Nature shouldn’t stop at the edge of the schoolyard

September 29, 2026 I By Katie Cox, Executive Director

Hello Dear Reader,

This weekend, I was in Seattle. At one point, I laced up my running shoes and headed out for a run. My route took me past several schools, and I couldn't help but notice them. Some were new, others beautifully renovated. Big windows. Beautiful materials. Thoughtful architecture. The kinds of schools that make you stop and think: Wow.

And yet, somewhere along that run, I found myself thinking about our schools back home.

Not because ours look the same. They don't. But because I kept thinking about what we're creating here with the resources we have, and how deeply rooted it is in this place and the kids who live here.

Last week, I sat in on a conversation with students as part of the work happening through our partnership with Lake Pend Oreille School District. The adults in the room were there to listen. The students were asked what they wanted from their school and what would make it a place where they felt good spending their days.

Their answers were wonderfully simple.

They wanted a garden. Flowers. Grass. Big windows that let in natural light and brought the outdoors closer. And they wanted their school to feel like a second home.

I was struck by how little they were asking for—and, at the same time, how much.

They weren't asking for fancy things. They were asking for nature, light, beauty, belonging, and a place that felt like theirs. That's what I love about the work we're doing with our schools.

Through ReWilding Play Yards, Outdoor Educators, outdoor classrooms and other projects we're dreaming up together, KLT and the school district are asking a pretty simple question: How can we use what is extraordinary about this place to give our kids the best opportunities to learn and grow?

Because the place where these kids live is extraordinary.

Forests and mountains are part of their horizon. Creeks, snow, mud, wildlife and changing seasons are part of their lives. It makes sense that nature shouldn't stop at the edge of the schoolyard.

That's why I'm especially grateful for our partners at Lake Pend Oreille School District. They believe, as we do, that connecting kids to this place isn't something extra. It can be part of how we help them learn, feel at home and understand the community they are growing up in.

There may always be schools with bigger budgets and shinier buildings. But after my run in Seattle and that conversation with our students back home, I found myself thinking less about what we don't have, and a whole lot more about what we do.

We have this place. We have kids who already know what they need from it. And we have a community willing to listen.

That's a pretty wonderful place to start.

Stay warm as the breeze gets cooler,

Katie