When was the last time you watched a child discover something alive in a pile of leaves?

That moment—magnifying glass in hand, eyes wide, voice urgent with excitement—is what Brooklyn Rewilders makes possible for urban kids who rarely experience the natural world up close.

This fall, children in our after-school program have:

• Planted native asters, goldenrods, and other keystone species that will support local bees, butterflies, and birds

• Observed bumblebees sleeping in flowers and sketched field notes of what they saw

• Made pesto by foraging lamb's quarters and pounding herbs with mortar and pestle

• Shaken cream into herb butter and tasted the difference fresh garden mint makes

• Built soil parfaits showing the underground layers most people never see

• Learned about the invisible microbes working in their own bodies while fermenting pickles

These aren't just fun activities. They're the building blocks of ecological literacy and the understanding that we're part of nature, not separate from it.

Your gift makes this possible.

We're in our first year as Brooklyn Rewilders, which means every donation directly shapes what we can offer. There's no institutional funding cushion, no established donor base—just families who've watched their children transform, and people like you who believe this work matters.

What Your Support Provides:

Materials that bring learning to life: Seeds for planting and eating, garden tools sized for small hands, olive oil for pesto-making, fermentation supplies, magnifying glasses, field journals

Food that connects gardens to culture: Fresh seasonal ingredients for cooking together—from energy balls made with dates, nuts and seeds to harvest cooking with foraged greens

Access for all families: Sliding scale tuition and full scholarships so we never turn a child away because of cost

Investing in our educators: Training and support that helps us retain passionate, skilled nature-based teaching staff

Program expansion: More sessions, more neighborhoods, more children experiencing transformative outdoor education

This Is What's At Stake:

In a city where green space is scarce and many children have limited access to gardens, this work is urgent. Kids are growing up disconnected from the living systems that sustain them—not because they don't care, but because they've never had the chance to dig, observe, harvest, and belong to a place.

When children spend afternoons with their hands in soil and their eyes on the living world, something shifts. They start noticing trees on their block. They ask to help cook with fresh herbs. They teach younger siblings about pollinators. They become the changemakers we desperately need.

Your donation—whether $25 or $2,500—puts more children in gardens and connects them to the natural world in ways that last.

Ready to Make an Impact?