Steward’s Nature Play School program is featured in a video on the Discover the Forest website. Led by the North American Association for Environmental Education, Discover the Forest focuses on children from birth to age 8, offering families and educators practical ideas to explore nature.  

Nature Play School (NPS), a free social group for babies through Lower School ages, takes place weekly throughout the school year and is led by Dean of Bryan Innovation Lab Programs and Innovation Strategy Megan Young. Steward and non-Steward families who are passionate about getting kids into nature, encouraging unstructured play, and supporting appropriate risk-taking, gather outside the Bryan Innovation Lab to participate in hands-on nature play. 

A film crew from Discover the Forest, which is based in Washington, D.C., traveled to Steward to video a recent Nature Play School session that combined art and outdoor learning. In the woods behind the Bryan Innovation Lab, young adventurers used paper-towel rolls, glue, ribbon, tape, craft sticks, and a hole punch to create binoculars, which they decorated with stickers, crayons, paint, and leaves. Then it was time to use their binoculars to search for stuffed-animal critters and other treasures hiding in the woods!

“We are honored to be recognized by Discover the Forest,” said Ms. Young. “We are so proud of the community we have built around connecting kids to the natural world and inspiring creativity, problem-solving, and resilience through free play. And through this opportunity with Discover the Forest, we get to be a model for families and educators who are trying to do similar work within their communities."

Nature, Steward’s schoolwide theme for 2025-26, aligns with the school’s commitment in its strategic plan, Compass 2028, to “hands-on learning, sustainability, and student well-being.” Students across all divisions are diving into nature-centric projects and events this year, including a poetry walk, Visiting Innovator Jennifer Pharr Davis, and Nature Neurons, with many more to come!