WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU PLAYED IN THE DIRT?

 
 

 Look around you. See that weed growing in the sidewalk? That bird on the traffic light? Those clouds floating by? Nature is all around. Even if you aren’t aware. In fact, you are a part of it. A living, breathing creature that calls this planet home. Let’s connect to our home together.

 

EARTH STORIES INITIATIVE

What We Do

ESI creates live performances, educational resources, and community connections that nourish a sense of wonder, compassion, curiosity, and belonging with the natural world.

 

Our Mission

To re-connect our children (and ourselves!) to our natural home through meaningful artistic and educational experiences and personal connections.

Our Philosophy

Through developmentally appropriate, playful art and live performance; child-driven, nature-based education, and intentional, compassion-based resources for families, ESI explores our inherent connection to this planet.

 

Offerings

 

Storytelling

Originally developed, live performances incorporating our core beliefs with plenty of play. Our team of initiators are professionally trained in performance and education.

 

SEEDS Quarterly

Our e-journal is sent exclusively to our mailing list. Inside, you’ll find a note from ESI founder, reading suggestions, activities, and seasonal nature-themed insights. Our subscribers also enjoy member access to our archive of past SEEDS editions.

Resource Database

Updated regularly by our team and fueled by suggestions from community members, our resource database is a robust collection of books, articles, activities, events, and more to support you and your children in learning about and connecting with our Earth home.

A note from the founder

 

Hello fellow Earth dwellers.

 

I’m Lisa, Founder of Earth Stories Initiative. I’m so glad you’re here! As more and more people move to cities and more and more modern distractions take our attention away from our natural neighbors, I created ESI to help re-connect us and our families to our roots. ESI is at the intersection of the arts, education, and of course Mother Nature. Whether you’re looking for a nature-based activity for your classroom, a developmentally appropriate performance for your child, or connection to a community that cares about the world we leave our children, you are in the right place. Thank you for joining us!


From under the stars,
Lisa Kitchens
Earth Stories Initiative Founder

 
 

Connect with us on social media

 
Happy Earth Day. Chiming into the celebration with a little story about what this Earth Day symbolizes for me. 🌱💚 When my siblings and I cleared out our childhood home in southwest Georgia about 7 years back, I took with me a box full of my old ch
Moment of Wonder. Witnessing the now-famous New Yorker, Flaco. This Eurasian Eagle-Owl that escaped from the Central Park Zoo in early February has now been living in Central Park as a wild animal. He has learned to hunt for himself in a matter of
Moment of Wonder. Staring up at the trees I could name as a child (loblolly pines) as I sit in my father's yard filled to the brim with gratitude for these gentle beings and the Life they have supported. Growing up in the southeastern US, loblolly
Moment of Wonder. Seeing a wood duck in the park with a group of eight children and their caregivers. Watching the duck swim gently around in the pond, hearing the "oo's" and "wow's" of the caregivers, and listening to a few chi
Moment of Wonder: This little tufted titmouse landed in my hand to eat a winter snack of birdseed. Holding this beautiful creature--feeling his delicate body and his strong grip--was truly awe-inspiring. Thank you, world. 💛 P.S. I'm going to be
Only in recent years have I begun to honor the Winter Solstice. Whether it was due to ignorance or indifference, the day seemed like just like any other for many years the first few years of my adult life. In the past several years, however, I have b
Hello friends. As this season of Fall has ushered itself in with colors full of depth, songs of birds on their way to a new home, fewer hours of sunlight, and a natural preparation for winter, I find myself thinking a lot about grief. In particular,
Hello there, friends. Tuning in to social media again to share this beautiful, truly special project I've been involved with as a nature education consultant. "The Garden" is a 45-minute interactive, meditative performance for babies and
Hello all! I’ve been quiet on here lately, and that's mainly because of the many blessings of Summer (whoo-whee, I love this season!). This Summer I’ve had the privilege to work with incredible people and programs outdoors while explorin
A Summer “bouquet” for your feed. 🍉🥭🥒🍒🌽 Summer is here. Time for late sunsets, early sunny mornings, beach days, blueberry picking, campfires, chasing fireflies, cookouts, mosquito swatting, alligator sightings, running through the

We acknowledge that we are on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded land of the Lenape People who have stewarded this land, Leanaphoking, throughout generations.