Eco-friendly sustainable play – what does it mean?

This week we are celebrating the Early Years Alliance National Week of Play. The focus this year is protecting the planet through play. 

Throughout the week, we are excited to share ideas about eco-sustainable play at home and how to create an eco-sustainable home life. 

Since 50,000 BCE, many environmental ambassadors and Indigenous peoples have battled hard to protect the lands and seas,[1] and now it is up to us to teach our children about the magic of Earth. 

Our world is a fantastic place, and our children are only beginning to discover it. It's a place of wonder, excitement, and creation. It is home to an amazing amount of biodiversity, and it is critical that we begin to educate children about the importance of protecting it. 

Many well-known people have made environmental protection a lifelong mission, with Sir David Attenborough recently receiving a second knighthood, awarded for his services to broadcasting and the environment.  

Sustainability and play 

The Earth is in a critical phase, and we need to work together to safeguard it more than ever. Play is a fantastic method for children to learn about the planet and what they can do to help protect it. 

When we teach children about the Earth, we are equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and values that will help them make decisions that will improve their lives and the lives of future generations. 

Play encourages children to cultivate creative and critical-thinking skills in a safe environment and it is important for us to raise their curiosity, concern, care, and a connection with the world they are going to grow up in. 

Our world is a place that must be treated with respect. Teaching children now about how land, plants, people, and animals are interconnected and reliant on one another can help them later in their exploration, experimentation, investigation, and learning. 

We have the chance to teach our children that we need to protect all the Earth’s life forms and physical elements, not just humans. Are you as excited as we are? 

References: 

[1] R. Weyler. (2018) A Brief History of Environmentalism. Greenpeace. Article written January 5, 2018. Accessed on June 9, 2022.