It's 2024 and The Nature Generation is celebrating 20 years!

The Newton Marasco Foundation (later known as The Nature Generation) is created to fill a missing gap in the environmental literature space–nowhere else in the U.S. existed an award that specifically recognized the importance of authors who teach our next generation of environmental stewards how to care for the planet. 

Amy Marasco and her husband Dave Newton sold their environmental consulting firm with plans to volunteer and travel the world in 2002.  But when Dave died unexpectedly the next year, Amy created the Newton Marasco Foundation in his memory.  She and a group of friends and family sketched out a plan with a mission to inspire and teach our youth to protect the planet and they never looked back.

The Nature Generation’s founding board of directors created the Green Earth Book Award to encourage and reward authors and illustrators who write books for children and young adults that best raise awareness about the beauty of our natural world and the responsibility we have to protect it. 

The first recipient honored with the Green Earth Book Award, the first and only environmental stewardship award in the U.S., was The Sea, The Storm and the Mangrove, by Lynne Cherry. 

Through real-life experiences in nature, students become more aware of environmental issues. The Nature Generation launched Field It! to reach youth by supporting field trips, outdoor classroom installations, water quality testing and wetlands rehabilitation projects; by sponsoring environmental art and photography contests; and by providing field and lab equipment to classrooms.

We hosted our first of what became many successful Greater Washington Eco-Golf Classic tournaments at clubs around the region. Winners were awarded with the Dave Newton Memorial Trophy to commemorate his philanthropic and environmental work.  The tournament was a collaborative effort of industry players in the fields of environment, energy, IT, hospitality, finance and management consulting coming together for a cause they all can agree support. 

We encouraged environmental exploration through literature by honoring 12 authors from across the country with our prestigious Green Earth Book Award, and we brought our winning authors into classrooms to visit over 1,500 students to bring their books alive and share their love of nature.  In addition, we donated more than 1,000 Green Earth books to schools and youth groups across the nation. 

The Nature Generation launched the Rachel Carson Centennial Celebration and organized the designation of May 27 officially as “Rachel Carson Day” to honor the Marylander who pioneered the modern environmental movement and awakened America’s environmental conscience. We commemorated her 100th birthday anniversary by hosting the internationally renowned play about Carson “A Sense of Wonder,” by Kaiulani Lee on Capitol Hill and at a Wildlife Refuge educational center in Maryland. In addition, we hosted the showing of Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” at the Environmental Literacy Festival. We also invited students to honor Carson’s legacy in a poster contest and created the Rachel Carson Scholarship monetary award for Maryland high school juniors and seniors who actively participated in community-based environmental stewardship activities.

We commemorated Rachel Carson’s 100th birthday anniversary by hosting the internationally renowned play about Carson “A Sense of Wonder,” by Kaiulani Lee on Capitol Hill, New York City, Loudoun County, and at a Wildlife Refuge educational center in Maryland.  In addition, we hosted the showing of Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” at the Environmental Literacy Festival. 

The Nature Generation supported teacher and Jeffersonian naturalist John DeMary and his students in their shared a vision to protect a 10-acre tract of land near their school and use it as an outdoor classroom.  John Chapman, owner of the land and father of a former student of Mr. DeMary’s, heard the students’ presentation to community leaders and was so impressed that he offered to put the land into a conservation easement, as long as the students continued to be stewards of the area. 

We celebrated our Green Earth Book Award winners at an awards ceremony hosted by Salisbury University, in conjunction with their Children’s Literature Festival, and sponsored the winning authors’ classroom visits and book donations to hundreds of elementary and middle school children.  

We presented Loudoun Valley High School teacher Liam McGranaghan with an award to recognize his personal dedication, commitment, and support to the creation and maintenance of the Chapman DeMary Trail.  Mr. McGranaghan is an inspiration to his students by teaching them how to be good stewards of the trail and its inhabitants.  Years later, the McGranaghan Stewardship Award continues to be bestowed to an individual or organization that has had the greatest impact on the Chapman DeMary Trail.  

We donated more than 1,000 Green Earth books to schools and youth groups across the nation, sending the message of environmental stewardship. 

We partnered with UPS and youth groups in a EnGauge It! public awareness campaign that educated drivers on how properly inflated tires saves gas, money and lives. Over 5,000 tire gauges were distributed to motorists throughout the metropolitan D.C. area. 

Working with one of our corporate partners, GDIT (formerly SRA), we donated hundreds of books to students at a Philadelphia school, followed up with an engaging presentation on the pros on being green.

We funded and helped students at Hillsboro Elementary and Emerick Elementary plant educational learning gardens on their school grounds. 

The Nature Generation president and founder, Amy Marasco, proudly received her Green Award from the Washingtonian Magazine. The prestigious award is given annually to celebrate Washingtonians who preserve and protect our environment through education, by promoting green building, and by teaching the importance of living green. 

Over 650 students, scout troops and community members explored the Chapman DeMary Trail. Countless volunteers helped maintain the healthy environment during special water testing, clean up, and planting days.

Picture book winner for the 2011 Green Earth Book Award, Todd Parr, showed preschoolers how to be good to the planet at an event we hosted at Salisbury University.  In all, we donated over 1000 books to schools at author events like these and to elementary, middle, and high schools across the country. 

Thanks to the support and expertise from our corporate partner, Cadmus, we created a new name, The Nature Generation, a brighter look, and updated website that better reflects our mission to inspire environmental stewards to cultivate a healthy planet for future generations. 

Students honor Carson’s legacy in a poster contest and Maryland high schoolers who participated in community-based environmental stewardship activities received our Rachel Carson Scholarship monetary award with support from our corporate partner Tetra Tech.

6,000 students read environmental books for our Green Reading Challenge contest — winners won Kindles! In addition, we donated thousands of eco-books to youth groups and schools throughout the nation.

We encouraged environmental exploration through literature by honoring 12 authors with our prestigious Green Earth Book Award, and we brought our winning authors into classrooms to visit over 1,500 students to bring their books alive and share their love of nature.  We donated more than 1,000 Green Earth books to schools and youth groups across the nation. 

We had over 800 students of all ages from DC and surrounding counties out on the Chapman DeMary Trail, where they learned about the responsibility we share in protecting the environment and connected them to nature through our Trail to Water Quality, Family Stream Day, and National Trails Day activities. We donated field kits with binoculars, magnifying glasses, and other tools for discovery for students to use on the trail.

Broke ground for a Pollinator Plot on the Chapman DeMary Trail with 600 plants beneficial to Monarchs and pollinators. Student stewards monitored and reported on water quality.

We introduced E3: Education on Energy and the Environment computer games in an engaging quiz-show format with a focus on the environment and stewardship. These easy-to-use, interactive games can be played individually at home or in the classroom to make learning fun while encouraging student participation and focus. Click for more. (link to E3 on Resources page)

Donated 1,150 environmental books to underserved schools in the metro DC area.  

The Nature Generation celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Green Earth Book Award during the Green Tie Reception at the National Press Club, hosted by NBC’s Wendy Rieger with keynote speaker Richard Harris of NPR.  

Five years ago we preserved the Chapman DeMary nature trail on the last ten acres of old growth forest in Purcellville to provide an outdoor classroom for all.  Additions to the trail this year include our species identification signs and kiosks.

“If kids don’t understand nature, how are they going to protect it?” With that question in mind, we’ve invited over 4,000 number of students on the Chapman DeMary Trail in Loudoun County, VA, to learn about nature on field trips, nature walks, trash cleanup days, tree plantings, scavenger hunts and more!

Hundreds of students and residents use our Chapman DeMary Nature Trail as an outdoor classroom to connect with nature; including 5th graders working with high schoolers, Scout troops, Weed Warrior clean up volunteers, and college students from Indonesia. We have provided hands-on learning opportunities in nature for all.

We continue to get the word out about environmental stewardship to teachers, students and communities across the nation through our monthly blog featuring board members and winning authors; and through President Amy Marasco ‘s monthly feature in the Purcellville Gazette, “View From My Window,” a call to slow down and listen to nature. 

We signed a partnership agreement with the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, a national network of clubs nearly 100,000 members strong, to expand our national reach. Clubs across the nation now work to support The Nation Generation by planting community butterfly gardens, donating Green Earth Award-winning books to their local libraries and schools, and by raising funds for our environmental education programs.

We challenged students across the country to read Green Earth Book Award winning books and give us their feedback. The prize? A Kindle! Teachers loved the way the challenge motivated their students to read; and students were transported to the world of nature through beautifully written and illustrated books.

(link to Green Earth Book Award page)

More than 500 students played our eco games at schools and events like P3 on the National Mall. We delivered E3 computer games to over 200 educators in 16 states. Click for more. (link to EnviroPlay page)

We’ve collaborated with like-minded organizations to help us get the word out about our mission and share our resources, including: North American Association for Environmental Education, National Environmental Education Foundation, Earth Day Network, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Washington Guild Of Children's Book Writers, Network for Good, The Piedmont Environmental Council, The Town of Purcellville, Loudoun County Public Schools, Loudoun Valley High School, Guilford Elementary, Patterson Elementary, Culbert Elementary, Hayfield Secondary, Little Run Elementary, Duke Ellington School of Arts, and the Virginia State Reading Association.

Our very first webinar was produced in partnership with the Security and Sustainability Forum. We brought together authors, educators and environmental specialists to discuss how to best improve the environmental literacy of students. Great resource for educators looking for ways to increase knowledge and participation with their students.

We provided upwards of 2,000 environmental books to schools and students across the nation and hosted classroom visits so 2017 Green Earth Book Award-winning authors could meet with hundreds of students in their very own schools, including books to every student at the public Hillsboro Charter Academy, every third grader at Lafayette Elementary, and every sixth grader at Sidwell Friends!

NatGen received a $25,000 grant from the Dominion Foundation to make trail improvements, install plantings, and develop educational materials. Our events brought hundreds of visitors to the trail including school groups, scout troops, hikers, birdwatchers, and volunteers. Local Girl Scouts spent a day planting, cleaning up, and installing a small community library stocked with books about nature. 

President Amy Marasco serves as a mentor for seniors at Loudoun Valley High School during their yearlong Capstone Projects addressing water quality issues in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. 

These mini grants fund small-scale projects that directly impact the environment and involve children and young adults. Winning projects are inspired by Green Earth Book Award winners and showcase innovative ways to provide hands-on opportunities and eco-learning for youth. 

(link to Seed Grant page) Insert additional seed grant photos from Romany

STEM Seed Grants are an outreach tool that supports our ongoing efforts to engage and inform youth about STEM, environmental literacy, and science-based truth.  We offer a limited number of grants each year to schools, community centers, museums, libraries, military or veterans’ groups, associations or centers, faith-based-organizations, and nonprofits.  Click for more.  (link to Seed Grant page)

We commemorated the pollinator garden, which a home to the many pollinators vital to our eco system, to Amie Ware, NatGen staff member and volunteer, in recognition of her vision and dedication to making the trail an inviting pace for the community. 

Students at Salisbury University write lesson plans for the 2019 Green Earth Book Award nominees.

Our mission has always been to encourage green reading and get the winning books into the hands of children across the nation.  We are proud to have donated over 10,000 books over the years to schools, community centers, hospitals, youth groups and more.  Click for more (link to Green Earth Book Award page)

We hosted Camille Schrier’s classroom visit to students at Hillsboro Charter Academy, where she recounted the true story of the rebirth of a creek to students.  Schrier, who was crowned 2020 Miss America, earned degrees in biochemistry and systems biology and is a on a mission to show kids that science is fun; she is an inspiration for young women and men entering the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.  We also donated the Green Earth Award winning book, Creekfinding, to each student.

Each year the popularity and the number of submissions we receive for the Green Earth Book Award rises.  This year, an incredible 183 nominations were submitted. Our partner at Salisbury University, Dr. Patricia Dean, is reading every book and culling this list down. Once the Final Review list is complete, we send books to our judges for their review and scoring.

NatGen donated Green Earth Book Award winning books along with a community food drive to support families and kids out of school in Virginia. Just one simple way we can help during this public health crisis.