The Path Forward: A Nature-based School Business Planning Workbook
This 100+ page digital workbook (PDF) provides an overview of the planning process and then guides you through five key steps of the business planning process so you’ll feel confident that you’re making intentional decisions for the greatest return on your investment of time, money, and energy.
When you complete the five steps in this Workbook you will have:
→ Made a go/no-go decision
→ Gathered the facts about your mission, available resources, & customer needs
→ Made other key decisions (like whether you’ll be a nonprofit or for-profit organization)
→ Completed the details of the plan including programming, operations, marketing, site and building, financials, and risk analysis
→ Created a written document that will resonate with potential stakeholders–including investors
This workbook is a fillable PDF, but we recommend having the workbook printed and bound at your local print shop so you can take notes more easily.
Given the nature of digital downloads, all sales are final and cannot be refunded.
Ready to make your nature-based school a reality, but feel like a squirrel running from one place to another gathering bits and pieces of information with no organization?
This downloadable book is so much more than a bunch of worksheets; it’s your strategic partner in crafting a business plan that reflects your vision. Whether you’re dreaming of a school within a larger organization, teaming up with other individuals, or carving your own path, this document is your secret weapon.
The Path Forward is a strategic tool born out of years of experience working with nature-based schools. Dr. Rachel Larimore and David Catlin put their 60+ years of combined experience with business start-up and education to create a workbook that focuses on the decisions that really matter to craft a high-quality business plan for a nature-based school.
Get this workbook now to have a solid business plan in place so you can more quickly shift your focus to opening the doors of your nature-based school and have happy children and families in no time. In other words, you’re just one click away from a real step toward making your nature-based school a reality.
About the authors
Dr. Rachel Larimore
Rachel A. Larimore, Ph.D., is an educator, consultant, speaker, researcher, and author. Her work focuses on the intentional integration of nature to support young children’s holistic development by learning with nature to expand their worlds and live rich, full lives. She has written multiple books including Establishing a Nature-Based Preschool, Preschool Beyond Walls: Blending Early Childhood Education and Nature-Based Learning, and Evaluating Nature: Evaluating Natureness: Measuring the Quality of Nature-based Classrooms in Pre-k Through 3rd Grade. Prior to founding Samara, she spent more than a decade starting and directing one of the first nature-based preschools in the United States. She also serves on the advisory board of the Natural Start Alliance, a professional association supporting nature-based educators.
David Catlin
David has devoted his 35-year-long professional career to the nature center and environmental learning center field. He started with degrees in environmental education and interpretation. He then spent 16 years with the Missouri Department of Conservation, helping to plan and launch the agency’s nature center network for six years and later running its Springfield Conservation Nature Center for a decade. In 2000, he signed on with the National Audubon Society. For 15 years, his responsibilities there included supporting the organization’s national network of over 40 centers and overseeing the start-up of 16 new facilities across the country—evaluating sites, facilitating strategic and business planning, selecting architects and exhibit design teams, training staff, and serving as an in-house resource for problem-solving and question-answering. He has also worked as a writer, speaker, and capital campaign counsel.