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We offer a holistic approach to getting your community out into nature to play and learn together. Our programs are all part of a larger whole.
FIN activities like camping trips, field science experiences and outdoor service projects teach people of all ages about ecology and conservation. Our activities help connect families to nature and to each other through spending quality time together outdoors. Everyone needs nature and nature needs everyone!
Our Ecologist School Program is the backbone of what we teach and how we teach. It is currently under publication by Texas A&M University Press and will be released soon as a book and an ebook. Samples of the 1100+ lessons contained in the Ecologist School Guidebook are available in both English and Spanish at the link above. A badge can be earned in each of the 16 branches of science. Badges and Nature Journals to record your experiences can be purchased on this website.
The Ecologist School Program also includes an emphasis on Youth Leadership with the option of planning and implementing a Humboldt Project for older youth and adults. Check out our blog to learn about the Young Conservation Leaders that have gone through our programs.
Our Guide Development Program allows us to support parents, teachers, and leaders to get families out into nature in their own communities. Participating in a Guide Development weekend in person or virtually will give you the training and resources to get your family or community outdoors and will give you access to our Ecologist School Guidebook, access to mentoring from our staff, and inclusion in our community of practice that is filled with like-minded conservation leaders. Our trained guides receive access to all 1100 lessons in our Ecologist School Guidebook as well as lessons and support to teach outdoors, include all ages, incorporate diversity and teach hope.
You are invited to attend a Guide Training in Central Texas, or bring our staff to you to train leaders from your own organization, city, school district, or collaborative of organizations. New cohorts for our online Guide Development Program are forming now!
Families need time in nature now more than ever before, and becoming a FIN Guide is the first step to helping your community get outdoors to enjoy the restorative power of nature.
Our Austin, TX Gear Lending Library supports our local schools, organizations and Nature Communities with camping gear and science teaching materials that can be borrowed at no cost for under-resourced schools and communities and for a minimal fee for groups that have access to financial resources.
We encourage all of our Guides to help their own community get out into nature together though the formation of Nature Communities, a group of families that explore nature together.
Our Guides are also encouraged to support Campus Campouts at their local school or organization. Campus Campouts eliminate many of the common barriers to spending time outside such as transportation to parks and fear of going to unfamiliar places. During a campus campout, FIN Guides will teach their community the basics of camping starting on their own school or organization or company’s campus. They emphasize Nearby Nature and help families gain comfort, confidence and competence in the outdoors while staying close to home in a familiar place.
Our Nature Immersion Travel Program takes families or students out into wild nature to explore, participate in experiential science (formerly called Citizen Science) and feel the hope that comes from seeing that there is still a lot of wild nature left to love. We offer trips at least once per year all over the globe, frequently in partnership with inspiring locally-run organizations such as Mision Tiburon in Costa Rica. If you would like to join us, check out the information on our calendar.
The educational platform for all our programming offers more than 1,000 hands-on lessons in the S.T.E.A.M. subjects, volunteerism, outdoor skills, and leadership in 16 branches of science relevant to ecology, such as climatology and ornithology. Through Nature Communities, schools, parks, and partner programs, participants can complete Ecologist School lessons to earn badges, complete a Humboldt Project and become a FIN Certified Junior Ecologist. It is currently under publication by Texas A&M University Press and will be released soon as a book and an ebook. Samples of the 1100+ lessons contained in the Ecologist School Guidebook are available in both English and Spanish.
The Ecologist School Program also includes an emphasis on Youth Leadership with the option of planning and implementing a Humboldt Project for older youth and adults. Check out our blog to learn about the Young Conservation Leaders that have gone through our programs.
Our Guide Development Program allows us to support parents, teachers, and leaders to engage their communities with nature in their own unique and meaningful ways.
Upon completion, trained FIN Guides Learn how to:
Guides are included in our community of practice that is filled with like-minded conservation leaders. Our trained guides receive access to all 1100 lessons in our Ecologist School Guidebook as well as lessons and support to teach outdoors, include all ages, incorporate diversity and teach hope.
Join our community of practice that is filled with like-minded conservation leaders, including an invite to our Annual Guide Summit.
New cohorts for our online Guide Development Program are forming now!
Our Austin, TX Gear Lending Library supports our local schools, organizations and Nature Communities with camping gear and science teaching materials. These items can be borrowed at no cost for under-resourced schools and communities and for a minimal fee for groups that have access to financial resources.
Nature provides many benefits for our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. It rejuvenates us, reduces stress, enhances creativity and cognitive function, and fosters a sense of connection with the natural world. Incorporating regular nature time info our lives is essential for supporting a healthy life and planet.
A love of nature is the foundation of all conservation. Once a child falls in love with and forms a connection to nature, they begin their path to becoming a conservation leader.
