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Our Approach to Sustainability

Fostering Planetary Care

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Earth is a closed system with finite, cycling resources. Everything comes from somewhere, and everything is going somewhere when we are done with it. So Little Leaf incorporates low-ecofootprint practices as much as possible, and staff model eco-mindful decisions. Without threatening references to the climate crisis, we nurture children’s explorations of “the story of stuff” - the resources and product cycles we hold in our hands, see, or wear. We pepper our environment with unanswered inquiries about where this or that came from, giving children the precious space to ponder their connection to the earth and leaving them with the question as a tug towards noticing Earth’s materials in their use. 

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How does sustainability show up at Little Leaf’s Nature Preschools? 

Little Leaf follows the best practice guidelines of the North American Association of 
Environmental Educators (NAAEE) Natural Start Association program. Among other important educational and curricular guidelines, in the sector of purchasing and materials management, sustainability guideposts are included: 

  • Teachers model care and concern for nature and the environment. 

  • Human communities are considered part of, and dependent upon, the natural environment. 

  • The entire learning community engages in environmentally friendly practices. 

  • Natural and environmentally friendly materials are used as a primary source for construction, play, and learning. 

Across Little Leaf campuses,  staff, students, and participating families:

Diminish waste

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  • Compost food waste 

  • Collect rainwater to diminish potable water use for mud play, rinsing materials, etc.

  • Utilize only reusable versions of storage bags, cups, bowls, utensils, etc.

  • Upcycle cardboard for student print and art activities and utilize nature treasures whenever possible. 

  • Recycling bins are labeled with visuals so students can notice what materials belong in each receptacle. 

  • Require all families to send packed lunches without single-use plastic. We discourage the use of zip-lock bags. 

  • We have a “Refill Station” for reloading cleaning spray bottles, tick/bug spray, and other refill materials. 

  • We purchase unbleached and low-footprint materials, with as little plastic packaging as possible. 

  • Gear Swap: Support families interested in swapping gear (Owls had a Facebook page for this, as well as two seasonal swap events on site) 

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Support Local Food Sourcing, Decrease our Food Footprint, and increase Soil Health:

  • Grow food in our growing gardens

  • Forage berries from edible invasives (such as wineberry)

  • Plant native plants to support food pollination as well as bird and invertebrate populations

Reduce our purchasing footprint

We make careful decisions about art supplies and infrastructural choices of wall paints, licensed child-care furniture, supplies, etc. 

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Sustainability also requires amplifying rationales and systems-thinking understandings for caregivers, staff, and students. How do we level those big concepts for preschoolers?

  • Students are given ecosystem contexts for foraging non-beneficial plants and berries, and staff are mindful about fostering respectful understandings of local ecology and ecosystem of their program’s place.

  • We post visuals that provide incidental opportunities to think about the systems that support all of our resources, such as water, food, and air. These visuals provide opportunities for students to develop a template for systems-thinking behaviors.  "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it is attached to the rest of the world." - John Muir. All things in the universe are interrelated. Everything is connected. Nothing exists in isolation.

  • Students practice daily gratitude for the resources Earth grants us, to provide for our wants and needs.

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