Liz Houston

Deputy Director of Partnerships & Development, Early Childhood Health Outdoors @National Wildlife Federation

Denver, CO, US

An initiative of the National Wildlife Federation, Early Childhood Health Outdoors (ECHO) launched in Colorado in 2017 with a 3-year grant from the Colorado Health Foundation. The ECHO team engages with child care centers, preschools, Head Start programs, and Family Child Care Homes as well as local communities to reimagine the traditional playground as an outdoor learning environment. These learning environments include natural design elements such as vegetable gardens, fruit trees, looping pathways, construction play, and other activity stations to support child development, food awareness, and nature play. ECHO complements design best practice with technical assistance, training, and professional development to ensure early childhood professionals and caregivers are equipped with the tools and skills needed to engage children outdoors with confidence. Evidence shows that young children with access to high-quality nature play are more physically active, spend more time outdoors, and engage each other and adults more often. Benefits can also include improvements in nutrition, academic performance, self-regulation, self-confidence, and concentration, along with reduced stress. The earlier in life that children experience these benefits, the better their developmental trajectory. ECHO works with local, state, and national leaders and advocates to advance policies that transform outdoor play and learning best practice into common practice, and the team has partners and/or collaborative projects in Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska, Arizona, Michigan, Oregon, Texas, and South Carolina.

University of Colorado Boulder

M.S. Technical Communication, B.A. Environmental Conservation, B.A. History