Practical strategies for nurturing Eco-Emotional awareness

Educators can adopt a range of strategies that prioritise children’s voices and rights, allowing for playful learning experiences and provocations that spark their curiosity and insights regarding eco-emotional awareness:

1. Nature exploration: Outdoor play is vital for enhancing children’s appreciation of the environment. By organising nature walks, scavenger hunts, and garden explorations, educators can encourage children to share what they want to discover and discuss their observations about local plants and wildlife, thus recognising their roles within the ecosystem.
2. Community gardens: Creating a garden as a living classroom enables children to engage directly with nature. By participating in the planting and nurturing of the garden, children can voice their preferences about what to grow, learning about plant life cycles and healthy eating, while developing a sense of responsibility and connection to the earth.
3. Storytelling and literature: Incorporate stories and picture books that emphasise nature, conservation, and environmental themes. These narratives provide children with relatable characters, facilitating conversations about their Eco-Emotions and the values they connect with in the stories. Capture learning stories that children can reread and reflect on.
4. Creative expression: Support children in expressing their Eco-Emotions through various artistic mediums. Providing provocations that encourages drawing, painting, and crafting with natural materials allows children to creatively share their thoughts and feelings about the environment.
5. Open discussions: Designate time for open discussions about children’s feelings toward nature and environmental issues. By utilising open-ended questions, educators can inspire children to articulate their ideas and emotions, fostering a deeper understanding of their eco-emotional experiences.
6. Hands-on environmental projects: Involve children in straightforward sustainability initiatives, such as recycling or starting a small garden. These hands-on activities not only nurture teamwork and sense of agency but also invite children to share their ideas and preferences on how to engage with the environment.
7. Mindfulness techniques: Introduce mindfulness practices that encourage children to observe their surroundings, appreciate nature, and reflect on their emotions. Activities like breathing exercises or guided nature meditations can be tailored to include children’s suggestions, enhancing their engagement.
8. Provocative learning: Integrate everyday sustainability practice into play-based learning experiences by posing open-ended questions related to recycling, composting, and biodiversity. Encouraging children to discuss what excites them about these topics can lead to explorative storytelling and hands-on experiments in local green spaces or farms.
9. Waste awareness and creative reuse: Cultivate a playful and educational “reduce, reuse, recycle” mindset. Involving children in sorting recyclable materials, creating art from reused items, and discussing waste reduction allows them to contribute their ideas and develop responsible consumption habits while fostering creativity.
10. Community collaboration: Strengthening relationships with families and local organisations enriches sustainability initiatives and creates a sense of community.
11. Collaborative decision-making: Involve children in making decisions that affect their learning environment, such as selecting plants for a garden or determining recycling practices in their room. Empowering children with a voice in these matters fosters ownership and responsibility.
12. Weather wonders: Exploring the outdoors in rain and wind: Incorporate outdoor play during rainy and windy days once children are dressed in appropriate clothing and the environment has been assessed for safety. This allows toddlers to experience the sensations of rain and wind first-hand, fostering their curiosity and understanding of weather patterns while engaging in imaginative play.