Not all education happens in the classroom. In fact, one of the most important ways for children to learn about their world is by interacting with it: touching, climbing, digging and exercising their imagination out in nature.

Pittsburgh Public Schools deserves recognition for leaning into this simple but powerful idea by building “natural playgrounds” at the district’s early childhood centers. The project — a collaboration with PNC Grow Up Great and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy — is more than an investment in outdoor spaces; it’s an investment in childhood itself.

These 13 natural playgrounds — built with living plants, logs, stones, gardens and other creative landscape features — reflect a growing understanding that young children thrive in environments that invite exploration.

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