Play Nature Podcast

Rusty Keeler
  • 5.0 (8)
  • Parenting
  • Updated Biweekly

Welcome to Play Nature Podcast, a podcast dedicated to celebrating the beauty and benefits of outdoor, nature-based play—for all children (and us adults too!) Hosted by Rusty Keeler, a passionate play advocate, with over 30 years of experience designing natural playscapes, writing about nature and risky play, and traveling the world to champion the power of play, Rusty’s Play Nature Podcast is your guide for supporting outdoor play, protecting childhood, and letting kids be kids. From willow huts and mud kitchens to sunflower houses and kale forests, Rusty will delve into the magic of natural materials, loose parts, messy play, and even the value of risky play in children’s lives. You’ll discover practical ways to nurture play in your own backyard, neighborhood, school, or community. Join Rusty Keeler to uncover the wonders of outdoor play and learn what tools you already have to create joyful, natural play experiences for all seasons, all weather, and all children. Let’s make the world a better place by saying “Yes!” to play. Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs

  1. Ep 34 | Adventure Walkers: Why Kids Need Creeks, Logs, Frogs, and Freedom

    4d ago

    Ep 34 | Adventure Walkers: Why Kids Need Creeks, Logs, Frogs, and Freedom

    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 preschool turned into taking walks with kids. Soon Jim was on a journey to start a forest kindergarten pilot in the woods behind a preschool, and later building Adventure Walkers, a roaming, creek-splashing, log-balancing, frog-finding laboratory for childhood. Jim and Rusty talk about risk, trust, reflection, and why “safe enough” may be better than trying to make childhood perfectly safe. Listeners will come away with a big invitation: start small, try a pilot, follow the children, and let the woods do some of the teaching. Top Three Takeaways from Jim McCullough: Risk is not the enemy. Children need space to try, pause, climb, wonder, and decide what feels possible. The adult role is quieter than we think. Watch. Wait. Reflect. Step in when needed, but don’t poke holes in the play flow. Start with a pilot. You don’t need a perfect plan or a fancy outdoor classroom. Take a small group outside. Find a creek. See what happens. Links:  adventurewalkersrva.com Instagram @adventurewalkersrva Facebook @AdventureWalkersrva   Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs  Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide

    48 min
  2. Ep 33 | Mud, Microbes, and the Magic of Nature with Alex Barrable

    Jun 2

    Ep 33 | Mud, Microbes, and the Magic of Nature with Alex Barrable

    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 “Earth speed,” and why our bodies and brains are still wired for green, wild, living places. Alex and Rusty also explore our invisible microbial friends, the microbiome. Alex explains the benefits of what nature offers us, just by bein nature Children need time. Space. Soil. Loose parts. Wonder. They need to smell it, touch it, climb it, taste it, and know they belong to it. Because when children feel connected to the Earth, they are more likely to care for it too. Top Three Takeaways from Alex Barrable: Nature helps bodies calm down, brains wake up, and kids settle into that magical “rest, digest, and learn” place. Dirty play is not just mess. Soil, microbes, plants, and biodiverse spaces may support children’s health, immune systems, and wellbeing. Green schoolyards are not a bonus. They are a big, leafy, non-negotiable step toward healthier kids, healthier communities, and a healthier planet. Links:dirtyplay.org Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs  Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide

    49 min
  3. Ep 32 | Adam Bienenstock on School Forests, Soil Health, and the Future of Nature Play

    May 19

    Ep 32 | Adam Bienenstock on School Forests, Soil Health, and the Future of Nature Play

    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. Trees. Mud. The good stuff. Adam and Rusty dig into the big, beautiful, messy connections between child development, gut microbiome, mental health, outdoor education, risky play, and regenerative landscapes. This conversation wanders from schoolyards to soil microbes to forests inside the fence. Adam shares why a single tree is nice, but a living forest system is better. More shade. More sensory play. More life. More chances for kids to build empathy, resilience, attention, and joy. The time is now to rebuild children’s connection to land. The time is now to start giving kids a daily dose of nature, not just an occasional field trip. So plant the trees. Add the shrubs. Feed the soil. Let the weeds do a little work.  Dream big. Start small. Never stop. Top Three Takeaways from Adam Bienenstock Kids do not just need less screen time. They need more full-body, full-sensory nature time. A school forest is more than trees. It is soil, shade, microbes, loose parts, play, and wonder all working together. Start with a corner. Plant in communities. Add organic material. Build a tiny forest world kids can touch, smell, climb into, and love. Links: renature.org @renaturefoundation Instagram | Facebook LinkedIn @renature-fnd @bienenstocknaturalplaygrounds Instagram LinkedIn @bienenstock-playgrounds Facebook @BienenstockPlaygrounds   Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs    Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide

    1h 4m
  4. Ep 31 | My New Play Manifesto! Slowing Down in a Speeding Up World

    May 5

    Ep 31 | My New Play Manifesto! Slowing Down in a Speeding Up World

    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. More screens. More stress. Less recess. Less mud. But instead of getting stuck in doom and gloom, he asks a better question: What if we are already building something new? Something rooted in play, place, seasons, risk, mess, imagination, and the deep human skills children grow through free play. Rusty’s NEW Play Manifesto is the mission to slow down and go deeper. He explores how nature play, place-based learning, community, and child-led exploration can help shape the future, even in a world racing toward more technology and AI.  This is your  hopeful reminder to stand strong in what we know in our bones: play matters, nature matters, and children find themselves when they have the space to play. Top three takeaways from Rusty’s time by the creek: Slow down to “earth speed.”  Free play helps children grow the deeply human skills they need: creativity, communication, collaboration, compassion, curiosity, and self-knowledge. The future of childhood is not fixed. We can help build it through nature, community, advocacy, and a big playful yes to real life.   Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs  Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide

    39 min
  5. Ep 30 | Claude Stephens’ Nature Play Revolution

    Apr 21

    Ep 30 | Claude Stephens’ Nature Play Revolution

    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 playgrounds that feel like ecosystems. Spaces where kids build, explore, get a little lost, and have a lot of freedom. Children truly don’t need more equipment. They need as much freedom as we can give them. Claude’s message is a hopeful path forward. Start small. One log. One stump. One muddy hole. Build connections between people. Between places. Between kids and the land beneath their feet. In small shifts, something beautiful grows: joy, confidence, and a deep love for the natural world. Top Takeaways from Claude Stephens: Children are natural players. Give them space, not structure, and they will create magic Nature play doesn’t require big budgets. Small, simple changes can transform any space Real impact happens slowly in tiny shifts. Add a log or patch of dirt and it can change everything over time Links: childrenatplaynetwork.com IG @childrenatplaynetwork Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs  Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide

    58 min
  6. Ep 29 | A Bus Tour Through Scotland: What Can We Learn from Stramash’s Outdoor Preschools?

    Apr 7

    Ep 29 | A Bus Tour Through Scotland: What Can We Learn from Stramash’s Outdoor Preschools?

    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 bundled up. Everyone is curious. We’re talking about Rusty’s Scotland Bus Tour! Rusty takes listeners through places where kids spend all day outside. We hear about willow tunnels. Climbing trees. Risky towers. Compost toilets. Yes, really. And underneath it all? A shared belief: nature is not extra. It’s essential. This episode is a reminder. Slow down. Step outside. Let kids get a little wild. Let them belong to a place. Let them test limits. Because the good stuff? It’s not perfect. It’s muddy. It’s real. And it sticks. You’ll leave thinking about your own space. Your own students. Your own next small step toward more nature, more play, more yes. Top Takeaways from Rusty’s recap of Scotland: No bad weather. Just better gear. Nature happens in all seasons—and that’s the point.  Belonging grows outdoors. Kids thrive when spaces feel like theirs to explore and shape. Risk builds humans. Graduated challenges help kids grow confidence, resilience, and problem-solving skills. Links: stramash.org.uk Waitlist for 2027 Scotland Trip: bit.ly/BusTour2027Waitlist Play Nature Podcast Episode 9 with Cameron Sprauge fossoplay.org balticstreetadventureplay.co.uk/home playscotland.org/schools-childcare/schools/opal Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs  Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide

    49 min
  7. Ep 28 | Kristy DeGraaf on Nature Play, Outdoor Learning, and Advocacy

    Mar 24

    Ep 28 | Kristy DeGraaf on Nature Play, Outdoor Learning, and Advocacy

    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 risks, and feel at home in the world. Kristy brings a powerful blend of experience. Social worker. Educator. Mother. Advocate. She shares how her journey, from supporting families in crisis to designing a nature-rich childcare program, shaped the way she sees children and community.  This conversation stretches beyond the backyard. Into systems. Into advocacy. Into the work of speaking up for children and families. Kristy reminds us that change doesn’t have to be big to matter. A phone call. A small shift. A single idea put into motion. It all counts. Just like in play, we start where we are. And we keep going. Top Takeaways from Kristy DeGraaf: Dream big. Start small. Never stop. Whether you’re building a play space or creating change Children thrive in environments that invite risk, creativity, and real-world exploration Advocacy doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. Small actions, done consistently, make a difference  Links: kristydegraaf.com Instagram: @kristy.degraaf Facebook: Kristy DeGraaf TikTok: @kristykae.childcarepro Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs  Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide

    52 min
  8. Ep 27 | Getting Licensing and Risky Play to Fit Together

    Mar 10

    Ep 27 | Getting Licensing and Risky Play to Fit Together

    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 might actually be a doorway. Rusty explores the relationship between educators and licensors. At first it can feel tense. Someone arrives with a clipboard. They inspect logs, spoons, mud kitchens, and climbing trees. But licensors are there for a reason. Their job is to protect children.  When we slow down and communicate the why behind nature play, we often discover we’re on the same team. The key is speaking their language. Know the rules. Show your thinking. Share the research. When educators confidently explain the benefits of loose parts and outdoor play, licensors begin to see the bigger picture. Top 3 Takeaways from Rusty Know the rules. Read them carefully. When you understand them, you can design nature play spaces that follow them and still invite adventure. Explain the “why.” Share the research and developmental benefits behind logs, mud kitchens, loose parts, and risky play. Build trust. When licensors see thoughtful planning and strong supervision, they are more likely to support creative outdoor play environments. Buy Rusty’s Book: Adventures in Risky Play by Rusty Keeler Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs  Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide

    37 min
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Trailer

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

Welcome to Play Nature Podcast, a podcast dedicated to celebrating the beauty and benefits of outdoor, nature-based play—for all children (and us adults too!) Hosted by Rusty Keeler, a passionate play advocate, with over 30 years of experience designing natural playscapes, writing about nature and risky play, and traveling the world to champion the power of play, Rusty’s Play Nature Podcast is your guide for supporting outdoor play, protecting childhood, and letting kids be kids. From willow huts and mud kitchens to sunflower houses and kale forests, Rusty will delve into the magic of natural materials, loose parts, messy play, and even the value of risky play in children’s lives. You’ll discover practical ways to nurture play in your own backyard, neighborhood, school, or community. Join Rusty Keeler to uncover the wonders of outdoor play and learn what tools you already have to create joyful, natural play experiences for all seasons, all weather, and all children. Let’s make the world a better place by saying “Yes!” to play. Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs

Information

  • Creator
    Rusty Keeler
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    Play Nature Podcast

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