Not many early learning centres can claim to have a green room in the middle of their learning spaces.
But the team at Goodstart Clayfield have created just that – transforming their art room in the middle of the centre into an indoor green house.
“We are always looking at unique ways we can teach our children about sustainability and caring for the natural world,” centre director Sara Pearce said.
“As a team, we wanted to come together to make Clayfield a centre that took sustainability seriously. And we wanted to spark our children’s love of plants and all things natural.”
The team started working on their project in January 2017. They started by completely gutting the room, and then spending their weekends scrubbing walls, windows and floors, sanding and painting.
“It took us about four weeks to get the area ready for our new plants,” Ms Pearce said. “We then needed to select our plants for the room which were bought with kinder funding, and donated by our parents.”
The result is a calming, leafy green room where children can take time out from the hustle and bustle of the centre.
“We have now transformed this beautiful unloved space into an indoor green house, a first of its kind which the children just love.
“The oldest children from two to five years old care for the garden by cleaning the plants and watering them. The room is open to all children, all day, and we often walk past and see the children sitting in the space reading books, doing puzzles or just relaxing.”
The team will continue to add new plants to the space and have introduced a fish tank with a recycled water system to develop the children’s understanding of sustainability.
“We didn’t have a big budget, or a lot of resources, but together we all put in a lot of effort to create this space and are very proud of what we’ve achieved,” Ms Pearce said.
Goodstart Clayfield is nominated in the Sustainability Category in the 2017 Goodie Awards.
But the team at Goodstart Clayfield have created just that – transforming their art room in the middle of the centre into an indoor green house.
“We are always looking at unique ways we can teach our children about sustainability and caring for the natural world,” centre director Sara Pearce said.
“As a team, we wanted to come together to make Clayfield a centre that took sustainability seriously. And we wanted to spark our children’s love of plants and all things natural.”
The team started working on their project in January 2017. They started by completely gutting the room, and then spending their weekends scrubbing walls, windows and floors, sanding and painting.
“It took us about four weeks to get the area ready for our new plants,” Ms Pearce said. “We then needed to select our plants for the room which were bought with kinder funding, and donated by our parents.”
The result is a calming, leafy green room where children can take time out from the hustle and bustle of the centre.
“We have now transformed this beautiful unloved space into an indoor green house, a first of its kind which the children just love.
“The oldest children from two to five years old care for the garden by cleaning the plants and watering them. The room is open to all children, all day, and we often walk past and see the children sitting in the space reading books, doing puzzles or just relaxing.”
The team will continue to add new plants to the space and have introduced a fish tank with a recycled water system to develop the children’s understanding of sustainability.
“We didn’t have a big budget, or a lot of resources, but together we all put in a lot of effort to create this space and are very proud of what we’ve achieved,” Ms Pearce said.
Goodstart Clayfield is nominated in the Sustainability Category in the 2017 Goodie Awards.