Dear Parents and Friends,

We are excited to share some updates about Kids in Nature (KIN) with all of you. Before we delve into the details, like any good journey, we pause along the way to take in the view, reflect on what we observe, and consider our next steps. We are grateful for this community coming into being, yet we are often reminded of nature’s fragility — as we look ahead to find our path and traverse the landscape together.

 

🌱 The Good News

We’ve crossed an exciting milestone: our community has over 100 members! That means an estimated 200–300 children, parents, and family members who have been brought together by a shared love for nature. This is proof that something simple—children and parents exploring the outdoors together —has sparked something much bigger: connection, community, and care.

 

🌍 The Not-So-Good News

At the same time, the world immediately around us reminds us why this matters. This year a tiger was killed and blatantly trafficked (with only 150 left in the wild). Elephants and wildlife with increasingly fragmented habitats continue to be killed on roads. Floods, storms, and displaced people (across Malaysia and our neighboring countries) remind us of the growing fragility of our ecosystems. What we have read is just what is deemed newsworthy in the mainstream press - there are so many more issues at hand. These challenges can sometimes feel overwhelming, but they are also a call to action for us, as parents raising the next generation, because we all hope that our children will grow to become wiser, kinder, and more responsible stewards of the earth.

 

🌈 Nurturing Hope

When we started this group, our aim was simple: to get our children into nature. That aim hasn’t changed. Along the way, your questions and ideas have shown us that KIN can be more than just outings. Questions such as the ones below have surfaced:
 

• How can more families with children benefit from our crowd-sourced calendar?
   

• Can we encourage more parents to bring their children into nature?
   

• How do we spark teens’ interest in the natural world?
   

• Can the children and teens go beyond exploration—into innovation, conservation, and impact-creation?
   

These questions give us hope, because they point to possibilities about getting further involved in the journey to protect nature given the numerous crises we face. You may have more questions - we invite you to share them with the community.

 

🌟 Looking Ahead – Our Next Chapter

Building on these questions and the hopes they inspire, the remainder of 2025 and the entire 2026 will give us space and time to search for answers to those questions. Here’s what’s coming — and we warmly invite you to come along for the journey:
 

• A Volunteer Steering Team to Deliberate and Explore New Areas – Adriene Leong, Beverly Yong, Dom Wong, Eileen Chwee and Syafa Rahman - we will help coordinate and support a few pilot projects. Think of us as companions helping to notice and open new trails together. Rather than being about committees or heavy administration, it’s about pooling our creativity, values, and hopes so this community grows in a grounded, thoughtful way.
   

• Children’s Steering Team (pilot)- We will also be exploring how children can take the lead in curating and crafting nature experiences.
   

• Innovation, Conservation, and Impact (pilot) – we are looking for spaces and opportunities where children and their parents can safely enjoy participating in nature conservation activities together, sparking an understanding of conservation and the role we can all play in it. We are starting off with getting families involved in conservation fundraising this month.
   

• A Website (pilot) – to make the crowd-sourced calendar public, share nature activity ideas, and highlight children-friendly nature guides and conservationists.
   

• Instagram + Linktree (pilot)– to inspire and increase reach to more parents. Please follow the account and share it with friends. Click here.
   

• Teens in Nature (pilot) – because today’s children will soon be tomorrow’s teens, and they too deserve a place to grow their bond with nature. We hope to gather sufficient teen participation for the December night walk trip with Beach School.
   

• Gathering Of Minds & Hearts (pilot)- in the upcoming months, we will hold a get-together session (likely via Zoom) - to gather more ideas and possibilities for KIN. Participation is on a voluntary basis.
   

• More Experiences, More Places, More Guides – together we’ll keep discovering, exploring, and partnering.

Some immediate questions you may have:
 

Q: Is KIN now a society?
A: KIN is not a registered society and our intentions are to keep KIN as a community – built by all of us, for all of us.

Q: I have some ideas for the community. How should I kick that off?
A: If you have an idea, skill, or passion, bring it forward. This community is rich with talent. Gather more parents to form an informal group. Example: Promote KIN at your local community gathering or fundraise for your favourite conservation organisation . You may also reach out to any of the steering team volunteers for more information.

Q: Will we invite new members of the public into the WhatsApp group?
A: The WhatsApp Group will continue as it is now, by personal invitation (parent to parent), keeping trust and familiarity at the heart. If you are at nature events or know other parents who are like-minded, please invite them to the WhatsApp group.

​

💚 A Closing Thought

We trust you’ll find these updates both exciting and reassuring. At its heart, KIN is about giving our children a chance to know, love, and protect the natural world.

As the saying goes:

“Bila kenal, kita cinta. Bila cinta, kita lindungi.”

"When we know, we love. When we love, we protect."
 

Here’s to the next chapter of Kids in Nature—together, hopeful, and always looking to the horizon.

Signed-off with gratitude and excitement, 

KIN steering volunteers Adriene, Beverly, Dom, Eileen & Syafa.