10/19/2026
Today I am visiting with Cherie Graves with Nurtured in Nature! Cherie and her husband, Andy are both originally from South Dakota, and all of their family still lives there. They will celebrate 19 years of marriage in October.
Andy works remotely in the FinTech industry. They have two kids: Oliver, who is 16 and a sophomore at EGF Senior High, and Willow, who is 11 and a fifth grader at SouthPoint. They have two adorable dogs, Sammy and JoJo.
Cherie is a vivacious woman who is passionate about her new program she is offering for kids in the area of all ages. She would’ve been someone I would have loved to learn from and spend time with as a child. She is kind, soft spoken and her energy is very loving and safe.
Her story in this area began in 2000, when she came to UND as a freshman. She graduated with her master’s degree in Occupational Therapy in 2006 and returned to South Dakota, where she worked as an occupational therapist. She moved back to the area in January 2014, to return to UND and join the occupational therapy program as a faculty member, where she spent the next 11 years teaching and mentoring students. During that time, she also earned her PhD in Educational Leadership from UND in 2019.
She left UND in February 2025 to pursue a new opportunity with Augustana University. She now works remotely as part of the small team that developed and is now teaching the university’s new hybrid occupational therapy program.
She said, “Working remotely and teaching in a hybrid model have been new experiences for me, and I have loved the opportunity to learn new skills, collaborate with others, and help build a great program. We recently welcomed our very first cohort of occupational therapy students!”
Her idea for Nurtured in Nature had been in the back of her mind for several years before she finally had the guts to take the leap in 2023. There were a lot of things that brought her to it, but there were really four that stood out for her.
She explained, “The first was noticing how much childhood unstructured outdoor play has declined. Kids just don’t have the same opportunities that many of us had to simply go outside, make up a game, explore, get dirty, and figure things out on their own.
That actually connects to the second reason, which is my own childhood. I have such vivid memories of being outside with my friends, siblings, and neighbors, creating our own adventures, wandering around the neighborhood, and staying outside until the streetlights came on. We weren’t constantly being supervised or entertained by adults. We just played. And looking back, I realize how much I learned through those experiences.
The third piece came from being an occupational therapist. I started thinking about what happens when children lose those opportunities for unstructured play. Play is so important for development, and through my OT lens, I could see connections between that decline in outdoor, child-led play and some of the challenges we’re seeing in kids today.
And then, probably the most personal piece, was being a parent. I have one child who just doesn’t fit into the competitive environment and rigorous schedules that come with a lot of traditional kids’ activities. I realized there was a real gap. There needed to be something where kids could participate without having to compete, perform, or keep up with everyone else. So, all of those thing’s kind of came together. I wanted to create a place where kids could just be kids. They could be outside, explore nature, use their imagination, take some risks, make friends, and create their own play.”
I have seen ads for forest schools and I wondered if she had considered that and she definitely has! She has been thinking about the bigger picture from the very beginning. She believes our community needs more opportunities for nature-based childcare and education, including daycares, preschools, and even forest school programs.
Forest schools already exist in other parts of Minnesota, and she truly believes we can and should offer similar opportunities in our community.
From the beginning, she has operated this business as a side gig, which has presented some challenges. It took time to build momentum and work through the logistics necessary to provide consistent programming. This summer, she committed to offering weekly nature-based playgroups. She says, “it was a dream! The response was incredibly positive, with the only feedback being, “Please provide more!” As a result, I now have playgroups scheduled through December, with the possibility of adding more.”
While the current events are offered throughout the year rather than through a daycare or school, her long-term vision is to continue growing the program and explore opportunities to bring nature-based programming into more consistent educational and childcare settings.
I think I mentioned she is energetic, so not only does she work full time with a husband, 2 kids with activities and 2 dogs, she also volunteers and says, “I have had the privilege of volunteering and serving the Grand Forks and East Grand Forks communities in a variety of ways. For the past eight years, I have served on the Board of Directors for The Arc, Upper Valley, and I currently serve as Board President. I have also volunteered at Stable Days Youth Ranch, helping with chores and pitching in wherever I could, and served on the Rural Child Care Innovation Program committee in East Grand Forks.”
I asked her to tell me something that stands out for her in her many playgroups, she said, “one day we were exploring and came upon a huge animal footprint by the river and the kids were very excited to see that and share that experience with their parents!”
I asked her to tell me what she would like people to know about her business and she replied, “I primarily provide our nature-based playgroups on our property along the Red Lake River. I have also consulted with East Grand Forks Parks and Recreation and received permission to host playgroups on their property as well. This partnership may be especially helpful during the winter and spring months when our river property may not be accessible due to deep snow drifts or flooding. My ultimate goal is to find a more accessible, year-round space that still provides the benefits of nature-based play while offering a few more modern conveniences, such as running water and a flush toilet. For now, our bathroom down at the river is a privacy tent with a camping toilet, but it gets the job done surprisingly well! This business venture has never been about personal benefit. It was created out of a desire to provide children with opportunities to explore, connect with nature, build relationships, and, most importantly, simply have time to be kids. There are so many children who deeply need that opportunity, and it is what continues to motivate me to grow this vision.”
They are located at 2205 8th St SE; phone number is 605-941-3875.
Cherie it was a pleasure!
Brenda Ault, EDA Specialist
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