KU Quarterly January 2019 | Page 3

STORIES FROM THE FIELD Here are two inspiring stories from centres that have transformed their environments in order to build awareness and connections with nature and sustainability. AN INTERVIEW WITH YUANYUAN (EMILY) LI, ECT AT LITTLE STARS AT SOUTHERN CROSS Can you tell us something about your centre so that readers have a picture of where your centre is located and its unique features. Little Stars at Southern Cross is a long day care centre in the Melbourne CBD. It is located on level three of the NAB building. The centre, including the “outdoor” area, is under cover and there is limited sunlight coming through the windows. It can be cold and extremely draughty in the 3 to 5-year-old playground. At first, there were limited natural features in both the indoor and outdoor environments. In 2017, we focused on the indoor spaces and added many plants and some natural materials. During the past 12 months our focus has been on the outdoor space. As you can see from the attached photos, we have created a great indoor and outdoor environment that includes gardens, bush cubbies, rocks, tree stumps, stones and recycled loose parts. What has been your biggest challenge to date? Unfortunately, the outdoor area has a large open window which, on a windy day, creates havoc with the natural setting. My partner and I spent many weekends collecting natural materials, moving them and carrying them upstairs to place in the area. What drew you to start investigating and planning for a sustainable environment? What has been your biggest success story to date? When I started working at Little Stars in 2017, I felt strongly that I wanted to improve the environment, but the question was “How and where do I start?” I was concerned that if we did not work on building a connection to nature, the children would not achieve emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing in a busy and noisy CBD environment. Because of the variety of natural materials, loose parts and stimulating play spaces in the outdoor area, the children spend hours and hours investigating and playing contentedly. We have watched the change in the way the children use and become involved with the environment. It is possible to transform a childcare centre on the third floor of a CBD building into one that features natural and sustainable resources and experiences. However, Rome was not built in a day. I decided to start by introducing the children to some natural elements such as leaves, gum nuts, seed pods and flowers. These are natural materials that they can see, touch, smell and with which they can recognise the shapes, learn about life cycles and distinguish different textures. JANUARY 2019 Have you encountered anything unexpected in your journey? The most unexpected outcome has been to see how happy and involved the children are playing together in the natural environment. This is a great www.ku.com.au Page 3