The Environment and Sustainable Practices

 

Educators and children work together to learn about and promote the sustainable use of natural

and man-made resources, including recycling. The National Quality Standard 3.3 requires

services to promote and model sustainable practices. Children should be able to understand

the importance of the environment and why it is essential to implement sustainable practices

such as recycling. Below outlines some tips and strategies that could be used throughout the

service and at home to assist in meeting this standard while caring for our environment.

 

Encourage recycling wherever possible.  At Head Start, we have a collage box that

children and families can use to recycle and reuse unwanted cardboard boxes and craft items

from home.  We also have a recycling bin located outside that the children also access.  Bins

are clearly labelled so that the children can recycle throughout the day (e.g. when cleaning up

after a craft activity, when eating food).

 

Introduce ‘litter less lunches’. At our service children bring their meals from home.  We encourage families to pack a ‘litter less lunch’.  This is when families are encouraged to provide meals that DO NOT include packaging.  The use of reusable plastic containers and placing food directly into the lunchbox reduces the waste we put into our bins during the day.  

 

Dispose of food waste thoughtfully. Leftover food items can be used for composting rather than being sent to landfill.  At Head Start, we reuse all of our foods scraps to make compost.  This compost is then used in our garden.

These recycled materials for art and craft. We can dramatically reduce the cost of our art and craft supplies by sourcing used paper and other materials for art and craft activities. We ask families to supply whatever they can (paper, boxes, egg cartons, buttons, ribbon).

 

Establish a worm farm and/or compost bin. Leftover fruit and vegie scraps can be turned into compost, through a worm farm or compost bin.  At Head Start we have our own compost bin, and children are encouraged to put food scraps into the compost bin to reduce waste sent to landfill.

Establish a fruit, veggie and herb gardens.  Create small gardens that the children can care for. The produce may be then eaten during care hours. The compost from the compost bin will be used to enhance the garden (our food scraps can be put into the compost bin).

 

Keep cardboard clean. Clean cardboard boxes can be re-used for a variety of purposes. Establish systems so that cardboard boxes are separated and stored soon after unpacking to ensure they are not used for disposing of dirty waste items (e.g. carrying dirty waste to larger bins).  

 

Purchase second-hand where possible. When making purchases, see if you can find a good-quality second-hand item if that will meet your needs. Not only will you save money, but you are reusing something that might otherwise end up in landfill. 

 

☺ At Head Start, we always turn off lights and fans when we are not using them to save electricity, and we always turn off taps when we are not using them to save water. ☺