Value and respect for the environment often starts with community, connection and care for nature from a young age. In a world where our planet needs love and care, teaching our little ones about being kind to the environment can empower them to make positive choices throughout their lives.
MercyCare’s Heathridge Early Learning Centre is committed to raising a community of environmentally conscious children who develop a life-long care for the natural environment. Their centre is not only a place for learning, but a place for excitement, exploration and fun. Children enjoy climbing trees, running around outside and fully immersing themselves in the natural environment as part of their learning experience.
Raising eco-warriors
Children develop a lifelong love of learning and caring for the environment through MercyCare Heathridge Early Learning Centre’s many initiatives, such as their one of a kind ‘Eco Warrior Program.’
The Eco Warrior Program is an environmental learning program where children discover environmental issues and how they can work towards solving them. The Program sets monthly sustainability goals that align to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and the children work towards achieving them within the centre every month.
Each goal covers being waterwise, reducing waste, saving energy and building sustainable cities and communities.
Children in all three age groups at the centre take part in various age-appropriate activities that work towards achieving that month’s goal for each topic. These practices are also embedded into their daily routines at the centre and at home, which work towards developing lifelong sustainable habits.
All three age groups work towards achieving each month’s sustainability goals.
The race against waste
Learning about the waste hierarchy is an incredibly important tool for children and adults alike to build healthy waste avoidance habits. Starting with avoiding waste is the first and most important step to making a difference.
One part of the daily routine for children at MercyCare Heathridge Early Learning Centre is working towards their recycling and waste reduction goals. The centre uses a three-bin system in the children’s rooms, and at play. The bin system uses the same colours and waste disposal guide as the City’s three-bin system, to get the children accustomed to using the system both at the centre and at home.
The centre also uses Containers for Change to recycle their drink containers. Both the children and their families get involved in the program, with all the outcomes of their efforts working towards achieving their waste goal.
There are two worm farms at the centre, with children given the opportunity to be ‘Worm Warriors’ to coordinate the collection of scraps to feed the worms. The worm wizz and castings are used to fertilise the centre’s veggie garden, and children love learning about the worms and watching their food scraps get eaten up!
Using the three-bin system is both a playtime activity, and a waste disposal system at Heathridge Early Learning Centre.
Environmental engagement for all ages
Gemma Gardiner is the Manager of MercyCare Heathridge Early Learning Centre. Gemma thinks that children engaging with the environment and nature is important at all stages of their lives.
“They are our future Eco Warriors. We need to teach children that their actions can have a big impact on the world around them, so that they can become stewards of the environment from an early age.”
The children take home what they learned to their families and become educators about the environment themselves. Gemma has noticed that the children have an increased interest and awareness of the world around them during their time at the centre, as well as an increased respect for the environment. The holistic approach to environmental learning provides many benefits and opportunities.
Gemma recalls a proud moment she witnessed between a TAFE student and a child at the centre. When the TAFE student was about to tip her old water from a bottle down the sink, the child reminded her that “we don’t waste our water from lunch, we water the trees” and took her by the hand to go and water their mango tree. Moments like these demonstrate the huge difference that early environmental learning can make towards building healthy habits, and the positive impact that environmental education can make.
Left: Harvesting fruit from the apple tree, that is often watered using leftover water from lunch.
Right: Children planting seeds in repurposed egg cartons for their vegetable garden.
Creating mini-gardeners and MiniChefs
MercyCare’s Heathridge Early Learning Centre has a vegetable garden, fruit trees, compost bins and worm farms for the children to learn all about the benefits of growing their own food. Children are involved with gardening right from the beginning each year. They plan out the garden by researching what plants grow at each season, which plants are safe to eat and what will work best in the vegetable garden.
The children then get involved with planting from seed, and later transplanting their seedlings, mulching, watering and fertilizing their vegetable garden. When it’s time to harvest, they also help with collecting their produce.
The produce collected is then used for cooking experiences as part of MercyCare’s MiniChef program. The children learn how to use their produce in recipes, and how to use the entire fruit or vegetable to limit food waste. Anything left over is put back into the compost bin or worm farm, ready to nourish the vegetable garden and start the cycle all over again!
Programs like this provide an invaluable learning opportunity that teach children the value of fresh and healthy food, gardening and reducing food waste. Gardening and cooking experiences provide children with lifelong skills and habits that will help them for many years to come.
Teaching the next generation
Gemma has some great advice for parents, caregivers, educators or teachers to inspire their own children to love and enjoy nature.
“Allow the children to wonder, we don’t need to have all the answers for them. By following the lead of children you will be amazed where you can go.”
It is never too early for children to start learning, exploring, respecting and loving the world and natural environment around them. Here are some ways that you can get involved and help teach our future generations about loving and caring nature:
- Join your local Friends Group – Friends Group events are fantastic ways to get involved in learning and appreciating the natural environment. Their family-friendly community planting, weeding and watering events are a lot of fun for all ages. Becoming involved in a volunteer group with your family is not only a fantastic bonding opportunity, but also a rewarding experience for everyone involved.
- Learn together – head to your local library to discover the amazing resources, workshops and learning experiences they have to offer for both you and your child. Libraries are a wonderland of environmental knowledge and nature resources for you both to explore.
- Explore the natural environment – the City has so many wonderful natural areas for both kids and adults to enjoy. Consider grabbing a Nature Passport from your local library or access it online and start exploring. The best way to develop an appreciation for the natural world is to go out and see it!
- Garden for wildlife – undertaking a gardening project, such as creating a waterwise verge, a veggie garden patch or planting some native trees are a great way to teach your child about protecting wildlife, creating ecological corridors and how to take care of the environment. The City have a range of gardening resources, including a soils map, that can be accessed here. You can also start a ReWild Garden together, ticking off the checklist as you go.
- Take Active Transport – Teach your child the importance of taking active and sustainable modes of transport by walking, riding or catching public transport to school. It is a great way to keep active and also do your part for the environment.
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Compost! – working together to reduce waste and using innovative ways of avoiding waste going into landfill is a valuable habit and way of thinking that will be crucial as we work towards building a circular economy as a society.
