Goodstart centres in Kealba and Reservoir have connected their children with nature and sustainability to celebrate world environment day.
The day is all about encouraging worldwide awareness for the protection of the environment, and doing something to help take care of the Earth.
For Kealba centre director, Diana Aquilina, that ‘something’ involved making use of a wasted corner of the centre’s backyard.
“It was an unused corner of our yard and I thought ‘we can use that so much better’! So we decided to use world environment day as a good reason to create a garden and plant herbs.
“We wanted the children to be engaged in looking after it once it was finished, so we got them involved in building and planting. It took a team effort on the day with families getting involved as well.
“The children are really excited about being able to harvest the herbs and take them into our cook for their meals.”
The garden is an extension of the centre’s sustainability practices which include recycling bins, clothing bins and re-using food waste to feed the many animals that live at the centre.
At Reservoir, children in the kindergarten room took part in a project to build a model planet Earth out of recycled and re-used materials, something which kindergarten teacher Yanmin Shan says they have no trouble finding in their centre.
“Many families and educators bring recycled goods into the centre which we re-use for arts and crafts projects like this.
“While making the model Earth, the children talked about what the Earth is made of and painted different parts green and blue. They were interested in the different things that are on the Earth.
“Understanding the Earth and looking after the environment are huge concepts for children, so we focus on teaching them how to look after their own immediate environment, what’s close to them and what they can see.
“By starting small and building their interest, their awareness keeps growing as they get older.”
Children in the centre are also active recyclers, helping to sort items into different bins to recycle cardboard, bottles, plastic containers and fabrics.
The day is all about encouraging worldwide awareness for the protection of the environment, and doing something to help take care of the Earth.
For Kealba centre director, Diana Aquilina, that ‘something’ involved making use of a wasted corner of the centre’s backyard.
“It was an unused corner of our yard and I thought ‘we can use that so much better’! So we decided to use world environment day as a good reason to create a garden and plant herbs.
“We wanted the children to be engaged in looking after it once it was finished, so we got them involved in building and planting. It took a team effort on the day with families getting involved as well.
“The children are really excited about being able to harvest the herbs and take them into our cook for their meals.”
The garden is an extension of the centre’s sustainability practices which include recycling bins, clothing bins and re-using food waste to feed the many animals that live at the centre.
At Reservoir, children in the kindergarten room took part in a project to build a model planet Earth out of recycled and re-used materials, something which kindergarten teacher Yanmin Shan says they have no trouble finding in their centre.
“Many families and educators bring recycled goods into the centre which we re-use for arts and crafts projects like this.
“While making the model Earth, the children talked about what the Earth is made of and painted different parts green and blue. They were interested in the different things that are on the Earth.
“Understanding the Earth and looking after the environment are huge concepts for children, so we focus on teaching them how to look after their own immediate environment, what’s close to them and what they can see.
“By starting small and building their interest, their awareness keeps growing as they get older.”
Children in the centre are also active recyclers, helping to sort items into different bins to recycle cardboard, bottles, plastic containers and fabrics.