NAPLES, Fla. — More than 100 children in Collier County will soon have the chance to learn and play in a brand-new outdoor classroom, thanks to a $100,000 grant awarded to Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) by the PNC Foundation.
The Naples Children and Education Foundation (NCEF) (run by FGCU) will use the funding to transform the current playspace into an innovative, nature-based classroom. The project aims to bring science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) concepts to life for kids.
“When you’re a child, you learn through your environment,” said Maria Jimenez-Lara, CEO of NCEF, “The largest amount of brain development happens before the age of five. That’s when children develop language, cognitive, and literacy skills.”
See the renovated outdoor classroom, including specialized STEAM equipment to promote hands-on learning in a natural setting:
Chad Loar, Regional President of West and Central Florida for PNC Bank, said the initiative is about getting kids to play outdoors.
“The average child is spending less than one hour a day outside between the ages of three and five,” Loar said.
This latest investment in early childhood education is part of a growing effort to bridge classroom learning with the outdoors. Click hereto read more about PNC's work with Grow Up Great.
