Child care centre goes sustainable
Cathy Sherwood and Claire Rolls are jumping on the eco-friendly bandwagon at Launch active early learning child care centre.
The pair founded the Pakowhai Rd centre two years ago and say they are passionate about providing quality spaces for children, families and teachers. Cathy and Claire have designed Launch around the concept of sustainability and active early learners and take an active role in caring for the environment and contributing to a sustainable future.
“As a business, we have both the responsibility and opportunity to do the right thing,” Claire says.
Responsible purchasing is something they are committed to, which is why they have moved away from single use plastic carrier bags and are now using washable nappy bags for each child’s wet and sandy clothing.
“It is important to us that we make a positive contribution to our families, our communities and our environment. We’ve got a long way to go, but we’re really committed and actively working towards reducing the need for unnecessary plastic and packaging in our business.”
Claire says Launch is committed to exploring and implementing ways to save water and energy, reduce waste, expand children’s environmental education and foster sustainable lifestyles. Their approach to education for sustainability (EfS) for young children is an experiential one, providing opportunities for child-initiated experiences that support children to learn through discovery, using every day teachable moments.
Launch also offers Farm School, a nature-based learning programme for children aged four to five years.
“It uses a child led learning philosophy in an outdoor environment for children to learn about nature, problem solving and taking small managed risks.”
Positive learning experiences include learning about wild life, care of farm animals and the environment they live in, flora and fauna, machinery and equipment and safety around these as well as creating a sense of understanding about the world. When a child turns five a celebration of the child’s journey with family and friends is at the farm and each child plants a native tree in the Launch forest as they leave for school.
They say they believe in encouraging children to learn about environmental and conservation issues, with emphasis on using natural and recycled materials, wise water usage, power saving, recycling, worm farming, vegetable gardening, waste minimisation and positive regard for all things, consistently trying to find other ways to reduce their impact.