Canada is home to some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the world;forests stretching across provinces, sparkling lakes, snow-covered mountains, colourful fall forests, and long summer days that seem made for outdoor play. Children in Canadian early years settings grow up with four distinct seasons, each one offering unique learning experiences.
And in the middle of all of this beauty sits a BIG responsibility:
Environmental sustainability in early childhood isn’t about big projects, expensive materials, or “perfectly green” buildings. It’s about the daily choices educators make, the language they use, the routines they develop, and the way children learn to see themselves as part of the natural world.
This blog is your full, detailed, fun, and Canadian-friendly guide to building an early years centre rooted in sustainability.
In Canada, sustainability means more than recycling bins and turning off lights. It means:
In the early years, sustainability should feel:
Young children learn through experience. If they touch, build, explore, feel, and care, then sustainability becomes part of who they are.
Early years children are curious, observational, and deeply empathetic. They notice EVERYTHING:
Children naturally love the Earth. Our job is to nurture that love.
Sustainability in early years settings:
✔ Builds empathy
Children learn to care for plants, animals, and the environment.
✔ Builds responsibility
Watering plants, sorting recycling, turning off lights: these are meaningful jobs.
✔ Builds scientific thinking
Observing seasonal changes, weather patterns, plant growth.
✔ Supports Canada’s play-based frameworks
Whether HDLH? (Ontario), BC ELF, or Alberta’s FLIGHT all emphasize land, nature, and relationships.
✔ Aligns with Truth and Reconciliation
Indigenous perspectives emphasize respect for land, stewardship, reciprocal relationships, and community.
✔ Encourages creativity
Sustainable classrooms rely heavily on natural and open ended materials.
Sustainability isn't a “unit.”
It’s a culture and early years settings are the perfect place to grow it.
1. Bring in natural materials — year-round
Canada has one of the richest natural environments in the world. Use it!
Collect natural loose parts:
Fall
Winter
Spring
Summer
These materials cost $0 and offer endless play opportunities.
2. Reduce plastic and visual clutter
Early years classrooms often have:
✘ bright plastic toys
✘ overstimulating posters
✘ chaotic colour palettes
✘ plastic bins everywhere
Shift instead to:
✔ baskets
✔ wood furniture
✔ neutral tones
✔ soft lighting
✔ real objects (metal pots, wooden spoons)
This reduces sensory stress and supports calm self-regulation.
3. Make sustainability VISIBLE
Create:
When children see sustainability, they remember sustainability.
Every community has recycling systems but young children need to understand them deeply.
Focus on reducing waste before even thinking about recycling.
Examples:
This is where early years centres SHINE.
Create a Beautiful Junk Station with:
These can become:
Families love contributing to these stations.
Teach children to sort materials:
Make it fun with:
Involve children in carrying bins to the hallway or outdoor sorting areas.
Canada’s seasons make outdoor learning magical.
Activities:
Learning concepts:
Activities:
Learning concepts:
Activities:
Learning concepts:
Activities:
Learning concepts:
Outdoor learning = free, sustainable, and deeply meaningful.
Gardening is hands-on sustainability.
You can create:
A windowsill garden
A courtyard garden
A large outdoor garden
Canadian weather supports gardening from April to September in most provinces.
Involve children in:
Teach Indigenous food stewardship principles:
Gardens bring sustainability to life
Sustainability is STEAM.
Experiment ideas for early years:
What melts snow the fastest?
Salt, sand, dirt, warm water.How does rain move through soil?
Create a “rain cloud in a jar.”
Which materials float in a puddle?
Compost in a Jar Experiment
See food waste break down.
Ice Excavation
Freeze natural materials and let children free them.
Wind Investigation
Use scarves, streamers, bubbles.
These activities help children understand the forces and processes that shape our environment.
Loose parts are one of the most environmentally responsible teaching tools.
Loose Parts That Are Sustainable:
Sustainable Art Ideas:
Play Invitations:
Loose parts encourage creativity and reduce waste.
Teach:
Kids can:
Share ideas with families:
Environmental sustainability is also emotional.
Teach children:
Being connected to nature builds emotional resilience.
Engaging Families in Sustainability
Families are your partners.
Ways to engage:
Families love feeling involved.
Educator Mindset You Are the Sustainability Role Model
Children follow your lead.
Ask yourself:
Fall
Focus on:
Projects:
Winter
Focus on:
Projects:
Spring
Focus on:
Projects:
Summer
Focus on:
Projects:
This makes sustainability immersive all year.
Ensure sustainability is:
Examples:
Building a sustainable early years centre isn’t about perfection.
It’s about:
When children grow up sorting recycling, planting seeds, exploring forests, and caring for living things, they become:
This is how we raise a generation that protects the Earth.
This is how we create sustainable early years centres one small action, one tiny hand, one story, one plant, one outdoor adventure at a time.