A development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ is how sustainability is succinctly introduced in the Brundtland Report.
As a result of this report, which was published by the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987, the ‘Three Pillars of Sustainability’were developed:
- social
- economic
- environmental.
Each of these pillars are holistically interconnected, so must not be viewed in isolation. Alongside these three pillars are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by all United Nations members in 2015, which are a useful framework to support all sectors, including the early years, to translate sustainability into everyday practice and life (see Case studies).
In early childhood, an awareness of the bigger picture is needed with the wider socio-cultural, economic and environmental influences that are impacting quality rights-based practice. This practice includes human and non-human rights, provoking us to de-centre and think about the planet from an ecological, whole-system point of view. For example, in New Zealand, volcanoes are given rights so that no decisions are made that are detrimental to the land.
We need to support children to explore and understand the concepts of habitat, living and non-living. For instance, bug hotels and digging activities must include consideration as to who is already living there, how they are impacting their non-human environment, and reinforcing the need for ecological wisdom.
WISDOM SHEPHERDS
Indigenous people of the world have always valued ecological wisdom and being in tune with the planet, reflecting their socio-cultural context and sharing transformative knowledge to become ‘wisdom-keepers’. It is useful to reflect on who are the wisdom-keepers in your local community, for instance, librarians, allotment-keepers, historians or park rangers. We need children to be learning from and with their wisdom-keepers to develop their own nurturing element for the Earth.
When we consider the term ‘shepherd’, they are seen as protectors and carers. Merging these two terms encourages adults to be more conscious and active in their roles in supporting children to become ‘Wisdom Shepherds’ (Boyd, Lee and Scollan 2024) of their ecological world.
The concept of Sustainable Pedagogy (Boyd, Lee and Scollan 2024) draws on aspects of sustainability, experiential learning and the co-construction of knowledge and research. Sustainable Pedagogy is underpinned with a rights-based lens, meaning that those engaging with ‘agentic’ children need to be aware of how their own expectations, responses and interpretation could impact on outcomes. To be inclusive, we need to be aware of our own bias, traditions and expectations, listening and dialoguing authentically and respectfully with children.
The case studies (see Box) demonstrate the interconnectedness of the three pillars, the 17 SDGs and the importance of early childhood as a foundational base. There needs to be a holistic approach to sustainability and combined with powerful teamwork to encourage staff and children to work together, strengthening their Sustainable Pedagogy ethos.
Case studies: economic, environmental and social pillars
Economic pillar: Many children are growing up with limited opportunities to use or even see real money exchanges in a transaction.
The Good Childhood Report in 2023 noted older children having little or no experience of money was causing them anxiety for their future economic understanding. Early childhood is a time when children must experience real-life money exchanges, hear terminology of trade, and develop relationships with local shops.
Practitioners at Everton Nursery School and Family Centre in Liverpool introduced children to economic sustainability through a recent project. While creating a sensory garden, they discussed the building materials they needed to purchase. Each child was given a £5 note and a personal shopping list to take to their local hardware store.
At the store, the children were met by a tradesperson in their orange apron with logo (early literacy) who proceeded to show them around, detailing each section and highlighting trade terms, such as ‘masonry’. The children identified their purchases and took them to the till. A monetary exchange happened on the till and each child was given a receipt and change.
This simple experience provided children with the beginning of early awareness of economic sustainability.
Environmental pillar: The University of Hull offers opportunities to engage in a range of outdoor learning and delivers Forest School training for adults in a natural space in the centre of an urban development. Earlier this year, it was decided to involve adults and children in the same training session, with participants aged from 18 months to adult arriving for a day of activities.
While the leaders had a plan for the day, they were also aware of the need to be flexible and adaptable to ensure that all of the participants could fully engage to the level they wished to on that day.
Throughout the session, the intergenerational learners had the freedom and time to express themselves and communicate in a variety of ways. Confidence, knowledge and self-esteem developed through the chance to undertake shared experiences and challenges and support one another irrespective of age, gender and ability. Through the day, the generations worked together to gain, or remember, skills important to lifelong learning while emerging themselves in the environment and respecting the ecological impact and promotion of intergenerational sustainability.
Social pillar: The importance of listening, hearing and reacting to young children’s expressions and self-determined choices are a vital part of inclusive sustainable practice.
Early Childhood Studies students and staff at Middlesex University reflected on communication styles and strategies observed to manage young children’s agency and voices about their environments. One reflection about a child dealing with the transition from nursery to Reception provoked debate as to why and how a child’s love for attending school could noticeably change. At first, the child seemed to transition into the Reception class confidently. However, at the beginning of the third week, he repeatedly expressed that he did not want to go.
Discussion focused on the child’s behaviour and refusal; adult reaction; the learning environment; activities; and opportunities for the child to access free-flow play. Reflections then moved from the child’s behaviour to probe how learning environments, schedules, curricula, positionality and routines influence opportunities for children. It is pivotal to reflect on key influences that affect children’s behaviour to understand self-determined choices and expressions. Further analysis found the child had moved from a play-based nursery environment to a Reception class environment that offered limited access to play and started the day off at 9am with a structured phonics focus.
NURSERY WORLD CONFERENCE, 12 NOVEMBER
Explore putting sustainability at the heart of your practice with a fantastic line-up of speakers at Nursery World’s upcoming conference, ‘Sustainability in the Early Years: Economic, Environmental, Social’, on Tuesday, 12 November at the Cavendish Conference Centre in London: https://bit.ly/46rpcGC
FURTHER INFORMATION
- An Early Childhood Education for Sustainability Resource that embeds the Sustainable Development Goals and STEM into pedagogical practice (Boyd et al2021). Free to download at: https://bit.ly/33NkF5w
- ECSDN Sustainability Group: https://bit.ly/4dswOLj
