Sharing with our Early Learners About International Year of Plant Health
The United Nations has declared 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH). It is an exciting focus which aims to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment, and boost economic development. This focus on plants, their role, value and importance, is the perfect platform upon which children can explore concepts of sustainability, caring for Country, looking after our environment, and also exploring the physical science of botany.
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations states that:
“Plant health is increasingly under threat. Climate change, and human activities, have altered ecosystems, reducing biodiversity and creating new niches where pests can thrive. At the same time, international travel and trade has tripled in volume in the last decade and can quickly spread pests and diseases around the world causing great damage to native plants and the environment.”
There are many easy ways we can help our children understand more about this. By encouraging an interest in the environment and outdoor discovery play, we can help children grow their interest in plants and the broader environment. This helps them to recognise the relationships between humans and all the species that share the planet, including plants, and helps them to appreciate how our activities are impacting on the health of other species. There are a range of sustainability practitioner initiatives across the country, and these are a great place to start if you are looking for ways to engage children in sustainability activities.
Environmental Education in Early Childhood (EEEC Vic. Inc.)
Visit the website: www.eeec.org.au/
Queensland Early Childhood Sustainability Network (QECSN)
Visit the website: www.qecsn.org.auNSW Early Childhood Environmental Education Network (NSW ECEEN)
Visit the website: www.eceen.org.auEarly Education for Sustainability South Australia Inc. (EESSA)
Visit the website: www.eessa.org.auLittle Green Steps Western Australia (LGSWA)
Visit the website: www.littlegreenstepswa.org.auEarly Childhood Educators Tasmania – South
Visit the website: www.ecet.org.au/ecet-south.html
Another great article to check out can be found on the ECA website, written by Dr Sue Hudson exploring Education for Sustainability.
Concepts of sustainability also lend themselves very well to introducing Indigenous concepts of Caring for Country and so I would encourage you to engage with your local Indigenous groups when developing curriculum content around this area, and see what they are up to in this space in your own backyard.
