BY BONNIE LAXTON-BLINKHORN, KINDICARE

MAY 12, 2023

While cities and sustainability don’t always go hand-in-hand, a new generation of greenies is growing at Edge Early Learning Milton, right in the centre of Brisbane.  

Perched on the bank of the Brisbane River, this service, set across three levels, provides early learning for 120 children each day, and sustainability is a key component of the program despite the very urban location!  

Little learners at this service have access to both indoor and outdoor classrooms as well as an amazing roof top vegetable garden and water play area.   

The Edge Early Learning Group already uses bio-degradable consumables and families love that the nappies and wipes are great for sensitive skin.  

Milton Centre Director, Ashlie, is working to embed sustainable practices even further into the service to reduce the environmental footprint of the centre and enhance children’s learning.  

Environmentally friendly practices happening at Edge Early Learning Milton include a Sustainability Station, which is stocked with an ever-changing variety of loose parts, donated by educators and families, such as sticks, stones, pinecones and items that would usually be binned, such as bottle tops and bread tags.  

The team also make good use of a local reverse garbage shop, where they purchase items such as PVC piping, which children use for STEM projects in the huge outdoor area on level three.  

Level Three also provides access to a network of garden beds where children busily grow strawberries, pineapple, tomatoes, sunflowers, and herbs, some of which make it home to happy parents.  

Down on Level Two there’s a very well-fed worm farm, which Ashlie says is a favourite for almost all the children, “They love to take their food scraps down and feed them, they love handling the worms and watching as they grow and produce nutrients for our gardens.”  

Ashlie has encouraged a whole of team approach to sustainability at the Milton service and says that getting everyone on board means the responsibility for role-modelling is shared.  

It also allows each educator to find an area under the sustainability umbrella that they are passionate about.  

Inspired educators means inspired children and Ashlie says this was a key motivator, “I think it is really important to instil environmental values in the younger generation to guide them in ensuring our planet lasts for more generations to come.” 

“By participating in all the initiatives underway in our service, children learn how to care for their environments. They learn respect for the world around them and they learn about life cycles of both plants and animals.” 

Edge Early Learning Milton is an excellent example of, ‘where there’s a will there’s a way’ and Ashlie says there are plenty of simple changes urban services can make to improve their sustainability credentials and reduce their environmental footprint.  

“There are so many great resources available now that cater to indoor environments. For example, compost barrels that don’t need to be placed directly on the ground; the children are able to turn the soil when needed by simply spinning the barrel instead of having to dig into the ground,” she says. 

She suggests that services look at their resources and consider whether there are more environmentally friendly alternatives for educational activities such as PVC pipes and recyclable items for loose play experiences.  

She says it can also be helpful to reach out to the community, both families and wider, to explore opportunities for upcycling materials.  

Ashlie and the team at Edge Early Learning Milton are backed by a wider commitment to a more sustainable future at the organisational level.  

Edge Early Learning CEO Annie Bryce says, where possible Edge Early Learning centres are switching to solar power, moving towards carbon neutral and using environmentally friendly cleaning products and consumables such as bamboo nappies and wipes.  

“Practising sustainability in the early years empowers children to construct knowledge, explore values and develop an appreciation of the environment and its relationship to the world,” she says.    

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