Angela came up with the idea for a mini worm farm as a way for families to continue sustainable practices at home which have been taught to children at our centre as part of our Eco Warrior program.
Each jar contains healthy soil and a handful of earth worms, with veggie scraps sprinkled on the top.
At Thornlie, children learn to take care of our worm farms and chickens, which eat all our kitchen scraps and reduce green waste from going to landfill.
“It’s about embedding sustainable practises into everyday life,” Angela says.
“We wanted to provide our families with their own mini-worm farms so they can start doing this at home themselves.
“I came up with the idea because I was thinking of ways we can help families take home some of the eco practises the children have learnt at the centre.”
Our Thornlie centre is also home to our two resident chickens – Popcorn and Princess Leia – which the children are encouraged to help feed each day and, on occasion, can even collect freshly laid eggs.
Angela said the chickens are a favourite at the centre, and she often doesn’t need to ask for help, with many of the children excited to help with daily feeding.
Angela says there are also plenty of helpers who jump at the chance to help maintain the vegetable and herb garden, which is watered using leftover water from meal times and, during wetter months, water from the onsite rain tanks is used.
The Eco Warrior program is part of our commitment to environmentally sustainable practices and education as part of MercyCare Early Learning’s Philosophy and our Mission Ethos Shapers.
The environmental learning activities are fun and teach children that every little action can make a big difference for our world.
Angela says being an ‘Eco Warrior’ and engaging children in the program has helped shaped her own approach to sustainability.
“I’ve never really delved into it until I became the Eco Warrior here at Thornlie,” Angela says.
“Through learning a lot about sustainability and the environment, I’ve changed a lot of my own practises at home and I’ve become really passionate about it.
“I think the recycling aspect is the biggest thing I’ve taken away from it, so I’m using a lot less plastic at home.”
The next eco idea that Angela wants families to get involved at home is a ‘take home’ eco bear, which will prompt families to think about what sustainable practises they can do in and around the home which can be shared with others.
“The bear will help them think about how they can be more sustainable at home and they will then bring those ideas back to the centre,” Angela says.
“The idea of the bear is to see what families are doing at home in terms of helping the environment. One of the first families who’ve taken home the bear have told me about their child who starts picking up rubbish whenever they go to the park because (littering) is not good for our environment, and he learnt about that here at the centre.
“So they’ll then share that experience back at the centre which other families can see and hopefully take on board themselves.”
Angela says the children educating their families on sustainable, eco-friendly practises has been one of the biggest takeaways from the Eco Warrior program
“We’ve definitely had parents say that their kids are schooling them on how to be more environmentally friendly,” Angela says.
“They’ll be using plastic in the kitchen and the child will point out that they’re using too much, or they’ll remind them to make sure the taps are turned off, so they’re definitely taking the lessons home.”
“For me, it’s so rewarding to see those small changes make the biggest impact. We don’t have to be doing these big, grand projects, but it’s those little things that we can do that make a change.
“It’s lovely to see the children become really passionate about caring for the environment, and for them to be making those changes to their lives now, they’re going to make a difference as they grow.”
