Sustainability – Buttercups Nursery School

Here at Buttercups we are dedicated to being a sustainable and eco-friendly nursery. We know that children learn best through real-life experiences, and there is no better way to teach important values such as care, responsibility and community than by showing them how we look after the world around us.

From planting seeds and watching them grow, to reusing everyday items for crafts, and exploring nature through outdoor play, Buttercups provide an ideal opportunity for children to build a lasting connection with the environment.

- Meja
  Room Lead
Our Sustainability team
Whilst we are all dedicated to making a difference and being sustainable, we decided to implement a leader to ensure we all stay focused and encouraged to be sustainable. Meja has proudly volunteered for this role. As our Sustainability Leader, Meja is passionate in this role and works hard to transform our Nursery into an eco-friendly haven. Within her role she will be spotting and grasping at opportunities to introduce more sustainable routes, co-ordinating and implementing new policies and solutions – from simple actions like reducing waste and saving energy to wider plans that help children understand and engage the world around them.

How are we promoting sustainability?
- Reduce
  Reducing consumption means using fewer resources and generating less waste. We are mindful of purchasing habits, opting for products with minimal packaging, or choosing durable items that last longer. The goal is to cut down on waste before it is created.
- Recycle
  Effective recycling helps to conserve energy, reduce pollution, and decrease landfill waste. We recycle as much waste as possible, providing local farms with food waste to feed animals, using cardboard and paper in activities within the nursery.
- Repair
  By repairing broken/damaged items instead of replacing them, we reduce unnecessary material usage and prevent products from ending up in landfill. We have a nursery maintenance team who work onsite to repair any furniture or equipment.
- Reuse
  Reusing items extends their life cycle and reduces need for new products. We repurpose containers, donate old clothes, use refillable products and give away old furniture and equipment. By finding new uses for items instead of discarding them, we minimize waste and conserve resources

Encouraging our children
We think it is absolutely necessary to not only promote sustainability and be eco-friendly ourselves, but to encourage and inform the new generation.

We consistently reiterate the importance of caring for our environment to our children, not just verbally but through fun activities and educational projects. This maintains a priority to us as educators, so that children build a strong and caring relationship with their environment. We help them to learn how we can be eco-friendly, understand why we need to be eco-friendly and fall in love with playing outside!

There are many activities we do with the children to encourage this, please consider partaking in similar activities with the children at home!
- Painting and colouring eco-friendly & sustainability themed colouring sheets.
- Sustainability work sheets, i.e. match the correct rubbish to the correct bin, happy earth & sad earth matching.
- Educational nature walks
- Growing our own plants i.e. cress, salad lettuce
- Ocean themed activities
- Using recycled materials for crafts
- Creating our own energy sources i.e. paper windmills.

The Department of Education (DfE) encourages us as an early years settings to have sustainability leadership and implement a climate action plan to establish life long eco-conscious behaviours in young children, build their resilience, reduce the environmental impact of childcare operations and help lower energy and water costs.

See below for additional resources for yourselves and your children.

Colouring: Recycling
DfE Sustainability & Climate Change Strategy
All about Recycling
How can we help

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