As part of their Alcoa W5 project, teachers at Espira Husebyparken Preschool in Norway wanted to increase the children’s knowledge of ecosystems at both foundational and practical level, including their understanding of where food comes from and how to plant different vegetables, berries, and flowers.
During the winter months, the preschool planned their kitchen garden and bought everything they needed for the raised beds and planting. They chose to plant species that can be harvested at different times, including potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, peas, wild strawberries, and sunflowers. The community got involved too! Their local garden center offered advice on how to plant potatoes in raised beds and parents received regular updates on the project.
By spring, the children were ready to go outside and start planting! The teachers observed that the children started to understand the connection between the seed, the planting process, and the food. The children seemed fascinated experiencing how a seed grows, becomes a plant, and can produce food!
“Through this project, we would like to give the children a greater understanding of how things are connected in nature, to help them understand where food comes from, and that a seed can become something edible. We now observe that the children identify seeds in the fruit they eat and are more aware of these processes. We also want to teach the children about sustainable consumption and in the long run, we plan to involve the children in activities where they can experience the value of re-using materials.” – Principal, Lene Margrethe Skeibrok
The preschool has come a long way from when they first introduced the Eco-Schools’ Seven Steps. Since last autumn, they have been working towards a Green Flag and have come far in the process! Their goal has been to involve the whole school in both the planning process and activities, and all the children have actively participated in the environmental review and all the activities.
The Alcoa W5 project activities at Espira Husebyparken preschool support the following SDGs:
