BY HEJIRA CONVERY, KINDICARE

NOVEMBER 9, 2023 

The 2023 KindiCare Excellence Awards have just been announced, and although the top performing centres all have a dedicated team, thoughtful curriculum and real commitment to their community, it’s been great to see so much variety amongst the Winners, Finalists and other highly rated services.  

One of our Winners has an amazing history, while another has an exquisite environment, and although every top performing service is special in its own way. we’ve taken a quick trip to Tasmania to shine a light on Green Leaves Early Learning Launceston! 

Green Leaves Launceston is our Tasmania State Winner for 2023, and although there’s a lot to love about this centre, here are five things that make it extra special for children, families and staff.  

1. The centre has a carefully designed sensory space. 

A lot of thought was put into the design of Green Leaves Launceston to ensure that every child’s needs are met and learning maximised, and as part of this, the centre includes a purpose-built space called The Lookout. 

Senior Operations Manager, Kylie-Anne Kirkup explains that, “This is a versatile breakout space, additional to our learning hubs, and this area is all-inclusive.” 

In The Lookout there are play experiences for every age, stage and ability, and sensory activities that help to guide children’s individual self-regulation.  

The space supports under-fives to get busy in fun ways, or deal with big emotions in their own way, and there’s plenty of room for families to spend quality time with their children at the end of the day, while enjoying floor-to-ceiling views of Launceston.  

2. The centre has some very special pets.  

At Green Leaves Launceston, educators try to engage children in as much real-life learning as possible to encourage exploration and discovery, and their on-site pets definitely get young brains buzzing!  

The centre has a variety of resident creatures, from hermit crabs to fish, but a special mention goes to their spiny leaf insects – or ‘phasmid nymphs’, as they’re less commonly known! 

These kooky critters have been part of the Kindergarten children’s learning for the past two years, and Kylie-Anne says, “Our insect environments were set up to extend the children’s learning and keen interest in insects after doing a caterpillar-themed research project.”  

Since the spiny leaf insects arrived, they’ve definitely taught the Kindy children a lot about themselves and the living world.  

Kylie-Anne says, “The children have grown in confidence through their attentiveness and care for the insects, as they are responsible for maintaining their environment and ensuring they are fed.  

“The children are in charge of collecting gum leaves from our local community for the insects to eat, and they’ve learnt about life cycles too, by seeing the insects laying eggs and shedding their skin.” 

3. The centre upcycles old paper in a brilliant way.  

Green Leaves Launceston is environmentally responsible when it comes to things like recycling, composting and water-usage, and they’re always looking for ways to go the extra mile for Mother Earth. 

They involve their whole childcare community in this, and when they were investigating ways to reuse paper with their families and wider community, they discovered a paper brick maker! 

This ingenious contraption compresses old paper (including non-toxic children’s art) into good-as-new paper bricks, and Kylie-Anne says, “During winter, these are really popular, as many of our families use the paper bricks as fire-starters when heating their homes.”  

This ‘waste-not, want-not’ approach is positive for the children to be part of, and whether groups are out on their weekly Bush Kinder program, or back at the centre sorting recyclables, Green Leaves Launceston puts a great focus on teaching the children how to protect and honour the environment.  

4. The centre’s outdoor area has a sawtooth roof. 

This spiky roofline adds a half-crocodilian, half-industrial look to the outdoor space, and like everything at Green Leaves Launceston, this design feature was carefully-considered!  

The sawtooth roof reflects the history of the local community, because it came from a factory that used to stand on the Green Leaves Launceston site; and as well as protecting children from the elements, this roof brings joy to the whole childcare community.  

Everyone loves the feel of the outdoor space, and Kylie-Anne says, “A grandparent approached our Centre Director and explained how happy he was to see parts of where he used to work still intact, and how important it was to him to be able to see the sawtooth roof and share it with his grandchild.”  

5. The centre caters to its families with a Community Pantry.  

This sharing, caring larder is another great example of the centre’s commitment to its community, and although it started small, the Community Pantry has become a big positive for everyone.  

Kylie-Anne explains that, “We started the pantry by placing a few staple items on the shelf that we believed our families could benefit from, with a sign saying ‘Please help yourself to items from the green pantry. Where goods are exchanged between our families.’”  

Families responded straightaway by adding and taking foodstuffs, and the Community Pantry has gone from strength to strength, with families continually sharing things like canned goods, dry foods and fresh herbs. 

Kylie-Anne explains that the Community Pantry is located in a nook that’s positioned in the centre’s foyer, so everyone can access it in an easy and discreet way, and this focus on inclusivity and kindness says everything about Green Leaves Launceston’s approach. 

They are a winning centre because they genuinely care, and if you’re looking for childcare in Launceston, you’ll do well to explore this inspiring centre!