The Auburn University Kreher Preserve and Nature Center (KPNC) Woodland Wonders Nature Preschool (WWNP) will expand with tuition-free access to the program’s educational experiences thanks to extramural funding and a new Alabama First Class Pre-K designation. The program is the first nature preschool in the state to receive such recognition.

A new frontier

The Alabama First Class Pre-K program provides pre-kindergarten programming for approximately 24,000 4-year-olds across the state. This platform is administered through the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education (ADECE). The program has received high ratings from entities such as the National Institute for Early Education Research for almost two decades.

“This milestone represents a significant advancement for both Alabama and the entire nature-based learning community,” said Michael Buckman, KPNC manager. “WWNP will be the first nature preschool in the state to receive this prestigious certification. It is noteworthy that, nationwide, very few state-level education departments recognize or license nature-based schools at any grade level.”

Preschoolers run across a playground at Auburn’s Woodland Wonders Nature Preschool. (contributed)

A natural fit

The KPNC’s stated mission is to “promote a sense of stewardship toward nature through quality environmental education, recreation and outreach programs with Auburn University and its community partners.”

Sarah Crim, the education director at KPNC and director and founder of WWNP, learned about the First-Class Pre-K designation while working with colleagues in Auburn’s College of Education.

“After the nature preschool opened and began to develop and evolve, we always had the idea in the back of our minds of applying to be a First Class Pre-K, but it was never quite the right time,” Crim said. “With the opening of our new classroom in the Environmental Education Building, it just felt like the door was opening and we reached out to state representatives about our idea. We had very encouraging conversations with representatives from the First Class Pre-K program and found that our ideas and philosophies in education were very aligned. With encouragement from them, we applied for the opportunity to open a classroom in the 2024-2025 school year and are thrilled to have been accepted.”

The program has already received its first grant of $135,000 as First Class Pre-K for the 2025 award year, enabling the KPNC to offer tuition-free education for enrolled students as well as hire two certified early childhood educators.

A preschooler hangs from a tree by her legs at Auburn’s Woodland Wonders Nature Preschool. (contributed)

Preschoolers look out from their wooden fort at Auburn’s Woodland Wonders Nature Preschool. (contributed)

A highly qualified team

To prepare for the inaugural First Class Pre-K program at the KPNC, the center conducted a search for a lead teacher who had experience with the rigors of First Class Pre-K programs and the pedagogy of nature-based education.

Elise Wilkins, an Auburn alumna in the College of Education and current WWNP teacher who served as a First Class Pre-K teacher in the Russell County school system, was selected to serve as lead preschool teacher. Wilkins has been involved with the KPNC since 2020, when she began service as a student teacher. Today, she has been in her WWNP role for more than a year and is excited to dive into this new endeavor for the KPNC.

“I think [learning outdoors] makes things come more naturally for kids,” Wilkins said. “You get to see their excitement a little more in their interests, build off that and see them become brave and confident more so than in a traditional classroom setting. They’re finding their characters. They’re finding their inner person.”

To accompany Wilkins, Amanda Prince will serve as auxiliary Pre-K teacher. Also an Auburn alumna in the College of Human Sciences, Prince has been a lead teacher for the WWNP previously. She brings more than 20 years of teaching experience to the KPNC’s educational programming.

“I’m most excited about transferring over to First Class Pre-K so that we can provide this program to other children that could not have afforded it or are unaware that we exist,” Prince said. “
I think it’s great for an opportunity to be a pilot program for the state so that more children can be exposed to nature. I think the best thing we can do as teachers and parents is take our children outside and have an appreciation for the outdoors from a very young age. I was able to go to a farm school as a child, and it definitely affected who I was as a person as I’m out here teaching every day.”

Wilkins and Prince will assume their new roles in the spring.

A preschooler crawls through a tunnel on a playground at Auburn’s Woodland Wonders Nature Preschool. (contributed)

Two preschoolers swing from a rope seat at Auburn’s Woodland Wonders Nature Preschool. (contributed)

A preschooler plays with a pan of dirt at Auburn’s Woodland Wonders Nature Preschool. (contributed)

A new era

This year begins a new era for the KPNC and its educational programming.

“We are so excited to be the first nature preschool to provide a First-Class Pre-K in the state of Alabama,” Crim said. “We thank the representatives from ADECE for believing in the teaching philosophy of nature preschool and its benefits to the students of our state. We have seen these benefits firsthand through the last five years of the WWNP and it is truly an honor to be able to open another classroom at our facility. It is our hope that we can lead through example so that other nature preschools and future nature preschools will also apply to be a First-Class Pre-K.”

If you are interested in learning more about the WWNP, please contact Sarah Crim at natureeducation@auburn.edu. Applications for the First Class Pre-K are available through the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education website.

This story previously appeared on Auburn University’s website.