Jacqui McDermid and Jo Gordon from the NCB's Natural Thinkers programme tell us how getting more children closer to nature can help support the fight against climate change.
The sustainability and climate change strategy for education states: “By 2025, all education settings will have nominated a sustainability lead and put in place a climate action plan”. This includes early years settings.
There is a lot going on in the world now and among all the challenges we face, few are more urgent than looking after our planet. It sounds like such a big task for individual settings, but there is a way to get you started that meets the needs of children.
The role of early educators to connect children to nature is vital in building a generation that not only appreciates nature but wants to look after it. Connecting children to nature as early as possible will give our fight against climate change the chance it needs.
Connecting to nature
Children need to feel empowered and supported to address the climate crisis at their level, not feel hopeless or anxious. As educators, we can empower children from a very young age by giving them experiences that help them connect to nature. In giving children these experiences they will hopefully appreciate nature more and want to protect it.
The role of settings
Settings can help children interact with their natural environment by letting children experience nature first-hand.
Encouraging children to use mindfulness techniques, using their senses to explore the environment, spending time in the moment to see, hear, feel, and smell their surroundings, will not only support a greater affinity to nature, but also create a sense of wellbeing.
Settings do not need to have lots of green space to do this. They just need to be creative with the spaces they have, making a greener environment by having some hanging baskets to grow strawberries or herbs in, developing vertical growing areas, or using planters to grow fruits and vegetables. Settings need to be committed to bringing nature into all children’s lives.
Even many inner city settings, despite having outdoor areas that are mainly concrete, have found ways to bring nature in. Alongside growing produce, they have brought in wildlife by creating habitats, rewilding unkept outside areas, planting beds or boxes that attract bees, and even keeping ducks or chickens.
These experiences of engaging with wildlife can give children a better understanding of the world and what it has to offer.
Opportunities for recycling and reusing materials can be a great introduction to sustainability and the beginning of engagement with our fight against climate change.
Like never before, we need children who appreciate nature, know how to care for it, and be motivated to find and design solutions in order to ensure a healthier future for themselves and subsequent generations.
Nature as part of the curriculum
The outdoors lends itself to learning experiences around STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and maths). Nature provides rich opportunities for problem-solving, designing, understanding mathematical concepts and being creative with natural resources.
The experiences and new skills that children can develop from being outdoors will give them the tools they will need to be our future climate warriors.
Like never before, we need children who appreciate nature, know how to care for it, and are motivated to find and design solutions for a healthier future for themselves and subsequent generations.
Where can settings get help?
Natural Thinkers is a programme that supports early years practitioners and primary school teachers in connecting children to nature. The programme is being offered across the country by NCB.
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