The short answer is because Bernheim’s mission is to connect people with nature and we believe that young people first begin building meaningful relationships with nature through play. We believe the work of the Network is to build a next generation of environmental stewards through play.
The larger answer is that we believe Bernheim, as an organization, is particularly suited to this work at the regional level for a number of reasons. Among them…
- Aligned missions
- Our natural systems approach focused on long-term sustainability
- Our commitment to actions beyond our borders and regional health
- Our commitment to thought leadership and bold action
- Our geographic location outside of metropolitan centers
- Our growing funding and support community
- Passion for our work
- Trust in the region for our ability to convene partners with varying viewpoints
- Our experimental and exploratory approach to change initiatives
- A dedicated staff with the ability to provide workshops approved for professional development credit