Sustainability in Childcare

In a rush? Here's a quick rundown.

• Children learn sustainability best through hands-on play — positive habits form naturally when they're empowered to participate, not lectured.

• Early childhood is the ideal time to embed sustainable thinking because habits formed young tend to stick for life.

• Garden activities like planting seeds, harvesting vegetables, and exploring sensory herbs connect children to the full cycle of growth.

• Simple home activities like sorting recycling, container gardening, and nature walks help families build sustainable habits together.

Sustainability in childcare is becoming a more prominent part of the teaching on offer. From harvesting our own food to reusing discarded materials in play, childcare centres are leading the way in developing pro-planet habits within even the youngest children. Let's look at sustainable practices in childcare, as well as some ways you can embed sustainable thinking within your family, too.

Why is Sustainability Important to Learn at an Early Age?

Sustainability may feel like a word we hear more and more often throughout our daily lives now, with news reports, social media posts, and celebrity endorsements all telling us to make small changes that will positively impact our world for generations to come.

But have you ever considered why some of these lifestyle changes are hard for us to make and stick to? It's often because the small routines and nuances of our daily lives have been ingrained into us from the youngest of ages. As the saying goes, old habits really do die hard.

Often the onus to be sustainable is cast quite narrowly to us as individuals, which of course has relevance, but sustainability must also be tackled on a wider level. If we want to see real impact and meaningful changes, addressing our social habits regarding consumerism and community well-being is the key to embedding positive change.

It makes sense, therefore, that our educational curriculums reflect our move towards a more sustainable future, embedding this into policies, centre goals, and daily practices.

Introducing Sustainability to Young Children

Young children learn best through doing, and what greater way do we give children the chance to do than through play! Play is an important way that children experience the world around them, learn about themselves and others, and safely explore the boundaries of life. In quality early education services, educators nurture children's play, adding inspiration and challenge to their natural instincts.

It's no great leap to assume that approaching sustainable practices through active, hands-on experiences would be any different. We don't want to preach to children about the importance of sustainability — we want to nurture positive habits within them and empower them with the knowledge that what they do matters!

This means a shift in approaches taken by educators to promote positive practices within themselves, as well as the children they teach. Like all good educators, our role is one of inquiry and learning with the children as we follow their interests and needs, rather than simply imparting what we think we know upon them.

Little hands, big impact — learning sustainability starts in the garden

Sustainability Activities at The Green Elephant

Each of our services have green landscapes, both indoors and out, which children actively participate within. Allowing nature to flow across the space ensures that, even within built-up areas, children start their life surrounded by natural elements. From veggie gardens to native greenery, children work alongside our farmhands and educators to get literally hands-on with their environment.

In the Garden

• Replanting discarded veggie ends and observing their regrowth

• Planting seeds and harvesting the foods

• Exploring the sensory garden of mint, rosemary, and thyme

• Art in nature — using the landscapes as provocations for creativity

  
  

In the Kitchen

Our chefs work to create seasonal menus which reflect the produce available locally, including from our very own veggie patches. Children can see the life cycle of growth from seed to plate, which helps them understand how they can contribute to the world around them.

• Using harvested foods as part of the daily menu

• Composting food waste and scraps

• Cooking activities with the chefs

 From garden to plate — children experience the full cycle of sustainable eating

In Play

Sustainable practices in childcare can exist at many different levels — not only within the team, families, and communities but also within children's daily play. Even just stopping to watch a moth fly from leaf to leaf, tracking its journey and seeing how important the nature it encounters is, can spark hours and days of inquiry-based play that teaches sustainable thinking. Curating these teachable moments is all about the play context we provide and repurposing materials.

In Craft

Using creative activities to design and construct water capsules that gather rainwater to water plants is just one example of how children's inherent want to play, create, and explore can be channelled to teach positive habits that will create lasting change.

Sustainability Activities for Children at Home

There are many simple ways to bring sustainable thinking into your family life:

Recycling Sorting — Engage your child in categorising items ready for recycling. Make it a game and watch them take ownership of the process.

Container Gardening — Whether an entire veggie patch or a small pot on the windowsill, planting and watching life grow is a wonderful activity to share at home.

Craft with Recycled Materials — Save old cartons and packets to use within craft activities. They provide different textures and can be moulded to make all sorts of creations.

Nature Exploration — Visit the park or take a trip to the local beach. Children understand more about their natural world by having hands-on experiences with it.

Sustainability starts at home with simple, everyday moments

FAQ

Why should children learn about sustainability at a young age?

Habits formed in early childhood tend to stick for life. Children who learn sustainable practices through play develop positive environmental habits that become second nature, rather than trying to change ingrained behaviours later.

How do childcare centres teach sustainability?

Quality centres embed sustainability into daily activities — vegetable gardens, composting, using recycled materials in craft, and creating teachable moments during play. Children learn by doing, not by being lectured.

What sustainability activities can I do at home with my child?

Simple activities include sorting recycling together, growing vegetables in pots or a garden patch, saving packaging for craft projects, and taking nature walks to parks or beaches to explore the natural world.

Does The Green Elephant have gardens at all centres?

Yes, each of our services has green landscapes both indoors and out, including veggie gardens and sensory herb gardens where children actively participate alongside educators and farmhands.

See Our Sustainable Spaces in Action

Book a tour and discover how The Green Elephant nurtures environmental awareness through hands-on learning and play.

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