Earth Day 2023 - Invest in Our Planet
22nd April 2023
Earth day is a day that gets celebrated around the world every year, and it is a great time for reflection and education about climate changes, environmental issues and looking after the planet that we live on. This year’s theme for earth day 2023 is ‘Invest in Our Planet’. So, what does it mean to invest in our planet and why should we be sharing this with children in early years settings? Also, how can we share this important message with children in early years settings?
What does it mean to invest in our planet for earth day?
[ED2023 Promo Video - downloaded from www.earthday.org]
Earth day is one of the largest environmental movements and you can find out more about all off their amazing work here. Investing in our planet is about promoting sustainability, love for the world that we live in, going green being a necessity and thinking about the ways that we can develop climate literacy to address the problems our planet faces.
Why should we be sharing and promoting earth day in early years settings?
I passionately believe that we as early years educators should be investing in the education of our children that goes beyond the basis of the Early Years Foundation Stage or our National Curriculum. We should be talking about the big issues, the change that needs to happen in the world, because children are the future. I know it sounds corny, but it is true, this will be there planet far longer then it is ours and we have a duty to teach our children about sustainability, about taking care for the planet and climate changes that are happening.
Sometimes we can shy away from talking about the big issues with children, saying they are only children. But if we begin to teach them messages from a young age, such as we are recycling our plastic to look after the world. It will put in place habits that will support children throughout their lives and teach them valuable lessons. We just need to be teaching messages in an age-appropriate way, for example, we do a litter pick and we talk about how rubbish hurts the animals and the environment.
How can we share the important message of earth day?
There are many ways that we can share the message of earth day in early years settings, and here are 10 ideas:
1. Set up a recycling centre role-play areas – this gives the children the opportunity to practise their recycling skills and act out their experiences with others.
2. Share books about sustainability and looking after the earth such as George Saves the World by Lunchtime, Michael Recycle, Marli’s Tangled Web, The Journey of a Plastic Bottle and so on.
3. Organise a community litter pick.
4. Plant your own vegetables in the garden.
5. Walk to school, preschool or nursery for the week to reduce carbon emissions.
6. Plant a tree at your early years setting.
7. Create earth day posters about how we can look after the world.
8. Plant some bee friendly plants in the garden.
9. Set up a compost bin in the garden rather than sending waste to the landfill.
10. Shop locally for nursery supplies.
George Saves the World by Lunch Time
We will be touring the East of England with our 45 minute - an hour session based on the story, ‘George Saves the World by Lunchtime’. A session filled with puppets, stories, role-play, parachute games, crafts and becoming our very own eco superheroes.
Prices start from £75