Growing Curiosity, nurturing the planet.
Growing curiosity, nurturing the planet. How Butterflies Childminding Services makes sustainability part of every day practice
Today we are delighted to share this insightful blog from one of our Curiosity Approach® accredited settings. Here Elaina Eakers of Butterflies Childminding Services shares with you all, how her setting, children and adults have adopted sustainability within their day to day practice. She gives practical advice and achievable steps to make powerful change. As the quote says “ If many little people in many little places, doing many little things, we can change the world.”
Enjoy and thank you Ellie for sharing your ideas and practical hints and tips with us.
About Us: Our commitment to sustainability
“At Butterflies Childminding Services, we believe that curiosity, creativity, and caring for the environment go hand in hand. As a family-run setting, we are passionate about inspiring children to learn and explore while making sustainable choices. Our efforts have been recognised through multiple awards for eco-friendly childcare, and we have completed a Level 2 course in Business Sustainability to strengthen our understanding. Recycling, reusing, and repurposing are at the heart of everything we do.
Why sustainability fits the Curiosity Approach?
The Curiosity Approach® promotes natural, open-ended, child-led play. It encourages the use of ‘intelligent resources’ materials that invite questions, spark creativity, and promote repeated exploration. We prioritise using loose parts and repurposed items such as tubes, egg cartons, jars, fabric scraps, wooden spoons, and stones. These resources inspire children to investigate, build, and create sustainably.
What was the challenge?
Every journey toward sustainability comes with its obstacles. At Butterflies, some of the challenges we faced included:
• Limited funding for eco-resources, making it tricky to source enough recycled and natural materials.• Encouraging families to adopt sustainable habits like using reusable nappies and bringing in donated resources.• Balancing daily routines and outdoor activities with our sustainability goals required extra planning and flexibility.• Raising awareness and engaging children and staff about why sustainability matters and how they can contribute.
Despite these hurdles, our dedication has strengthened our community and deepened children’s understanding of the environment.
What Did We Do?
To embed sustainability into our daily practice, we implemented a wide range of practical actions:
• Implemented Recycling Routines: Children sort recyclables into clearly labelled, accessible containers. We also schedule visits to see the recycling truck in action, helping children understand the waste cycle.
• Made Use of Natural Light and Renewable Energy: We planned activities around the sunlight, maximised daylight, and switched off unused lights to save energy. Our solar panels generate renewable power, helping us reduce our carbon footprint.
• Reduced Paper Use: We share updates, newsletters, and communication via email whenever possible, supporting eco-friendly communication.
• Utilised Natural and Reusable Resources: Children explore with tubes, egg cartons, corks, fabric scraps, and jars daily, encouraging open-ended play and creativity.
• Practised Repair and Reuse: Instead of discarding items, we repair and maintain toys and furniture, source many resources second-hand, and rotate them to extend their lifespan.
• Made Eco-Friendly Craft Choices: Our crafts use flower petals instead of glitter, and PVA glue is stored in reusable containers with sponges to reduce waste.
• Growing, Foraging, and Eating Sustainably:o Our outdoor allotment is an active classroom where children plant, tend, and harvest vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and rhubarb. During thesummer season, we forage for blackberries, wild garlic and sweet meadow.o Harvested produce is shared with families, along with simple, healthy recipes such as rhubarb crumble and tomato salsa.o Food scraps, including those from our vegetables, are fed to our worms in the wormery, which helps break down organic waste and provides nutrient-rich compost for our plants.o We also feed our rabbits with uneaten apples, and the leftover cucumber and grapes go to our snails. Other scraps are given to millipedes and cockroaches, completing a circular food process that reduces waste.
• Supporting Families and
Making Practical Changes:o We promote washable nappies and provide reusable bags to reduce waste.o We minimise single-use cups, cutlery, gloves and aprons, encouraging eco-friendly routines at home and in the setting.
What Were the Results?
Our sustainability initiatives have led to many positive outcomes:
• Children’s Environmental Awareness: Children learned about recycling, energy, food origins, and composting, fostering responsibility and care for the planet.
• Greater Curiosity and Confidence: Using natural and recycled materials inspired their exploration, imagination, and independence.
• Community Engagement: Families actively joined in through gardening, resource sharing, and home recipes, strengthening our shared values.
• Waste Reduction and Cost Savings: Recycling, reusing, and composting significantly cut waste, which also benefits our budget.
• Healthy Eating Habits: Growing and sharing vegetables encouraged children to try new foods and develop healthy habits.
• Operational Benefits: Our use of renewable energy and eco-friendly routines helped
Benefits to Staff
Implementing these sustainability practices has also greatly benefited our staff team:
• Increased Knowledge and Professional Skills: Staff have expanded their understanding of eco-friendly practices and sustainability, which enriches their professional development through training and hands-on experience.
• Greater Engagement and Motivation: Working on meaningful, real-world projects like gardening, recycling, and resource reuse makes daily routines more inspiring and rewarding for staff members
.• Strengthened Teamwork: Collaborating on outdoor activities, repairs, and community projects fosters a positive team culture, improves communication, and builds a supportive working environment.
• Enhanced Confidence and Leadership: Staff develop confidence in leading children’s activities related to sustainability, guiding them to become environmentally responsible individuals.
• Sense of Purpose: Contributing to a sustainable future aligns with staff values, increasing job satisfaction and giving a deeper sense of purpose in their daily work.
Getting started yourself ….
• Sustainability leadership and climate action plans in education.• Find DFE guidance for the EYFS about nutrition and food safety.
• The Curiosity Approach — Promotes natural, open-ended, child-led learning with a focus on resourcefulness and curiosity-driven exploration.
• Plastic Free Schools — A program encouraging early years settings, schools, and communities to reduce plastic use, promote recycling, and adopt sustainable habits.• Surfers Against Sewage — A campaign organisation working to reduce plastic pollution, protect our oceans, and promote environmental awareness through community action.”
Thank you Elaina for this informative blog
At The Curiosity Approach® we also have a brand new ‘Curious about sustainability award designed to help early childhood educators and setting make daily practical changes and to write their climate action plan. See the link below
Feel free to explore these links to learn more about the philosophies and initiatives that support our sustainability ethos and how they can inspire your practice!