At Cocoplum Nature School, our vision is to cultivate liberated learners who can collectively create a more just and healthier planet for everyone. Cocoplum Nature School was founded in 2020 by two Delray Beach mothers, educators, and environmental stewards, Dr. Fernanda Wolfson and Dr. Melanie Stefanovic. Their friendship began at the children's library and local community gardens when their first children were babies. Friendship blossomed into co-founding the evidence-based school they ... Read More
At Cocoplum Nature School, our vision is to cultivate liberated learners who can collectively create a more just and healthier planet for everyone. Cocoplum Nature School was founded in 2020 by two Delray Beach mothers, educators, and environmental stewards, Dr. Fernanda Wolfson and Dr. Melanie Stefanovic. Their friendship began at the children's library and local community gardens when their first children were babies. Friendship blossomed into co-founding the evidence-based school they each dreamed of for their own children.
At Cocoplum, we know everything that is taught in traditional schools with textbooks and rote practice can be learned by children outdoors with natural materials through play, exploration, and inquiry. In fact, for most of humanity, children have joyfully learned all they needed to know and do through play groups, the natural world, markets, gardens and farms, and other settings not bound by four walls. A nature school is an educational setting where children learn through direct, regular engagement with the natural world. At Cocoplum, nature is not just a setting—it’s an essential part of the curriculum, fostering curiosity, resilience, and a deep connection to the environment. The three pillars of Cocoplum's curriculum are nature, place, and play. We employ Reggio Emilia methods of observation, documentation, and assessment. Learning is individualized, largely self-directed, experiential, and social. We foster critical thinking and creativity, not conformity, and we cultivate collaboration and communication, not competition.
In the heart of Delray Beach, Cocoplum Nature School is located in the educational wing of Cason UMC, our administrative home base and where we serve our 54 full-time elementary school students. The setting allows our urban nature school to enjoy rich place-based experiences, and natural settings are only a short bus ride away. Our aim is to secure our own permanent facility with natural acreage to fully realize the vision for nature-immersed learning.
Cocoplum currently offers a drop-in toddler program called Nature Tots, a twice weekly pre-K program called Nature Play Mornings, aftercare for elementary age children called Nature Play Afternoons, camp during school breaks, and the flagship elementary school serving grades K-5. Additionally, Cocoplum hosts seasonal family events open to the public and we provide parenting workshops to caregivers of children in our programs. The evidence from dozens of studies conducted over about a decade converges around a single conclusion: “In academic contexts, nature-based instruction outperforms traditional instruction” (National Institutes for Health, 2019, p. 1). In other words, natural surroundings and unstructured play have significant benefits for learning.
Our cohesive and dedicated team of Cocoplum educators bring a refreshing blend of agility, compassion, experience, and vision to their professional practice. All faculty and staff hold bachelor's degrees or higher, possess three or more years in educational settings, and have passed Level II background screening. They are the heartbeat of Cocoplum!
Cocoplum Nature School partners with a number of mission-aligned organizations in the broader community and nationally. Friends, partners, funders, and sponsors include Soil & Soul, Boca Chiropractic, the EJS Foundation, the Vela Foundation, Kids Gardening Foundation, The Most Important Thing Podcast, The Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce, Whole Kids Foundation, The Everglades Foundation, Swinton Community Growing Project, The Delray Beach Historical Society, Prima Studio, Bek Insurance, and Jacqueline Burbage Therapeutic Yoga. We're proud to have hosted student teachers and graduate students from Florida Atlantic University and Lynne University, as well as high school student volunteers from the Atlantic Community High School National Junior Honor Society.
Cocoplum Nature School is committed to providing equal opportunities to all and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, primary language, age, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability, or any legally protected status in its hiring or admissions processes.
Cocoplum's fundraising priorities for the 2025-2026 school year include:
-$15,000 for security and safety infrastructure at the elementary school
-$5,000 for teacher professional development in security, nature pedagogy, and conscious discipline
-$32,000 for financial hardship scholarships
-$25,000 for an additional school bus
-Ongoing growth of the capital campaign as we search for a larger, permanent campus
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