Get Outside for the 5 Big Benefits of Learning in the Outdoors!
YOU are the reason outdoor learning is possible. When families, educators, schools, community partners, and advocates come together, students gain more opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive beyond classroom walls.
This April, we invite you to join the Outside for 5 community and add your voice in support of environmental and outdoor learning in schools and beyond. By signing on, you help show what’s possible when a whole community stands behind learning that supports student well-being, curiosity, and connection to the world around them.
Together, you are building momentum, elevating shared values, and demonstrating that time outside matters, to students, to schools, and to our communities.
Add your name. Share your support. Be part of a growing movement that’s bringing learning outdoors. Learn more and sign on at www.outsidefor5.com.
Benefit #1 – Enhances learning and critical thinking
Being outdoors boosts focus, creativity, and curiosity, which supports strong academic growth.
Image: Kristen Crawley, Stormwater Educator at the Washington County Cooperative Extension Service
Benefit #2 – Supports mental and emotional health
Time outside reduces stress, builds confidence, and helps kids feel calmer and happier.
Image: Melissa Terry, Food Policy Researcher and Consultant
Benefit #3 – Promotes strong, healthy bodies
Outdoor play and movement improve coordination and overall physical well-being.
Image: Raven Harris, AEEA Board President and the Workforce Partnerships and Operations Lead with Craft Education
What Can Outside for 5 Look Like in Arkansas?
Explore The Natural State:
- Take a field trip to one of our 52 state parks.
- Visit an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Nature Center.
- Take a field trip, such as to the Little Rock Audubon Center, Ozark Natural Science Center, or Southern Tenant Farmers Museum.
- Search for more ideas on the Arkansas EE Resource Directory.
Keep it close to school and home:
- Explore your school grounds
- Invite a guest presenter from Arkansas Game and Fish Commission who could lead an outdoor exploration for your school or community group. Use the Arkansas EE Resource Directory to find guest speakers from other organizations.
- Participate in a citizen science project, like The Diana Project, focusing on Arkansas’s state butterfly.
- Bring watchable wildlife to your school through bird feeder stations. Wild Birds Unlimited in Fayetteville has resources for schools in northwest Arkansas.
Keep it going all year:
- Attend a Project Learning Tree professional development workshop.
- Attend a Project WET professional development workshop.
- Participate in a free online workshop through the Outdoor Learning School and Store.
- Attend a program or workshop with your family through Arkansas State Parks.
- Review the eeGuidance Roadmap for Schools for additional, long term ideas.
#4 – Coming soon
#5 – Coming soon