As Laura and Mary Fisher walked around the Arcadia Nature Preschool this past December, the memories came flooding back. The sisters attended the preschool in the 1990s and vividly recall free play around the sand table, pretending to be pollinators, and going outside rain or shine every day.
Not only do they both consider Arcadia Nature Preschool, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, as the best educational experience of their lives but agree their experience at Arcadia set them on the path toward their current professions and passions.
“There was never the notion that you couldn’t—or worse, shouldn’t—do something because you were a girl,” says Laura. “Everyone got their hands dirty, especially me. The preschool taught me always to say ‘I can do that.’ And that still applies now in all areas of my life.”
As a lawyer, Laura has written and published scholarly articles about the intersection of policy, nature, and agriculture. As a volunteer, she runs the Easthampton Community Garden.
Mary studied biology in college and is now a chemistry teacher at a high school in Springfield. “I told my mom that sending me to Arcadia Nature Preschool was the greatest thing she could have done for me,” Mary adds. “Preschool set the stage for my going into science. The hands-on activities of the Preschool are the same as the experimental approaches of the research lab.”
Celebrating 40 Years
This year Arcadia Nature Preschool celebrates its 40th anniversary of the first nature preschool in Massachusetts and one of the first in the nation. You can be part of the celebration by:
- Attending 40 Years of Wonder special event on Saturday, May 22, complete with birds of prey, seed starting activities, nature games, and a gathering of past teachers and graduates.
- Ensuring that Arcadia reaches and inspires more young people like Laura and Mary for the next 40 years by supporting Environmental Education at Arcadia.
Written by Carolyn Cushing, Special Projects and Events Coordinator at Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary
