Play Nature Podcast

Rusty is back by the creek. The water is moving. The bugs are buzzing. A bald eagle flies by because apparently even the birds know when a podcast needs a dramatic moment.  In this solo episode of Play Nature Podcast , Rusty reflects on his spring speaking tour where he brought the fire for nature play, risky play, loose parts, and the slow, sparkly magic of childhood. This episode is part ro...

What happens when a chemist wanders out of the lab and into the woods with children? Adventure, of course.  In this episode of Play Nature Podcast Rusty talks with Jim McCullough, founder of Adventure Walkers about forest kindergarten, playwork, risky play, and the wild magic that happens when adults stop steering so much and start saying yes. Jim shares his story of how working in a preschoo...

Nature is not just pretty. It is medicine. It is our teacher. It is mud, microbes, moss, noise-softening, nervous-system-settling magic. In this episode of Play Nature Podcast, Rusty Keeler talks with researcher Alex Barrable about the deep and delightful ways humans connect with the natural world. Alex shares how becoming a parent brought her back to nature, how children help adults slow down to...

The best playgrounds are alive. Dirt is medicine. And schoolyards can, and should, grow a little forest where kids can climb, hide, breathe, wonder, and come back to themselves.   In this episode of the Play Nature Podcast, Rusty Keeler talks with Adam Bienenstock about nature play, living soil, school forests, and why children need more than a break from screens. They need roots. Bugs....

In this episode of Play Nature Podcast, host Rusty Keeler takes us creekside on a warm spring day to think big. Big like gorges. Small like bugs. Slow like trees. This episode is a call to remember  the mission. The mission to give children what they need most: time, freedom, nature, community, and real life under their feet. Rusty reflects on the strange, speedy blip of modern childhood. Mor...

Step outside. Feel the mud. Hear the birds. In this episode of the Play Nature Podcast, Rusty Keeler sits down with Playcologist Claude Stephens to explore a simple but powerful idea: children are meant to play in nature. Not on perfectly polished playgrounds. Not inside neat boundaries. But in messy, wild, living places. The kind with sticks. And puddles. And possibility. Claude and Rusty imagine...

Spring rain. Mud everywhere. Kids smiling anyway. Let’s follow the weather! In this episode of Play Nature Podcast, host Rusty Keeler invites us into a world where children climb, splash, wander, and belong. Short answer? It’s messy. And it’s magic. A bus. The Highlands. Outdoor preschools tucked into hills, meadows, and even swamps. Educators from around the world, LA to Lithuania. Everyone bundl...

This episode of the Play Nature Podcast feels like stepping into a backyard where something magical is always unfolding. Mud. Water. Sand. Stories.  Host Rusty Keeler welcomes Kristy DeGraff to explore what happens when we trust children, follow curiosity, and let nature lead the way. It’s about more than play. It’s about belonging. It’s about building spaces where kids can dig deep, take ris...

Licensing. Not the most exciting topic. Not mud pies or tree climbing. But if you work in schools, parks, or early childhood programs, licensing is part of the landscape.  In this episode of Play Nature Podcast, host Rusty is answering the question many educators ask: How do we keep nature play, loose parts, and risky play alive when licensing rules feel like a wall? The good news? The wall m...

Play is everywhere. It slips through sidewalks and across continents. In this episode of Play Nature Podcast, host Rusty Keeler welcomes playworker, play advocate, and “friend of play” Marc Armitage. Marc is joining from Australia with stories that stretch from Yorkshire to the far corners of playgrounds and city streets.  Together they wander through big questions. What is play? Who gets to...

What happens when kids are given time, space, and stuff? Real stuff. Junk. Tools. Magnets. Hot glue guns.  In this episode of the Play Nature Podcast , host Rusty Keeler is talking to Erik Herman to explore what play, tinkering, and science can look like when curiosity leads the way. Erik is a former classroom teacher who followed his passion out of formal education and into the wild, wonderf...

Winter. Ice cracking at the creek. Water freezing in buckets and balloons. Rusty is back outside, thinking out loud, when an aha arrives. One of those deep ones. The kind that doesn’t land all at once. The kind you keep unpacking for a lifetime.  This episode of the Play Nature Podcast is all about that moment, a shift in how play is seen, felt, and trusted. Rusty reflects on being a lifelong...

Welcome to Season 2 of the Play Nature Podcast!  A full circle around the sun. A new season of listening begins. Winter has arrived (at least in Ithaca, NY). Cold. Snow. Gray skies. And…PLAY. In this episode of the Play Nature Podcast , Rusty Keeler bundles up and steps into winter to give us the next installment of his Seasons of Play series, reminding us that this final season matters just...

Some conversations feel like sunshine. This one? Pure magic. Imagine laughter blowing through the trees, college students climbing branches, children splashing in streams, and stories woven into the wind.  That’s the vibe of this episode of the Play Nature Podcast. Host Rusty Keeler is joined by the wonderful Gemma Nicholl Medina to explore the wild wonder of place-based learning and how natu...

Welcome to a world where play speaks louder than words. Where adults climb trees dressed as toucans, worms magically become two worms, and curiosity crackles like fairy lights in a cozy home-like space flooded with plants and laughter.  In this episode of the Play Nature Podcast, host Rusty Keeler and guest Robin Christie take us by the hand, skipping barefoot through ideas about playfulness,...

It’s time to trust kids more. Let them walk those four houses home, climb that tree, and spend an afternoon conquering a pile of dirt. Freedom, not fear, shapes childhood the childhood we hope to give our kids. In this episode of Play Nature Podcast , host Rusty Keeler is chatting with Free-Range Kids author and Let Grow president Lenore Skenazy to explore how we, as parents, got so anxious about...

Have you ever watched a child scoop birdseed, roll in grass, or wrap Play-Doh around tiny toys and think, “What on earth are they doing?”  In this episode of Play Nature Podcast, host Rusty Keeler is chatting and laughing with Heather Bernt-Santy, THE Early Childhood Nerd, to find out why those moments are more than just mess and motion. They really are the heart of learning. They talk about...

The magic of an authentic childhood comes from the wonder of the experiences, not the walls they take place in. The best classrooms are fields, forests, and slides climbed from the “wrong” side. In this joyful chat on Play Nature Podcast, host Rusty Keeler and Kisha Reid are talking all about the spirit of authentic play. Where children lead, adults listen, and the magic of discovery unfolds in ev...

Even if everything’s broken, that doesn’t mean the play is over! And that’s the beauty of it. It’s not destruction, it’s deep learning. When we let kids take things apart, we’re helping  them put the world together in their own way. This episode of the P lay Nature Podcast is the second half of Rusty’s conversation with Teacher Tom Hobson. Listeners will get immersed into the world of junkyar...

Remember the feeling of running outside barefoot, pockets full of Band-Aids, heart full of imagination? That’s where this episode begins. Rusty sits down with the legendary “Teacher Tom” - Tom Hobson to talk about the golden age of play, when kids roamed free, built their own worlds, and learned through scraped knees, laughter, and discovery.  Together they ask: What happens when adults step...

The leaves are turning. The ducks are splashing. The creek runs low. Fall is here! Do you feel it in the air? Can you see it in the trees? Can you smell it in the crisp breeze?  This episode of the Play Nature Podcast invites you to pause, marvel, and jump right into the season with joy and curiosity. Host Rusty Keeler takes us creek-side to share top tips for fall nature play: sit spots that...

We’re here to let you in on a little secret. Strong, confident kids don’t come from a classroom. They are created outdoors! Play is the work of childhood, the language of imagination, and the foundation for lifelong skills. Yet too many children spend their days sitting still.  Why does this matter?  Because movement, messy play, and nature aren’t just fun—they’re essential for healthy d...

Play isn’t just the giggles and games—it’s a protective shield for growing hearts and minds. When kids lose play, they lose more than fun.  In this episode of the Play Nature Podcast , Rusty Keeler goes deeper into why children are more anxious and less joyful, and what we can do to turn the tide. Rusty welcomes back Dr. Peter Gray, our favorite play professor and champion of childhood freedo...

Play is serious stuff. It’s how kids make sense of the world, grow their brains, build friendships, and show us their natural brilliance. When we step back and let play lead, magic happens.  In this episode of Play Nature Podcast, we’re celebrating the joy, wisdom, and wildness of children’s play, just as it is. Host Rusty Keeler sits down with Deb Curtis, a longtime champion of childhood and...

Play is not just fun—it’s essential . It’s how children explore, create, stumble, and soar. It’s how they learn to be brave, solve problems, and build their world.  In this episode of the Play Nature Podcast , we dig into the deep roots of play and why letting kids run wild (in a good way!) may be the most important thing we do for their growing brains. Rusty is joined by Dr. Peter Gray—play...