Our Impact

By the numbers

Since our founding in 2021, Nature for New Minnesotans has:

• Served approximately 500 adult EL learners in 28 classrooms at 8 EL community organizations

• Culminating experiences included Fishing in Como Park, canoeing on Powderhorn Lake, Camping at Lake Itasca State Park, Foraging at Crosby Farms Regional Park, exploring the Bell Museum of Natural History, and birdwatching at Phalen Lake, among others.

• Hosted two free professional development workshops for 50 adult EL and environmental educators

• Awarded the 2025 Advocate and Partner of the year award by Literacy Action Network

• Published in 1 peer-reviewed journal, presented at 8 conferences, and featured in 6 media stories, including:

  • The Sahan Journal

  • Minnesota ABE Connect

  • St. John's University Latino/Latin American Studies lecture series

What teachers are saying

"The materials were a thing of beauty; well organized, scaled, thought-out, with good variety and appropriate language… My students learned a lot, and it was wonderful to co-teach."

"Student engagement has been very high in all the NFNM content that I've used. Students have opportunities to share their vast knowledge of the natural world in a way that is motivating and encourages them to use English in the classroom."

"I’m really impressed by the quality and amount of nature subjects and entire curriculum you’ve made available to us—easily adapted to a class already in session or perfect to begin a new “our outdoor world” class. Our students need this! And it’s free! And you provide support and materials! I will definitely be presenting this to our program director."

What students are saying

"It makes me feel more at home because I am learning about the state of Minnesota; learning about the space that I am living in. Learning about the state bird and the different types of birds in Minnesota makes me like it better."

"Before, we never had the opportunity to learn about them [birds]. If you see a bird, it is just like… a bird. You never pay much attention to it. But afterwards [the curriculum], I’m going to be honest. When we see a bird, we try to remember the name of the bird! So, this is the one that migrates, this is the one that doesn’t… and try not to forget about it."

"I learned a lot of vocabulary about plants. I learned about the different kinds of plants, the poison plants, the medicinal plants. And I remember too that I learned about the parts of the plant... and the different functions that plants do in the world."

"Look at us -People from all over the world, eating food from around the world, on Dakota land.  Did you ever think this would happen in your life?"