Sustainability Officer In The Centre

[Laiorwyn]

I've been "Sustainability Officer" for 5 months now, have done some awesome activities with the kids, but feel restricted by what The Bosses and Room Leaders think "sustainability" is in the room. We've looked after animals, done gardening, recycled boxes, paper and bottles into activities. I have been told to keep it simple, no long term projects, because I float between all the rooms and the Room Leaders have different things going on. My activities get thrown out with the garbage because, as one of my workmates put it "we don't want more junk in the room". They won't even tell me what subjects they're doing so I can do related activities, and I don't have time to do the big projects they want me to do (on my own, too!) for the kids - transforming, painting and setting up old furniture in the outdoor area for new equipment. That's way out of my skill range as it is. I can count the number of times I've held a power drill...

The problem is, I think that sustainability should be something addressed and even enforced in all areas of the service, eg. Teaching the children turning the taps off after you go to the toilet, and turning lights off when you leave a room, not tearing a book apart when you're bored, taking care of your toys, composting all the scraps on a daily basis, putting rubbish in the bin... Sustainability isn't just sticking pictures of the kids doing random things in a book. That's not teaching sustainability, that's just attempting to get a passing grade in your assessment.

What is your view of sustainability in childcare?

[Lorina]

You are absolutely right... having a few experiences here and there isn't going to make a difference or make the children aware of sustainability. It needs to be incorporated into everyday practices, we need to educate children about the environment....

It seems to me like you're really eager to get the children moving towards a more sustainable future and thinking about their actions. Why don't you have any co-operation from other staff? This is just as important as what they are doing in their rooms... Why bother if they just throw your stuff away!

Have you tried using natural products for cleaning? Since it doesn't have chemicals you can get the children involved and encourage them in "green cleaning". For e.g. using warm soapy water to wipe tables etc.

How about composting (left overs from meals), worm garden, herb garden, vegetable garden? You can probably set this up in a small area of the room so children can access this whenever they want....

Sustainability should encourage children and others to do something for the environment, something positive, something that doesn't cause harm...

I'm sorry that you're having a hard time doing something that is important for the community and the future,

,
L.A