Sustainability activities in childcare—8 ideas to get you started
Creative and eco-friendly ideas for sustainability activities in childcare that will encourage children to care for the environment.
Our home, the Earth, is the only planet we have, so we must take good care of it. It’s our duty to motivate the next generation about sustainability and the importance of practising eco-consciousness by developing a sustainable lifestyle. Children must be gradually educated about climate change, pollution, deforestation and other environmental issues. These will all affect the future of the planet they live on. An environmentally literate child grows up to be a responsible steward who contributes to finding beneficial solutions for our planet.
While teaching sustainability to young learners and toddlers is critical, it is not always easy. We’ve rounded up eight fun and creative activities to help children enjoy learning about sustainability.
1. Making sustainability activities in childcare fun
Taking responsibility for the environment doesn’t need to feel tedious. Teach children about bin colours and recycling systems. With a splash of creativity, children can find interest and enjoyment in activities such as recycling. You can encourage children to decorate the bins with you by painting with their favourite colours, adding stickers and designing the labels.
This way, they can take pride in their participation. You can even motivate them by giving them a small token for their help. It can also be made extra fun with a tinge of friendly competition; the best set of bins gets a special prize.
When it’s time to take the trash to the recycling centre, you can turn this into a group activity where you go together if you’re on a field trip.
2. Build a special garden
Growing a small garden with children is proven to positively affect their physical, emotional and social development. Getting more sunshine and exercise as they move around improves their overall mood, health and immunity.
They learn responsibility and stewardship when they have a small garden to tend to. It also grows their love for nature and appreciation of the planet. This opens the door to a better understanding of sustainability, respect for the environment and desire to take care of Mother Earth. During harvesting season, you get the opportunity to show children how to incorporate the herbs or vegetables you’ve planted into their meals.
You can also add arts and crafts to their gardening experience by letting them paint the pots, write the labels, name sections in the garden and more! The opportunities are endless.
3. Recycling projects—use recycled materials for arts and crafts
Art activities are a hit among children. It helps them express themselves, discover their creativity and use their imagination. Arts and crafts time is an ideal way to incorporate sustainability activities in childcare. You can start off by reusing old items as materials, such as paint brushes, old crayons, used coloured paper, scratch paper, old plastic bottles or cardboard.
There are tons of fun possibilities that won’t hurt Mother Earth. You can use old corks to make stamps. Build a car or a fort out of cardboard. Decorate an empty tissue roll to make a mini pencil holder. Use recycled paper to make a paper mache plant pot. Reusing old materials can help children learn about sustainability and the importance of recycling.
4. Donate pre-loved toys and clothes
Teaching children to donate clothes they’ve outgrown and toys that they no longer play with not only teaches the value of caring for others and sharing blessings but also shares a lesson on sustainability. When you give away clothes and toys that no longer see the light, you help the environment by decreasing the number of old items sitting in landfills. You contribute to the circular economy, where waste is reduced, and products are recirculated and used to their maximum potential.
5. Watch educational shows about sustainability
Families can dedicate a movie night or a weekend to watching an educational show or film about sustainability, climate change and the environment. There are plenty of interesting programs, movies, documentaries and short videos on Disney, Netflix or YouTube. Turn the screening session into a fun watch party by preparing delicious and healthy snacks that children can munch on. You can also have a brainstorming session or hold a quiz afterwards to encourage active participation.
6. Create a nature scrapbook or journal
Collect mementos from children’s nature-related activities—take photos, gather leaves or petals off the ground and keep children’s drawings and scribbles. You can give them prompts on what to draw or write—list observations, draw flowers or trees they’ve seen, record the weather, etc. You can even take them out to parks, nature reserves, rivers, the woods or even your backyard garden for more inspiration and connection to the natural environment.
7. Exploring nature—hands-on sustainability activities in childcare
In addition to including gardens at your service, there are lots of other ways to explore nature. You can create nature scavenger hunts where children have to search for natural items such as rocks, leaves or insects. Similarly, you can teach children about native Australian plants and animals and the importance of protecting them from extinction.
Help children create “bug hotels” using natural materials like sticks, leaves and stones to attract insects. Worm farms are another popular addition to early childhood education services. You may even want to organise a beach or bush clean-up day to pick up litter, which can quickly turn into a fun game—who collects the most.
8. Implement eco-friendly practices—the ultimate sustainability activity in childcare
Children learn by doing, so incorporating eco-friendly practices at your early childhood service is a win-win situation. Encourage staff to be role models for children. Get everyone to follow energy conservation practices like opening blinds to use natural light instead of electric lights. This can extend to conserving water by installing timers on taps to ensure water isn’t wasted during handwashing or collecting rainwater for gardening activities. Develop a waste reduction strategy for your service, including ideas such as recycling stations, composting and waste-free lunches.
Remember, teaching sustainability in early childhood education not only helps protect our planet but can boost your ratings as well. Standard 3.2.3 of Quality Area 3, physical environment, focuses on supporting children to become environmentally responsible. Be sure to document the sustainability activities in childcare you engage children in with an educator app, like Playground. In addition to including them in your programming and planning, add them to learning stories. Encourage families to work with their children to emphasise the importance of being eco-friendly.
Sources: Nature’s Path, Terra Movement
Patricia Podolig Donaldson
Marketing Content Specialist
