Eco Warrior Program

Environmental sustainability learning in child care

Children love learning about and caring for our environment, and it’s never been so important. MercyCare Early Learning Centres are committed to environmentally sustainable practices and education.

Our unique Eco Warrior program instils sustainable practices and values in children. It helps them understand why sustainability is so important for our wildlife, environment and our families.

Water

• Children empty unused water into buckets at mealtimes to reuse on plants in our gardens
• Waterwise native plants (especially bush tucker plants) selected
• Counting fun while washing hands! Education on water use for our children
• Half flush toilets and reduced use of harsh chemicals to protect our waterways

Energy

• Lights not in use? Turn them off
• Composting and worm farms
• Limit the use of the dryer
• Turning off air-conditioning and opening windows 

Biodiversity

• Incorporated natural elements like leaves and rocks for children to further develop curiosity about the natural world
• Replaced plastic items with natural or recycled elements
• Maintained and renewed our vegetable gardens
• Educate children about biodiversity

Purchasing and waste

• Encouraged children to use both sides of the paper for artwork and re-use items for craft and activities
• Collected soft plastics for recycling
• Removed or reduced use of plastic wrap by using reusable covers 
• Purchased environmentally friendly or recycled items

Community and Family

• Encouraged families to bring re-usable wash bags to eliminate use of plastic bags
• Participated in events like National Tree Day and Earth Hour
• Many centres acted as collection points for recycling
• Several centres were part of Keep Australia Beautiful’s Adopt-a-Spot program

Transport and Air

• We shop local to reduce needs for long transportation
• Educating our children on the effects of air pollution

There is an Eco Warrior at every MercyCare Early Learning Centre – a dedicated educator with a passion for protecting the environment and championing eco-friendly learning activities with our children.

Our environmental learning activities are super fun and teach children that every little action can make a big difference for our world.

In many of our centres, children learn to take care of our worm farms and chickens, which eat all our kitchen scraps and reduce green waste. Our little ones are so proud to harvest ‘home grown’ vegetables from our garden beds, watered with collected rainwater.

We love getting creative and using upcycled materials in our art and craft activities. All our centres have recycling programs in place, diverting as much waste as possible from landfill. Environmental sustainability and responsibility are part of MercyCare Early Learning’s Philosophy and is one of MercyCare’s Mission Ethos Shapers.

See what our centres have been up to here.