“Our children are our future and will be the caretakers of our environment.”
Sustainability empowers children to construct knowledge, explore values and develop an appreciation of the environment and its relationship to their world. This lays the foundation for an environmentally responsible adulthood that understands how important is to look after the environment and mother Earth.
Sustainability practices are incorporated in our curriculum and we are committed to protect mother Earth. Our mission is to ensure a sustainable future for our children and the adults of tomorrow. Standard 3.3 of the National Quality Standard aims to encourage children to increase their understanding about their responsibility to care for the environment, day to day, and for long-term sustainability.
We are aware of how important is to teach children how to use recycled materials, and how to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rethink from early age. The concept of recycling is introduced at a very early age and gardening is part of our daily and weekly routine. We role model practices that encourages sustainability through recycling, water conservation, limiting electricity usage, farming compost, growing our own vegetables and using them for cooking, and caring for the plants.
Our babies and toddlers love to watch the educators model sustainability behaviours and will start learning about sustainability by singing songs, listening to story books and watering the plants. Our preschoolers continually engage in daily sustainability experiences and love it so much that every day, they eagerly grab the water cans to water the garden and observe how many tomatoes have grown, how many little flowers are in the garden, or if there’s any caterpillars browsing the leaves.
In addition, all these mindful learning experiences promotes awareness of the environment through “green housekeeping practices” such as healthy eating, gardening, minimising waste, recycling, and reducing water and energy consumption. Above all, sustainability practices assist our children in developing an understanding and respect for the environment and encourages critical thinking.
Let’s all take an active role in conserving our environment to promote a sustainable future!
