Pathways: Spring 2023 Newsletter
The Spring 2023 edition of Pathways, our bi-annual newsletter, includes exciting news about what's taking root this spring! With new leadership in place, new partners continuing to join our community, plus a new apprenticeship program on the horizon, Muddy Sneakers is embracing opportunities to spread our roots deeper, and further, across the state, exploring ways to bring hands-on experiential science education to more communities than ever before!
The Spring 2023 edition of Pathways, our bi-annual newsletter, includes exciting news about what's taking root this spring! With new leadership in place, new partners continuing to join our community, plus a new apprenticeship program on the horizon, Muddy Sneakers is embracing opportunities to spread our roots deeper, and further, across the state, exploring ways to bring hands-on experiential science education to more communities than ever before!
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NOTES FROM THE FIELD > SPRING <strong>2023</strong><br />
PATHWAYS<br />
As you will see in this newsletter, our team is nurturing new<br />
growth - from new leadership and partnerships to fresh<br />
perspectives and career cultivation.<br />
We are vigorously pursuing statewide awareness to not only<br />
ensure North Carolina’s youth are deeply rooted into the<br />
natural landscapes of their communities, but also to<br />
rejuvenate our teachers through the restored relationships,<br />
enlivened curiosity, and teaching confidence gained through<br />
the holistic Muddy Sneakers experience.<br />
After just a few months as Executive Director, I have seen<br />
these - and more - impactful results from our program. I hope<br />
you share my excitement and optimism for the future of<br />
North Carolina’s public education system as we spread our<br />
roots deeper, and further across the state and explore ways to<br />
bring hands-on experiential science education to more<br />
communities than ever before.<br />
Thank you for being a part of this journey!<br />
David Webb, Executive Director<br />
Director's<br />
Note<br />
Dear friends,<br />
As <strong>Spring</strong> approaches,<br />
Muddy Sneakers is<br />
embodying the spirit of<br />
regeneration with<br />
opportunities for expansion!<br />
Living Our Core<br />
Values: Well-being<br />
The third of five stories in a series highlighting the Muddy<br />
Sneakers Core Values in action.<br />
Biologist E. O. Wilson called it<br />
“biophilia,” the idea that<br />
humans are innately drawn to<br />
nature.<br />
Thirty years later, when<br />
American childhood had<br />
become an increasingly<br />
indoor and screen-based<br />
experience, Richard Louv<br />
called it Vitamin N, the<br />
essential impact of nature on<br />
our overall well-being.<br />
Alarmed by the impacts of<br />
indoor childhood, Louv coined<br />
the phrase Nature Deficit<br />
Disorder and helped launch a<br />
sweeping movement to get<br />
young people back outdoors.<br />
Muddy Sneakers was born<br />
from this movement, and<br />
over fifteen years, we’ve<br />
shared formative nature<br />
experiences with nearly<br />
28,000 students in NC – over<br />
half a million hours spent<br />
learning and thriving on our<br />
state’s protected lands.<br />
The intrinsic connections<br />
between nature, curiosity, and<br />
wonder are apparent on every<br />
Muddy Sneakers expedition.<br />
So too are the links between<br />
time spent in green spaces<br />
and an ever-growing list of<br />
positive effects.<br />
The less structured outdoor<br />
environment allows students<br />
to tap into their creativity and<br />
imagination, develop peer<br />
social skills, and discover new<br />
interests and abilities.<br />
Children who have regular<br />
access to green spaces score<br />
higher on tests of cognitive<br />
development, confidence,<br />
and overall mental health.<br />
After several COVIDimpacted<br />
years of disruption<br />
and stress, educators are<br />
trumpeting the positive<br />
impacts of outdoor time for<br />
students, and the evidence<br />
continues to grow.<br />
(continued on next page)
(continued from previous page)<br />
Widely published data about<br />
the influence of nature<br />
exposure on children<br />
encountering Adverse<br />
Childhood Experiences<br />
(ACES) has shown:<br />
reduced stress and<br />
anxiety,<br />
improved mood and<br />
mental health,<br />
increased family bonding<br />
and communication,<br />
improved self-regulation,<br />
increased coping skills and<br />
resilience, and<br />
increased sense of<br />
permanence, security,<br />
belonging, and identity.<br />
Students need this more than<br />
ever.<br />
NC State University<br />
researchers' recent evaluation<br />
of our program shows<br />
students who had completed<br />
a year of Muddy Sneakers<br />
reported significant gains in<br />
critical thinking, connection to<br />
nature, and measures of<br />
science learning, interest, and<br />
confidence (see chart below).<br />
An amazing 94% of students<br />
said Muddy Sneakers<br />
expeditions took them<br />
somewhere they’d never<br />
been before, right in their own<br />
communities. Most of them<br />
said they plan to go back,<br />
where nature and its countless<br />
healing gifts will be waiting for<br />
them.<br />
After Muddy Sneakers, students reported:<br />
50%<br />
INCREASE<br />
75%<br />
INCREASE<br />
Critical<br />
Thinking<br />
Skills<br />
Learning<br />
About<br />
Nature<br />
100%<br />
INCREASE<br />
400%<br />
INCREASE<br />
Science<br />
Knowledge<br />
Science<br />
Confidence<br />
Revolution Academy<br />
students present their<br />
nature boat creation during<br />
a Fall 2022 expedition.<br />
New Leaders<br />
After three years as Muddy<br />
Sneakers' Board Chair, leading<br />
our organizational transition<br />
towards greater state impact,<br />
Chase Pickering has passed<br />
the role to Betsy Jordan. We<br />
are forever grateful to Chase<br />
for all he has done for Muddy<br />
Sneakers!<br />
Betsy, a retired lawyer with a<br />
great passion for getting<br />
children outside, has served<br />
on the Board for five years,<br />
and exuberantly picks up the<br />
leadership role, working in<br />
partnership with Executive<br />
Director, David Webb, to<br />
increase efficiencies while<br />
building infrastructure and<br />
community to reach more of<br />
our state's public schools.<br />
Muddy Sneakers has also<br />
promoted Nikki Jones and<br />
Region Directors: Cody Bliss & Nikki Jones<br />
hired Cody Bliss to direct our<br />
regional work in WNC and<br />
the piedmont respectively.<br />
As Region Directors, they will<br />
oversee program execution<br />
and advancement to provide<br />
consistent exceptional<br />
results for students and<br />
teachers. They'll also deepen<br />
relationships with school<br />
administrators, advisory<br />
councils, and land agencies.<br />
This work will ensure our<br />
mission-aligned services<br />
evolve to meet vital needs.<br />
New School Partners<br />
Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools Receive<br />
Full Muddy Sneakers Scholarships<br />
Muddy Sneakers has what<br />
some might consider a ‘good<br />
problem’ - each year, dozens<br />
of schools express interest in<br />
participating in our outdoor<br />
education program.<br />
However, privately fundraising<br />
75% of the partnership costs<br />
annually means that,<br />
depending on levels of<br />
community support, some<br />
schools remain on our waiting<br />
list. Responding to interest<br />
from Winston-Salem Forsyth<br />
County Schools, we decided<br />
to completely fund two yearlong<br />
partnerships during the<br />
2022-23 year.<br />
After a competitive<br />
application and interview<br />
process, the Downtown<br />
School and Rural Hall<br />
Elementary received the<br />
scholarships, growing our<br />
network to 239 students and<br />
ten educators in the county.<br />
A Rural Hall Teacher shared,<br />
"It’s an excellent way for<br />
students to get out and<br />
experience nature. Many<br />
students typically don’t go out<br />
and interact with nature at<br />
home. So Muddy Sneakers is a<br />
way to give them this<br />
opportunity and help support<br />
the curriculum taught in the<br />
classroom in a fun way!"<br />
If you are interested in<br />
supporting more schools in<br />
Winston-Salem and beyond,<br />
please contact us today!
SITE SPOTLIGHT:<br />
The Downtown School (WSFCS) visits<br />
Pilot Mountain State Park for a Living<br />
Systems expedition.<br />
Investing in New <strong>Pathways</strong><br />
to Our Natural World<br />
We’re honored to announce<br />
two major grants that are<br />
laying a trail to serve more<br />
students and bring new field<br />
instructors to our team.<br />
A multi-school-year<br />
commitment from the<br />
Dogwood Health Trust allows<br />
us to support approximately<br />
1,200 more western NC<br />
students during the 2022-23<br />
and <strong>2023</strong>-24 school years.<br />
Pilot Mountain State Park<br />
Since 2016, Pilot Mountain<br />
State Park has been delighting<br />
Muddy Sneakers students<br />
with its variety of ecosystems.<br />
From grasslands and forests,<br />
to rivers and mountains -<br />
including its namesake, the<br />
iconic 2,241-foot geologic<br />
knob - the park offers spaces<br />
perfect for creek exploration,<br />
hiking, journaling, and more!<br />
WANT TO GO?<br />
A National Recreation<br />
Foundation grant enables the<br />
creation of an apprenticeship<br />
program to hire and train staff<br />
without previous formal<br />
training, creating more<br />
equitable pathways for<br />
anyone seeking an<br />
Instructor Spotlight<br />
Julie Thomson, WNC Field Instructor<br />
Julie has been a Muddy<br />
Sneakers Field Instructor since<br />
August 2021 and recently<br />
completed her Certification in<br />
Environmental Education. In<br />
addition, she's an author! Her<br />
passion for connecting with<br />
nature and community is<br />
Muddy Sneakers' Logistics<br />
and Community Programs<br />
Coordinator, Em Hitzfelder,<br />
says, “We have especially<br />
enjoyed learning about Living<br />
Systems here. There are hills<br />
to climb that really get our<br />
hearts pumping during our<br />
pulse experiment and so<br />
many connections to be<br />
made from the living systems<br />
we observe in nature.”<br />
1721 Pilot Knob Park Rd., Pinnacle, NC<br />
ncparks.gov/state-parks/pilot-mountain-state-park<br />
These funds will empower us<br />
to respond to requests in 11<br />
districts throughout WNC,<br />
growing our reach by 55%<br />
over the 2021-22 school year.<br />
environmental education<br />
career. The program will offer<br />
opportunities to keep local<br />
talent at home and introduce<br />
students to instructors who<br />
share their experiences.<br />
Please join us in thanking these<br />
Muddy Sneakers partners!<br />
evident in her book, "Saving<br />
the Eno: Margaret Nygard<br />
and the Eno River<br />
Association," and the weaving<br />
exhibition she’s currently cocurating<br />
at the Black<br />
Mountain College Museum +<br />
Arts Center.<br />
Seeking<br />
Alumni<br />
Stories<br />
Where are they now?<br />
Upon 5th grade graduation, we<br />
tend to lose touch with our<br />
students. We never stop<br />
thinking about them, though.<br />
What are they doing now?<br />
What do they remember about<br />
Muddy Sneakers years later?<br />
Looking back, were there any<br />
key Muddy Sneakers moments<br />
that helped shape their future?<br />
We now have systems in place<br />
to better track our more recent<br />
students, but we welcome<br />
your help finding some of our<br />
early participants.<br />
If you are - or know - a Muddy<br />
Sneakers alumni, please let us<br />
know. We would love to learn<br />
about your experiences and<br />
share your story.<br />
Scan the QR code or email<br />
info@muddysneakers.org to<br />
join our alumni community!<br />
“I'm always impressed when students ask to do a Silent Hike on a<br />
trail or in the forest towards the end of the day. One student<br />
commented that it gave her "space to hear my own thoughts."”
WNC OFFICE<br />
P.O. Box 146<br />
Brevard, NC 28712<br />
828-862-5560<br />
PIEDMONT OFFICE<br />
P.O. Box 2151<br />
Salisbury, NC 28144<br />
704-209-4009<br />
www.muddysneakers.org<br />
#muddysneakersnc<br />
SEEKING<br />
VOLUNTEERS<br />
Our volunteer program is<br />
growing! Current opportunities<br />
include:<br />
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR:<br />
Recruit, coordinate, and empower<br />
Muddy Sneakers' volunteer team.<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER: Shadow and<br />
document Muddy Sneakers<br />
expeditions via photo and/or video.<br />
CONNECT KIDS<br />
TO NATURE<br />
Become a role model<br />
for future generations.<br />
FLEXIBLE TIME<br />
COMMITMENT<br />
One hour or one year;<br />
what works for you?<br />
STATEWIDE<br />
OPPORTUNITIES<br />
Travel to new places or<br />
stick close to home!<br />
Please support our work!<br />
Visit muddysneakers.org to<br />
give a meaningful gift today.<br />
Muddy Sneakers<br />
at Home<br />
Signs of <strong>Spring</strong> Scavenger Hunt<br />
EVENT VOLUNTEER: Plan, set up,<br />
clean up, and represent Muddy<br />
Sneakers at festivals and events.<br />
Email info@muddysneakers.org<br />
to get involved.<br />
How many signs of the<br />
season can you observe?