A wonderful thing has been happening at Goodstart Griffith – Coolah Street since the early learning centre introduced its own worm farm last month.
Every day, a class of curious preschool students observe nature in action as worms help turn their daily food scraps into rich fertiliser.
Centre director Sarah Brownlie said embracing sustainable practices was almost second nature to the early learning centre, but things ramped up last month.
“In October we took the children on a community excursion to the garden festival where they visited some of the gardens, orange sculptures and attended an information session on composting by Costa Georgiadis and Worm Tech,” Ms Brownlie said.
“Children showed a lot of interest in this so we thought it would be a great idea to extend on their learning experience. We invited Deanne Raccanello from Worm Tech to the centre to run a master class for children and our fellow educators on setting up and maintaining a worm farm and also set up Bokashi compost bins to add to our centre practices.
“It’s been fabulous to see children so engaged in the process. The compost bin is assisting us to reduce the waste that is not able to go in the worm farm and the materials and waste from the compost and worm form is helping support our vegetable and herb gardens so we can continue to grow fresh produce to create healthy lunches.”
The new worm farm is not the only way the centre actively participates in caring for the environment. They also promote sustainable practices through educating and working with the children, families and wider community. Their outdoor play area incorporates many natural elements, sandpits, mud kitchen, a creek bed, relaxation platform, veggie patch, and lots of shade.
“We love being able to include sustainable practices in the centre’s everyday routine so children can participate and work collaboratively with their peers alongside educators.
"Creating hands-on and sensory experiences helps to increase children’s awareness around sustainable practices and teaches them why it’s important to introduce these practices for our future,” Ms Brownlie said.
Every day, a class of curious preschool students observe nature in action as worms help turn their daily food scraps into rich fertiliser.
Centre director Sarah Brownlie said embracing sustainable practices was almost second nature to the early learning centre, but things ramped up last month.
“In October we took the children on a community excursion to the garden festival where they visited some of the gardens, orange sculptures and attended an information session on composting by Costa Georgiadis and Worm Tech,” Ms Brownlie said.
“Children showed a lot of interest in this so we thought it would be a great idea to extend on their learning experience. We invited Deanne Raccanello from Worm Tech to the centre to run a master class for children and our fellow educators on setting up and maintaining a worm farm and also set up Bokashi compost bins to add to our centre practices.
“It’s been fabulous to see children so engaged in the process. The compost bin is assisting us to reduce the waste that is not able to go in the worm farm and the materials and waste from the compost and worm form is helping support our vegetable and herb gardens so we can continue to grow fresh produce to create healthy lunches.”
The new worm farm is not the only way the centre actively participates in caring for the environment. They also promote sustainable practices through educating and working with the children, families and wider community. Their outdoor play area incorporates many natural elements, sandpits, mud kitchen, a creek bed, relaxation platform, veggie patch, and lots of shade.
“We love being able to include sustainable practices in the centre’s everyday routine so children can participate and work collaboratively with their peers alongside educators.
"Creating hands-on and sensory experiences helps to increase children’s awareness around sustainable practices and teaches them why it’s important to introduce these practices for our future,” Ms Brownlie said.