Rochester Ecology Partners hosted a harvest festival Thursday at Griffin Garden on North Union Street for “National Children’s Environmental Health Day.”

Kids and families got to learn about the environment and how to connect with nature in their day-to-day lives — something organizers say is sorely missing in normal class time.

“We see their social skills increasing, their academic performance increasing, we see their ability to communicate increase,” said “E” Turpin with Rochester Ecology Partners, “and kind of just connect to the earth in a way that they can’t do on their school campus or in their classroom.”

For more all-natural fun, Rochester Ecology Partners is hosting an Eco Expedition for first- to third-graders. That’s coming up on Monday, Nov. 11. Click here for more information.