By Holly Snow, Manager of Youth Education
June 2026
Each spring brings the return of the red-winged black birds, the uncurling of fiddleheads, and an emerging rainbow of flowers. At the Garden, it also marks the arrival of spring preschool field trips with Worcester Head Start schools. Each year, all four Head Start schools, serving over 400 students aged three to four, visit the Garden to participate in the Wonder Walk program, where chidren explore, problem-solve, and play in nature.
While programs like this provide countless benefits, funding limitations can sometimes prevent valuable cross-sector collaborations from happening. Fortunately, that was not the case this year. Thanks to a grant the Garden received from The Hanover Insurance Group Foundation, all WPS Head Start schools were able to visit the Garden and experience the Wonder Walk program for free.
Photo submitted by Head Start
What Is Head Start?
Head Start is a federal program that operates locally to help children from low-income families prepare for school. Worcester Public Schools (WPS) is the only district in Massachusetts that oversees its own Head Start program, with an emphasis on inclusive learning experiences that nurture a child’s overall development. Field trips to the Garden support that mission by providing access to outdoor, inquiry-based learning opportunities not typically available within classroom settings—especially in urban areas with limited green space.
“Partnering with the Garden has been one of the greatest gifts to our Head Start program and the children and families we serve,” says Suchira Channoi, the education manager for Worcester Head Start. With 93 percent of participating families identified as low-income, access to high-quality, nature-based education is especially impactful.
Curriculum That Connects
The Garden’s partnership with Worcester Head Start began in 2019, and over the years programming has included on-site field trips, off-site programs at local parks and Head Start schools, and even virtual offerings during the pandemic. The Garden staff work collaboratively with Head Start administrators to tailor programming each year, ensuring it aligns with curriculum goals and supports students’ developmental needs.
This spring, the Wonder Walk program reflects WPS Head Start’s theme for the school year: questioning and problem solving. Students engage their senses through hands-on activities by exploring tree specimens, playing “I Spy” color games, solving life-cycle puzzles, and mimicking animal movements. They investigate the basic needs of plants and work as a class to solve a common gardening challenge—“Why won’t these plants grow?” Students become gardeners as they prepare the soil, and each plants a bulb in a bed in the Climate Garden. The program fosters curiosity, responsibility, and a connection to the natural world.
For Channoi and her team of educators, the creativity and intentionality Garden staff bring to the program design makes the experience all the more meaningful. “The Garden’s field trips give our preschoolers something truly special,” she says, “the chance to step outside the classroom and into nature, to touch and smell flowers, observe plants, and explore the outdoors with wide-eyed wonder
The Value of Nature-Based Learning
Research shows that outdoor and nature-based educational activities can have a significant positive impact on children’s physical, cognitive, emotional, and social health. This holds true for one-time experiences such as nature-based school field trips. Despite these demonstrated benefits, nature-based activities during school time are rare, especially for students living in environmental justice communities. These neighborhoods often face disproportionate impacts from climate change, pollution, and other environmental hazards. In Worcester, 82 percent of residents live in such neighborhoods.
Since its launch in 2019, the Wonder Walk program has reached 1,924 students. What began as a vision to connect every Worcester Head Start Pre-K classroom with the Garden continues to grow—rooted in the belief that every child deserves the opportunity to learn, explore, and thrive in nature.
“Watching our children light up during these experiences is something we will never forget,” Channoi says.
About the Author
Holly Snow is the Manager of Youth Education at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill located in Boylston, MA. She has been with the organization since 2021 and is responsible for overseeing programs that engage youth and their families in nature-based art and science programs. Holly earned her MS in Museum Studies from Johns Hopkins University and a BS in Art Education from the University of Vermont.