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Play Nature Podcast

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by Rusty Keeler

5.0(11 reviews)
35 episodes
Updated Daily
Accepts GuestsHas Sponsors
51

Podcast Authority

Beta
FairBased on show quality, social media presence, reviews, charts, and more
Pod Engine
Quality41
Social94
YouTube76
Engagement32
Learn more

Podcast Overview

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

Language

🇺🇲

Publishing Since

1/8/2025

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51

Podcast Authority

Beta
FairBased on show quality, social media presence, reviews, charts, and more
Pod Engine
Quality41
Social94
YouTube76
Engagement32
Learn more
7
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0
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12
Growth Opportunities
excellent
Episode Length
37 minutes
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needs improvement
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Every 16 days

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Recent Episodes

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

June 16, 2026

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

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What happens when a chemist wanders out of the lab and into the woods with children? Adventure, of course.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode of </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Play Nature Podcast</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Rusty talks with Jim McCullough, founder of </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Adventure Walkers</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> about forest kindergarten, playwork, risky play, and the wild magic that happens when adults stop steering so much and start saying yes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p> <p><strong>Top Three Takeaways from Jim McCullough:</strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Risk is not the enemy.<span style="font-weight: 400;"> Children need space to try, pause, climb, wonder, and decide what feels possible.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">The adult role is quieter than we think.<span style="font-weight: 400;"> Watch. Wait. Reflect. Step in when needed, but don’t poke holes in the play flow.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Start with a pilot.<span style="font-weight: 400;"> You don’t need a perfect plan or a fancy outdoor classroom. Take a small group outside. Find a creek. See what happens.</span></li> </ul> <p><strong>Links:&nbsp;</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.adventurewalkersrva.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">adventurewalkersrva.com</span></a></p> <p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/adventurewalkersrva" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instagram @adventurewalkersrva</span></a></p> <p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/AdventureWalkersrva/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Facebook @AdventureWalkersrva</span></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Learn More: </span><a href="https://rustykeeler.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">rustykeeler.com</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> | </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rusty_keeler_designs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">@rusty_keeler_designs</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p><a href="https://rustykeeler.com/loosepartslistfd/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide</span></a></p>

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

June 2, 2026

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

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nature is not just pretty. It is medicine. It is our teacher. It is mud, microbes, moss, noise-softening, nervous-system-settling magic.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode of </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Play Nature Podcast, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">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</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Top Three Takeaways from Alex Barrable:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nature helps bodies calm down, brains wake up, and kids settle into that magical “rest, digest, and learn” place.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dirty play is not just mess. Soil, microbes, plants, and biodiverse spaces may support children’s health, immune systems, and wellbeing.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Green schoolyards are not a bonus. They are a big, leafy, non-negotiable step toward healthier kids, healthier communities, and a healthier planet.</span></li> </ul> <p>Links:<span style="font-weight: 400;"><br></span><a href="https://www.dirtyplay.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">dirtyplay.org</span></a></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Learn More: </span><a href="https://rustykeeler.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">rustykeeler.com</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> | </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rusty_keeler_designs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">@rusty_keeler_designs</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p><a href="https://rustykeeler.com/loosepartslistfd/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide</span></a></p>

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

May 19, 2026

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

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&nbsp;In this episode of the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Play Nature Podcast, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dream big. Start small. Never stop.</span></p> <p>Top Three Takeaways from Adam Bienenstock</p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kids do not just need less screen time. They need more full-body, full-sensory nature time.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">A school forest is more than trees. It is soil, shade, microbes, loose parts, play, and wonder all working together.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Start with a corner. Plant in communities. Add organic material. Build a tiny forest world kids can touch, smell, climb into, and love.</span></li> </ul> <p>Links:</p> <p><a href="http://www.renature.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">renature.org</span></a></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">@renaturefoundation </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/renaturefoundation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instagram</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> | </span><a href="http://facebook.com/renaturefoundation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Facebook</span></a></p> <p><a href="http://linkedin.com/company/renature-fnd" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">LinkedIn @renature-fnd</span></a></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">@bienenstocknaturalplaygrounds </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/bienenstocknaturalplaygrounds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instagram</span></a></p> <p><a href="http://linkedin.com/company/bienenstock-playgrounds" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">LinkedIn @bienenstock-playgrounds</span></a></p> <p><a href="http://facebook.com/BienenstockPlaygrounds" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Facebook @BienenstockPlaygrounds</span></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Learn More: </span><a href="https://rustykeeler.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">rustykeeler.com</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> | </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rusty_keeler_designs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><span style="font-weight: 400;">@rusty_keeler_designs</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">&nbsp;</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://rustykeeler.com/loosepartslistfd/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rusty’s FREE Outdoor Loose Parts Guide</span></a></p>

35 total episodes available

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What is Play Nature Podcast?

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

How often does this podcast release new episodes?

This podcast updates daily.

Where can I listen to this podcast?

This podcast is available on 6 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.

Does this podcast accept guests?

No, this podcast does not typically feature guests.

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