Two weeks ago, at the Annual Advancing Environmental Education Conference, we asked a simple but powerful question: How can we create a culture of care that helps our environmental and outdoor learning community thrive?

The responses were as inspiring as they were diverse. Educators, leaders, and partners shared from the heart—naming what it takes to support one another, strengthen connections, and care for both people and the planet.

This is the third post in our three-part series exploring how environmental and outdoor learning can evolve to meet this moment. In our first post, we reflected on centering relationships—with land, with systems, and with each other. In our second, we explored collective care and how tending our shared work builds stronger, more connected communities.

Now, drawing on the wisdom of this year’s conference participants, we turn to what community care looks like right now—lifted up through six key themes that can help us grow a culture of care together.

Responding to the Moment

As environmental and outdoor educators, we often talk about interconnectedness—of ecosystems, people and place, and learning and experience. Today, as our communities face challenges ranging from climate anxiety and mental health strain to housing insecurity and food access, community care has taken on new urgency.

So, how can we show up for each other—and for the communities we serve?

Community care is about recognizing and responding to the needs our learners and neighbors face WHILE WE ALSO explore parks, build pollinator gardens, build understanding of ecosystems, and do all the things that brought us to environmental and outdoor learning in the first place.

When we recognize that environmental learning doesn’t exist in a vacuum—but is interwoven with health, equity, and dignity—we move toward a more holistic vision of care.

What Community Issues Can We Help Address?

Our field holds unique tools to contribute to broader community well-being.  We can:

• Address loneliness and isolation – by hosting group hikes, storytelling circles, or nature-based pen-pal programs.
• Support youth mental health – when we facilitate unstructured time in nature, reflection, moments of awe.
• Alleviate climate anxiety and grief – by building resilience, offering hopeful actions, and creating collective meaning-making spaces.
• Reduce food insecurity – by growing gardens and connecting families to local food systems.
• Increase safe outdoor access – by mapping inclusive spaces and helping people get there.
• Protect childhood and the ability to explore – ensuring children have time, space, and supportive environments to play, learn, and connect with nature, especially during stressful times.

And there are so many other threads that connect environmental and outdoor learning to community needs.

Six Ways We Can Grow a Culture of Care

Community care begins with small acts of connection, but sustaining it requires intention, collaboration, and shared values. It’s how we shape our own systems and practices to help people and the planet thrive together.

At our first plenary session at the conference, participants were asked: How can we create a culture of care that helps our environmental and outdoor learning community thrive? With help from ChatGPT, we synthesized the responses into six key themes:

1. Foster Connection & Relationships
 Care starts with connection—showing kindness and respect, making sure basic needs are met, and creating space for joy. Whether it’s sharing a meal, climbing a tree, or exploring a neighborhood garden, authentic relationships help our community thrive.

2. Prioritize Inclusion & Accessibility
 A culture of care ensures everyone feels welcome. That means reducing barriers like cost or language, adapting programs and spaces for different abilities and experiences, and providing equitable access so all can participate fully.

3. Cultivate Collaboration & Community Engagement
 No one does this work alone. By engaging families, schools, neighbors, and organizations, we build stronger networks of support. Collaboration also means sharing resources and stories openly, valuing local knowledge, and meeting people where they are.

4. Uplift Diverse Perspectives & Voices
 Care grows when more voices are heard. From uplifting youth leadership to increasing representation in outdoor programs, we expand our understanding by listening deeply and using language that reflects the full diversity of our communities.

5. Mindsets & Values
 Cultivating care also means cultivating ourselves. Leading with curiosity, practicing vulnerability, modeling kindness, and finding joy in our work remind us that enthusiasm and openness are as essential as skills and strategies.

6. Sustainability & Stewardship
 Caring for each other is inseparable from caring for the natural world. Whether it’s encouraging small, everyday connections with nature in city parks or tending larger systems of stewardship, we’re building a sustainable foundation for people and planet alike.

At the conference, participants reminded us that a culture of care isn’t a single practice, but a living system—rooted in connection, inclusion, collaboration, diverse voices, shared values, and stewardship.

Continuing the Conversation: A Book Circle on Community Care

Within our network, community care also means tending to each other:

• Sharing grant opportunities, tools, and program ideas without competition.
• Asking, “How are you really doing?” and being willing to listen.
• Co-creating programs and events instead of duplicating efforts.
• Lending staff, volunteers, or gear when another organization is short.
• Taking care of the caregivers—making space for rest, grief, and joy among educators.
• And of course, exploring new ideas and strategies together.

To keep this conversation going, we’re inviting you to join our virtual “Cultivating Community Care” Book Circle on Thursday, December 4th from 2-3:30pm MT. Together, we’ll explore work on community care, social connection, and what it could mean for the environmental and outdoor learning community.

We’ve curated a variety of titles to read, watch or listen to—you don’t need to read them all (we haven’t either!) Pick one that resonates with you, and bring your insights to the conversation. This is a space to reflect, share ideas, and discuss how we can strengthen our networks and communities together.

Together, We Tend the Garden

Wondering what you can do right now? Reach out. Ask a fellow educator or organization what they need. Ask your community what they’re missing. Ask your learners what would help them feel more supported.

And then—share what you need, too.

Building a more caring, connected environmental learning movement is something we do together. By showing up for each other, reflecting, and taking thoughtful action, we can grow a culture of care that supports people, communities, and our natural world.

Katie Navin is the Executive Director at the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education.  She has been active in the field of environmental education for over 20 years.  Katie has served as an educator and developed curriculum at organizations ranging from museums to residential outdoor facilities in seven different states.  She joined CAEE in May of 2008 and is active in the environmental and outdoor learning community both in the state and nationally.

Thank YOU to Deb Matlock of Wild Rhythms for her thought partnership!