Although the majority of my working time is as chief strategy officer at Natural Pod, I thoroughly enjoy wearing other hats within education as well; I sit on the board of Green Schools National Network and I’m also the national co-chair and southeast chair of...
We highly recommend Healthy Buildings – How Indoor Spaces Drive Performance and Productivity, by Joseph G. Allen and John D. Macomber, for those who care about the health of our children, oneself, and the communities we belong to. This book couldn’t be...
Our very own Michelle Carpenter, Chief Strategy Officer of Natural Pod, will be sharing the outcomes of her work as Southeast Chair of SchoolsNEXT at LearningScapes 2021 taking place on October 14-17th. The in-person session, Student Voice Informs Equitable Learning...
Interior Design’s Best of Year is the design industry’s premiere design awards program, honoring the most significant work of the year as well as recognizing designers, architects and manufacturers from around the globe. This year, you can help the Natural...
The recent forest fires throughout this country and others have illustrated many things – one of which being that a problem in one area can greatly affect another, as smoke drifted some 3000 miles away from the central location of the California fires....
Recently, on September 13th and 15th, I was able to participate in the Design for Early Learning Symposium, organized by Alissa Rupp, FAIA, LEED BD+C, Principal, FRAME | Integrative Design Strategies and Diane Kroll, Founder of Imag(e)ine Collaborative, an excellent...
Natural Pod™ LIVE Episode Seven is available to watch! The idea of a Culture of Care + Connection is ever evolving, but at the core it’s simple: to care for ourselves and those around us, by connecting with our communities and the natural environment. Verena Gibbs,...
Thank you to InHabitat, a green lifestyle and design media outlet, for this great story, titled ‘Natural Pod takes a different approach to learning.’ It takes a look at how we do indeed take a different approach and why. The article also introduces our...
With a return to school, or if not school certainly a return to learning – we know it will look very different for everyone, especially with discussions around where learning is even taking place for some. Understandably concerns around safety are front and center....
Even before the dramatic and transformative events of 2020, we recognized the need to strengthen a specific set of connections: those between design professionals and early childhood education professionals. All children who spend time in early learning spaces, such...
Leadership for Green Schools: Sustainability for Our Children, Our Communities, and Our Planet – This is a wonderfully rich book that uncovers the many facets of what it means to be a green school, and the leadership tools needed to embrace whole school...
If you’re here, you may already know Natural Pod creates high-quality, non-toxic wood furniture for early learning and K-12 learning spaces with an emphasis on beauty, functionality, and environmental awareness. I’d like to expand on those last three points and what...
Can you hear them? Were they listening? As I enter any learning space, these questions are often in the forefront of my thinking. Through this lens, it becomes clear whether the design of the space is soaked in the ideas and needs of students or whether the design was...
We spend ninety percent of our lives indoors in environments where we live, learn, and work. In some countries, that number is even higher due to extreme climate and outdoor pollution. If we spend ninety percent of our time indoors, that means that by the time our...
It’s not often that books in the field of education and design crossover in such an accessible way, and that speak directly to the truth and the times we find ourselves in. ‘Schools That Heal: Design with Mental Health in Mind’ by Claire Latané is one of...
Only two weeks ago my team completed Natural Pod’s first Indigenous Learners Ideabook, and I couldn’t be more pleased. It’s been a while in the making and the end result allows us to share some fantastic Indigenous learning spaces, the stories behind them and why as a...
Alongside connecting with passionate folks within the green schools movement a couple of weeks ago at the Green Schools Conference, we were also introduced to the Green Schools National Network’s (GSNN) brand new look and extended mission. Both intended to drive...
If you have ever gone on a whale-watching excursion or watched videos of a whale in its natural habitat, you probably saw the whale surface for a short time and dive underwater, where it moves about for an extended time before resurfacing. The health of the ocean is...
We are often building and creating spaces for an audience we rarely interact with. Even scarier, we are often building based on our own experiences, some of which we had 10, 20, or dare I say 40 years ago. A few things have changed a wee bit since then. So, how...
Natural Pod™ LIVE Episode Six is available to watch! If you are in any way connected to educational architecture, design or planning, this episode with Kate Mraw, Design Director at LPA Design Studios (LPA), is an absolute must watch! Kate shares so much insight...
Indoor Air Quality: Why it’s Critical for Healthy Learning Environments + Young Learners
