World Environment Day — Teaching Sustainability to Toddlers

Reading time: 5 minutes

World Environment Day falls on 5 June each year, and it's a wonderful prompt to think about how we're raising the next generation of planet-custodians. But here's the thing — you don't need to deliver a lecture on climate change to a two-year-old. Toddlers and preschoolers learn about sustainability the same way they learn about everything else: through hands-on experience, daily habits, and the modelling of the adults around them.

Children who grow up with a connection to nature and an understanding of simple environmental practices carry those values into adulthood. And Perth, with its incredible natural environment — from the Swan River to the Perth Hills, from Kings Park to the bushland around Woodbridge and Midland — is the perfect place to start.

At Sonas Woodbridge, sustainability is embedded in our daily practice, particularly in our Garden Learning Studio. Here's how you can bring that same ethos home.

Start with Connection, Not Rules

Before a child can care about the environment, they need to care about nature. And caring comes from connection. The most important thing you can do is give your child regular, meaningful experiences in the natural world.

This doesn't mean weekend trips to national parks (though those are great). It means:

• Watering the garden together — even if "watering" means mostly watering their own feet.
• Watching bugs — ants carrying food, ladybirds on leaves, bees visiting flowers. Get down on their level and observe together.
• Collecting treasures — leaves, feathers, interesting stones, seed pods. Let them fill their pockets.
• Growing something — a herb in a pot, sunflower seeds in a cup, beans on damp cotton wool. Watching something grow is magic for a toddler.
• Being outside in all weather — Perth's winters are mild. A rainy-day puddle stomp or a blustery day chasing leaves builds a child's comfort and joy in nature.

Research from the Children & Nature Network shows that early positive experiences in nature are the strongest predictor of environmental behaviour in adulthood. Connection first, rules later.

Age-Appropriate Sustainability Activities

The Three Rs — Toddler Style

Reduce:

• Talk about turning off lights when you leave a room. Make it a game: "Who can remember to switch off the light?"
• Use a reusable water bottle and lunchbox. Children love having "their" special container.
• Borrow books from the Midland Library instead of always buying new ones.

Reuse:

• Turn old boxes into cars, houses, and robots. Cardboard is the greatest toy material ever invented.
• Repurpose containers as plant pots, sorting trays, or musical instruments (rice in a sealed bottle = instant shaker).
• Pass on outgrown clothes and toys to other families. Talk about how another child will enjoy them.

Recycle:

• Set up a simple sorting station at home with bins for different materials. Even toddlers can learn "paper goes here, plastic goes here."
• Wash and save yoghurt pots, bottle caps, and egg cartons for craft activities.
• Visit a recycling centre together — many Perth councils offer tours or open days.

Garden Activities

• Start a worm farm or compost bin. Toddlers are fascinated by worms. Feed the worms with food scraps and talk about how they turn waste into food for plants. It's the circle of life in a plastic tub.
• Plant a vegetable garden. Even a few pots of cherry tomatoes, lettuce, and herbs give children the experience of growing, harvesting, and eating their own food. In Perth, winter is ideal for planting peas, broad beans, and leafy greens.
• Create a habitat. Build a simple insect hotel from stacked sticks, leaves, and bark. Hang a shallow water dish for birds. Talk about how animals need homes too.
• Collect rainwater. Put a bucket outside during Perth's winter rains and use the collected water for plants. "The sky is watering our garden!"

Nature Art

• Leaf printing. Press leaves into paint and stamp onto paper. Talk about the different shapes and why trees need leaves.
• Stick sculptures. Collect sticks and use clay or playdough to build structures.
• Mud painting. Mix soil with water to different consistencies and paint on cardboard or rocks.
• Nature mandalas. Arrange collected natural items (petals, stones, leaves, seeds) in circular patterns on the ground. It's meditative for adults too.

Simple Daily Habits

These small actions, practised daily, become second nature:

• Turn off taps while brushing teeth.
• Use both sides of paper before recycling it.
• Walk or ride instead of driving when possible. Woodbridge and the surrounding area have some lovely walking paths.
• Choose "nude food" — lunchbox items without packaging.
• Talk about where things come from. "This milk came from a cow on a farm. This apple grew on a tree."

The Noongar Connection to Country

Perth sits on Whadjuk Noongar boodja, and Aboriginal Australians have practised the world's oldest form of sustainability for over 65,000 years. Teaching children about Noongar connection to Country is a meaningful way to deepen their understanding of environmental stewardship.

The Noongar Six Seasons offer a beautiful framework for observing the natural world:

• Birak (December-January) — Season of the young
• Bunuru (February-March) — Hottest season
• Djeran (April-May) — Season of the adult
• Makuru (June-July) — Fertility season / coldest and wettest
• Djilba (August-September) — Season of conception
• Kambarang (October-November) — Season of birth

Right now, we're moving into Makuru — the cold, wet season. Talk about what's changing: more rain, cooler mornings, different birds appearing, mushrooms growing. This observation-based approach to nature is deeply sustainable and profoundly educational.

How Sonas Woodbridge Teaches Sustainability

Sustainability is part of our daily life at Sonas Woodbridge:

• The Garden is our primary Learning Studio for environmental education. Children plant, water, harvest, compost, and explore nature every day.
• Our worm farm and compost system teach children about waste and the life cycle.
• We use sustainable, natural materials throughout our Learning Studios — timber, wool, cotton, and natural loose parts rather than plastic where possible.
• Children help sort recycling and understand where their waste goes.
• We follow the Noongar Six Seasons, observing changes in the environment and connecting children to the land.
• Our meals prioritise seasonal, whole foods with minimal packaging.

We believe that children who grow up connected to nature will grow up to protect it. It starts with a worm, a seed, and a sense of wonder.

Key Takeaways

• Start with connection to nature, not rules about the environment. Love comes before action.
• Teach the three Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) through age-appropriate, hands-on activities.
• Gardening, composting, and nature art are powerful ways to build environmental awareness.
• Small daily habits — turning off taps, using both sides of paper, walking instead of driving — become lifelong values.
• Noongar Six Seasons offer a culturally rich framework for observing the natural world.
• Perth's natural environment is an incredible classroom — use it.

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Ready to see play-based learning in action? Book a tour at Sonas Woodbridge or call us on (08) 6184 6055.