FARMINGTON — What do mud kitchens, tree cookies and raised garden beds have in common?

They are several of the creative outdoor elements being considered for a new nature-based early childhood play area at the University of Maine at Farmington.

Nature-based early childhood education is a growing movement in the U.S. to help children learn while experiencing the natural world. It also gives early childhood educators the opportunity to create innovative, out-of-the-classroom experiences. Drawing inspiration from Europe’s forest kindergartens, play-based learning is rooted in developmentally appropriate curriculum that builds on a child’s sense of wonder about nature.

UMF’s innovative outdoor playscape is being planned for the Sweatt-Winter lab school and supported this semester by students in UMF’s Nature-Based Education Co-Lab. This educational collaborative brings together students in courses on environment for young children with Patti Bailie, assistant professor of early childhood education, and land use with Matthew McCourt, associate professor of geography.

An expert in nature-based education, Bailie has her students exploring and evaluating the many natural play elements that are being considered for the lab school.  

“There is evidence that some of children’s health and social issues may be linked to the amount and quality of time they spend in the natural world,” Bailie said. “Studies have shown that children’s experiences in the natural world have a positive effect on their attitudes, behaviors and environmental  awareness.”

Prior to coming to UMF, Bailie was founding director of the Schlitz Audubon Nature Preschool in Milwaukee, Wis., and is a consulting editor for the International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education.

In conjunction with Bailie’s class, McCourt’s students are performing a site analysis of the Sweatt-Winter play area, including the amount of daylight and shade different areas receive, as well as temperature variations and drainage to help plan the best use of the site’s natural features.

Students from the two classes have discussed the creative use of the space and the long-term impact on the site. In addition, the classes are either creating a plan that details how to meet children’s developmental and educational needs or a list of community partners and resources that will help support the project.

To help make the vision for the nature-based playscape a reality, Sashie Misner, landscape architect with Maine-based Mitchell & Associates, is working on a final design. Her expertise, along with that of Loretta Biamonte, director of Sweatt-Winter, and Jeff McKay, director of facilities management, and the students’ findings will help create what they envision will be a model of nature-based education in Maine.