are very therapeutic for all our students, but some need a bit more support to participate with a larger group or to address specific challenges. Nature-based pediatric therapy services are a great fit for forest schools to provide individual support for students with more significant needs. These services allow forest schools to provide a more inclusive program to enroll students of all abilities. 

Our speaker in November will be Gretchen Shissler, a pediatric occupational therapist who founded Forest Academy in Lafayette, IN in 2022. She received a certification in nature-based therapy through ConTiGO and a forest school educator certification through ANBE (formerly ERAFANS). Gretchen began providing pediatric occupational therapy services through Forest Academy in the fall of 2023 and will be expanding the therapy program during the 2024-2025 school year with the addition of physical therapy and speech therapy services.

The purpose of this network includes:

• A group of peers: Connecting educators and administrators for support, guidance, encouragement, troubleshooting, etc.
• A common space for sharing resources and best practices
• Opportunities for professional development
• Shared advocacy and continuing education around nature-based programs
• Program observation
• and more!

The network was inspired by a surge of interest in program formats such as Nature Preschools, Forest Kindergartens, and Forest Schools; however, it is an inclusive group for those working with young children in any format. Our interests center on developmentally-appropriate educational opportunities for children in outdoor settings, whether in the woods, on the prairie, or in the schoolyard.

We want this network to be dynamic and responsive to emerging needs of participants. We encourage you to join us on this journey of mutual exploration and learning!

If you are interested in knowing more, sign up below to join. Participants will be added to a Google group to get email updates for monthly meeting times and to post question to others within the group. If you have previously registered for any other ECHO Network sessions, you do not need to register again as you will automatically receive the zoom link via the Google group.