Sustainability for Early Years Services

“I was so impressed by how [Verity] understood individual leadership priorities, tailoring her approach while providing fantastic opportunities for positive environmental outcomes.”

- Sharon Bibby, Educational Leader, City of Port Phillip

EARLY YEARS SERVICES

Early Childhood Education and Care Services are constantly striving to strengthen their pedagogy and improve how they operate.

Embedding environmental sustainability can really help with this. But many services aren’t using an approach that achieves lasting outcomes.

Wildflower supports you to consolidate and streamline your approach so that you can work in long-term harmony with your environment, community, and our children’s future.

KEY ELEMENTS TO EMBEDDING SUSTAINABILITY

EY 1

Anchor 2

“Working with Verity to create a shared vision around our sustainability goals has been a truly inspiring process for everyone involved.”

- Jenny Whelan, Director, Albert Park Kindergarten

EXPERIENCE IN THE EARLY YEARS SECTOR

At the City of Port Phillip I worked in close partnership with 25 early years services, supporting them to embed sustainability into their pedagogy and operations, from the ground up. I predominantly used the framework ‘Seedlings – Early Years Education for Sustainability' which the City of Port Phillip created alongside four other local governments and which won a Premier’s Sustainability Award.

Using the 'Seedlings' framework also led to the Cities Power Partnership Community Engagement Award in 2019, and to Albert Park Kindergarten acheiving the status of Australia's first certified carbon neutral kindergarten. There has been much coverage in the media about this achievement, including a television segment on the ABC’s 7:30 Report.

Two of the 'Seedlings' services (Albert Park Kinder and Clarendon Children's Centre) also achieved the 'Excellent' rating by ACECQA, a rating that less than 40 services in Australia hold. Both services believe this wouldn’t have been possible without their robust focus on and integration of sustainability.

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Working closely with Albert Park Kinder, Clarendon Children’s Centre, and the other Seedlings services, gave me unique and valuable insights into the most effective ways to operate and educate with sustainability front of mind. And it’s clear that as a service starts to become a sustainability leader, they inspire more sustainability leadership in their local community and beyond. Take Albert Park Kinder for example, who have now formed the 'Waru Waru Sustainable Schools Alliance' with Albert Park Primary School and Albert Park College.