About Us
Greenplay Northwest is a grassroots non-profit organization and early learning community of families, friends, neighbors, and educators working together to provide all young children with a nature-rich childhood.
Our mission is to connect young children and their families to the splendor of the natural world, through advocacy, education, and environmental stewardship.
What we do:
In partnership with parents, educators, and the wider communities in which we serve, Greenplay Northwest continues to advance it’s mission by providing:
Nature-based early learning opportunities for children (ages 0-9) and their families, with a focus on social-emotional learning and the development of life-long relationships to the more-than-human world.
Support for parents, early care providers, and educators in finding new pathways for change that support and sustain nature connection at home, in their classrooms, and beyond.
Grassroots community efforts to protect and advocate for healthy neighborhood green spaces, parks, trails, and habitats.
Our History.
Greenplay Northwest was founded by Sarah Schumacher in 2012 in response to the increased awareness that young children were spending less and less time outdoors, in contact with nature, and missing out on all the benefits that a relationship with the natural world provides to their social, emotional, physical, intellectual, and spiritual development. With the guidance and support of caregivers and early childhood educators, an all outdoors community developed at the Lake Wilderness Arboretum in Maple Valley, providing the first nature-based early learning program in South King County.
Since 2013, when Greenplay Northwest incorporated as a 501(c)3 organization, we have grown and developed to support children and families in new ways. In addition to our nature-based early learning programs, we provide community Play & Learn groups for children and their caregivers, support families who are experiencing homelessness, organize gatherings and access to quality outdoor gear.