Take a Closer Look at Our Initiatives
With input from community members, schools, families, young people, and others, and thanks to our amazing volunteers, NEO offers a variety of initiatives designed to help everyone spend more time outdoors and in nature. Everyone deserves the opportunity to witness the beauty of nature, breathe more fresh air, and lead healthier, more active lives... throughout their lives.
Wilderness Kids
Purpose
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Inspire a life-long love of nature and outdoor recreation.
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Provide outdoor skills training for youth and families.
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Foster a sense of curiosity and wonder.
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Use nature immersion to improve critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
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Strengthen family bonds through outdoor activities.
Wilderness Kids provides environmental education and outdoor recreation opportunities for schools, children, and families. This includes year-round family-friendly programming. School activities include both on and off-campus options.
NEO shows kids that there's a big exciting world all around them. All they have to do it walk outside and look around. During NEO events, the kids know they are having fun, but they are are also learning valuable life skills...many times without even realizing it.
Building brighter futures with Nature's help
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TEKS-correlated outdoor and environmental education curriculum
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problem-solving / critical thinking skills
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social and emotional learning
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the ability to function as leaders and in teams
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an appreciation for diversity...not just "tolerance" of others
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natural principals of math, physics, science, and more through S.T.E.M. activities
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how to demonstrate grace under pressure
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how to face challenges without Google
What kids learn
NEO recognizes that not every child has the opportunity to walk outside and try out camping or fishing for the first time. We can help. Most of the basic outdoor skills NEO teaches can be modified and taught on-campus and even indoors! Just tell us what you want to accomplish, and we can make it happen.
Meeting people where they are
Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD)
NDD has been coined in recent years to describe the epidemic of children growing up with increasingly limited access to nature and the outdoors. Recess and outdoor PE classes have been eliminated in many schools. Streets that were once filled with children at play after school sit empty and quiet as kids file off buses and straight to the couch for an evening of phone time, social media, TV, and video games.
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Scientists and doctors from all over the world report that children who have limited access to outdoor stimuli tend to struggle with social skills, have higher levels of stress, have lower proficiencies in critical thinking, problem solving, leadership, and teamwork, and are at a much higher risk of developing physical, mental, and emotional health challenges than children who have access to regular unstructured outdoor play.
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In short, when kids spend more time outdoors and in nature, they are happier, healthier, and smarter.
Click here for more about Nature Deficit Disorder
Nature for All
Nature for All is incorporated into all NEO activities. This is the fundamental idea that all people should be able to experience nature and the outdoors. As much as possible, activities are scalable or can be modified so that people of all ages, fitness levels, and abilities can participate. We can even host events tailored for people with special needs.
Everyone deserves nature in their lives
Everyone deserves to feel sunshine on their face, stroll through fields of wildflowers in the spring, listen to owls hooting through the night, feel a bite on their line before they real in the big one.
​NEO's founder, Jennifer Boley, began showing symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis in high school and was finally diagnosed in college. Life was changed overnight, and suddenly she was overwhelmed by doctors, friends, and strangers telling her what her limitations would be for the rest of her life. She didn't accept those limitations, and neither should anyone else.​
When planning NEO events, our leaders keep in mind that people with a variety of experience levels and challenges may want to participate. We are flexible and will go out of our way to ensure everyone can participate. We can work with people with nearly every form of special need. Many times with just minor adjustments or a few helpful tips, we can provide access to just about any sort of outdoor activity.
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No problems... only solutions
To ensure equitable participation, NEO can...
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offer less stressful modifications to planned activities
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provide tips or suggestions on gear to make activities more comfortable
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provide a NEO volunteer buddy to give some extra help
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custom tailor special needs events
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suggest parks and venues that are special needs friendly ​
NEO is a family
When you're with NEO, you are part of an instant community of people who care and want to make your experience as comfortable, safe, and enjoyable as possible.
Bees & Bushels Gardens
Bees and Bushels promotes school and community gardens and consults on many gardening projects including vegetable gardens, pollinator gardens and combinations of both. Innovative growing experiments are encouraged, and NEO's own "Urban Learning Garden" in Austin is a great example of this!
Getting started
NEO regularly consults on the best approaches to developing gardening programs. Some of the considerations we can help with are:
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Type of garden (we usually recommend hybrid pollinator and veggie gardens)
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Construction
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Budgeting
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Programming
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Educational Resources
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Organic Practices
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Sustainability Plans
School & Community Gardens
NEO partners with schools, communities, and other organizations to create sustainable pollinator and vegetable gardens. There is no such thing as too many gardens! Regardless of the location or space, there is always a way to incorporate a garden. NEO can help figure out how to turn garden dreams into reality.​​
Fresh Air Careers
Fresh Air Careers was inspired by a need we witnessed during NEO's participation in school career day events. Too often, those events only portrayed careers requiring at least a 4-year degree or higher. Also, without fail, the majority of presenters did not reflect the diversity of the students they were presenting to. We felt these types of career events left far too many students behind in communities already facing significant educational and economic disparities. ​
The challenge
NEO's solution
NEO's Fresh Air Careers program offers students opportunities to learn about a variety of green and outdoor careers. Job titles range from Park Ranger to Drone Pilot to Large Animal Veterinarian, etc. Careers discussed require varying levels of education or life experience, and career professionals reflect the diversity of the students we serve.
Some of our activities
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Fresh Air Career Day events
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Professional introductions during field trips
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TEKS curriculum outdoor career extensions
Cultural Cooking
Celebrating our diversity
Cultural Cooking was inspired by the rich diversity of NEO members. We have thousands of members from all over the world, and we love learning about each other.
Can you say "YUM!" ?
What better way to develop a deeper appreciation for each other's cultures than by enjoying a delicious feast together? Events are themed, and we enjoy learning about a culture's traditional cuisine while also discussing its history, religious traditions, music, and more. Everyone who attends also gets all of the recipes for the dishes we cook.
Activities
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Cultural Cooking
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Cultural Culinary Crawls
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Cultural Festivals
