Building Community

In 2014 I founded Columbia Families in Nature (CFIN), a family nature club that offers free weekly nature-based experiential education events to families in Central Maryland.  By connecting families with nearby nature, the goals of CFIN are to: foster greater connection with nature and the community; increase environmental awareness and action; support the well-being of participants; and help strengthen family relationships. In the three years since CFIN launched, we have offered over 150 free events serving more than 400 distinct and diverse families. CFIN events are held at a variety of natural areas, including public parks, farms, gardens, wildlife sanctuaries, and community open space trails. The focus of each outing is also diverse, ranging from free exploration and play, to active hikes, to structured, conservation focused events, such as tree planting, stream clean-ups, and pollinator garden creation. During each event the participants learn to leave places better than they were found, picking up any litter and learning the principles of leave no trace. Civic ecology projects that have been completed by the group include installing three monarch way station gardens, conducting four citizen science bioblitzes, and removing invasive species and planting native plants in trees at more than six events. 

• Meet Local Environmentalist Chiara D'Amore
• Columbia Families in Nature Introduces the Great Outdoors
• Columbia Association Introduces Columbia Families in Nature
• Local Students Receive Audubon Toyota TogetherGreen Fellowships

• Episode 2 Connecting Our Community While Isolated Mixdown The HoCoCast team of Baz, Daniel, Emmy, and Olivia, focus on the environment in honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day (April 22). Joining them in this episode is local environmentalist, Chiara D’Amore.  
• Rubix and Environmental Wellness Revisited This month we revisit environmental wellness. This month my guest is Dr. Chiara D'Amore- a community leader in environmental stewardship. She connects us to outdoor spaces through her non-profit organization- Community Ecology Institute. 

• "You make a space for parents to see nature through their kids eyes. This is turn opens them up to what they can do to sustain that joy and expression of curiosity and wonder."
• "​Once again we had a fabulous time! I am learning to love nature more and more! My daughter was so excited to dig, plant, and just get dirty!"
• "This was a good first experience for us! The fact that we were part of a group encouraged us to walk further than we otherwise would have, and I'm glad we made it all the way to the river. Getting through the trail's 'obstacles' - climbing on rocks and balancing on tree trunks - made us feel really connected."
• ​"I enjoyed meeting new people in our neighborhood and seeing my children get enthusiastic about nature."
• "It was great to spend time together as a family. It gave us the opportunity to get outside our comfort zone, get dirty and be silly."
• "We really enjoyed making the monarch way station because it was a fun way to do something positive for nature." 
• "You engage diverse people who otherwise wouldn’t come together and inspire them to make connections, with each other, with their neighbors, in their communities, and ecosystems. You help to create awareness of the people, animals, plants, and places around us. You connect the academics with the dreamers, the young with the old, the faithful and the lost… in the most neutral place – nature! Outside we can all be who we are and open our eyes wide to who we are sharing the experience, and the world with."