OUR HISTORY
It Began with a Book
“Time in nature is not leisure time; it’s an essential investment in our children’s health (and also, by the way, in our own).”
― Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder
2007
Aleen Steinberg, Sandy Schenck, and Chuck McGrady develop the idea for Muddy Sneakers.
2008
Two Transylvania County schools, Brevard Elementary and Pisgah Forest Elementary, participate in Muddy Sneakers’ pilot semester.
2009
Muddy Sneakers expands across Transylvania County and to neighboring counties.
2011
Muddy Sneakers receives the NC Governor’s Award for Outstanding Conservation Organization of the Year, as presented by the NC Wildlife Federation.
Muddy Sneakers is featured on UNC-TV’s Exploring North Carolina.
2012 – 2015
Muddy Sneakers sees significant growth; school partnerships increased nearly 40%.
A three-year pilot program in upstate South Carolina is launched.
2016
$500,000 is received from the NC General Assembly to open a field office in Salisbury, NC, and double program impact.
2017
Muddy Sneakers receives another year of state support.
Satellite programming debuts to aid underserved communities.
2018
NC State University research partnership launches
Muddy Sneakers celebrates its 10th anniversary
Piedmont Advisory Council forms
2020
Muddy Sneakers responds to COVID-19 by developing Remote Expedition Programming.
2021
Muddy Sneakers Classroom Curriculum launches to support teachers and students returning to the classroom post-COVID.
2023
Muddy Sneakers offers multiple partnership levels in response to teachers’ requests.
"There is brilliance in the Muddy Sneakers name and philosophy. Through multiple school days spent learning alongside expert naturalists, public school students venture into the living laboratory of local protected lands to experience the ‘S’ in STEM. This NC-based organization and its school partners have created an innovative model for conservation education that fosters sense of place, a love of inquiry and something much more valuable: childhood wonder."
