Natural materials include wood, water, plants, stone, air, rope, canvas, sand, mulch, pebbles, mud, etc. Many, if not most, play environments are built out of materials of technology such as plastics, composites, metals and artificial assemblies of materials. Play environments that embrace natural materials help children develop an appreciation for the natural world around them.
Children & Nature Network www.childrenandnaturenetwork.org
After publication of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder in 2005, author Richard Louv and others co-founded the Children & Nature Network, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to fuel the worldwide grassroots movement to reconnect children with nature through innovative ideas, evidence-based resources and tools, broad-based collaboration and support of grassroots leadership.