Starting a vegetable garden or planting fruit trees and bushes are often the first steps a centre will take towards teaching sustainability.
The lessons learned from taking care of plants encompass so many different areas of learning and are so valuable. However, the idea of sustainability can be broadened so that we
are offering our children an environment where responsible stewardship of the earth is promoted in all aspects of the daily running of Playcentre.
Looking at energy use, cleaning products, purchasing and use of resources, and the products we promote through fundraising can be evaluated. Even traditional areas of play like playdough and collage can be considered: is it okay to produce dough from a food source when the final product cannot be reused or composted? Would clay or daily baking be a more sustainable approach?
Sometimes it is hard to think about changing traditional areas or ways of play because they are so familiar to us.
If we focus on what we want our children to view as valuable and let their futures be our guide then some changes may become obvious. Becoming more sustainable may lead to other benefits as well, in terms of cost and manageability of resources within the centre.
Playcentre families are great at practical changes and most have a strong environmental focus already. We are sure Playcentre can lead the way as a sustainable and environment focused early childhood option.