Oct 28, 2026
A muddy pair of wellies, a carefully watered seedling or stopping halfway along a path to watch a worm wriggle into the soil might not look like a lesson in caring for the environment. For young children, though, this is often where it begins. Before children can understand bigger ideas such as sustainability, they need opportunities to notice the natural world, enjoy it, ask questions about it, and begin to understand that living things and shared places need our care. Helping children care for the environment doesn't have to mean complicated projects or serious conversations. Some of the most meaningful lessons grow from small, everyday experiences.
Young children are naturally curious. Why do leaves fall from trees? Where has the snail gone? Why does that flower need water? What happens to something after we put it in the recycling?
These questions help children make sense of the world around them. Exploring nature and their local community also supports Understanding the World, one of the seven areas of learning and development within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
For young children, environmental learning works best when it feels real. They do not need to understand every environmental challenge. They can start with something much simpler: this world is interesting, I am part of it, and I can help to look after it.
Conversations about the environment should leave young children feeling curious and capable, rather than responsible for problems they are too young to solve.
Instead of beginning with what is going wrong, begin with what is worth noticing. Stop to look at a spider’s web, listen for birds on the walk to nursery, watch what happens to a puddle after a sunny day, or notice the first new shoots appearing in a plant pot.
These little moments help children form an early connection with nature. From there, caring for it begins to make sense.
Growing is one of the simplest ways to help children understand how living things depend on care. You do not need a large garden. Herbs on a windowsill, cress in a pot, or a sunflower in a container can all create plenty to notice.
Let your child help to:
Try asking, “What do you think our plant needs today?” It turns caring for something into an everyday responsibility children can see and understand.
At nurseries offering our Organic Enhancement, the children can help grow, tend, and harvest produce, giving them first-hand experience of plant life, growing seasons, and where food comes from.
Children are often fascinated by the smallest visitors. You could watch birds from a window, create a simple bug-friendly area, leave a suitable, shallow water source for wildlife where it is safe to do so, or look carefully for minibeasts during a walk.
Encourage children to observe wildlife gently without handling or disturbing it, and remember to wash hands after outdoor exploration. [Encourage observation rather than disturbance. Ask, “What can you see?”, “How is it moving?”, “Where do you think it lives?” or “What could we do to make sure we do not hurt it?”
The aim is not simply to learn the name of an insect or bird. It is to begin understanding that other living things share our environment.
A cardboard box rarely stays a cardboard box long in a child’s hands. It might become a train, shop, house, robot, or treasure chest.
Before putting safe household materials in the recycling, see if they can have another life through play or creativity. Cardboard tubes, boxes, paper, and clean containers can all prompt conversations about reusing what we already have. Choose materials carefully, making sure they are safe and appropriate for children’s ages and developmental stages.
Young children can also help sort clean recycling according to your local collection rules. Keep the explanation simple: “We have finished with this, but the material can be used again.”
Other everyday habits can help too, such as turning off a tap when you’re not using it, using both sides of a piece of paper, or switching off a light when leaving a room. Explain the reason behind the action so it feels meaningful rather than becoming another rule to remember.
One of the easiest ways to help children understand the natural world is to revisit the same places. A familiar tree can look completely different in November than it did in June.
Ask questions such as:
In autumn and winter, children might collect fallen leaves, compare bare and evergreen trees, watch rain collect in puddles, investigate frost, or notice how daylight changes. Every season offers something new to discover.
Caring for the world doesn’t stop with plants and wildlife. Children can learn to care for the places and people around them too.
That might mean putting litter in a bin, looking after shared resources, respecting a local park, helping to water community plants, or noticing when an area needs looking after. These small actions help children begin to understand that places belong to communities, and we all have a part to play in caring for them.
Environmental activities can connect naturally with learning across the EYFS. Growing a seed can introduce new vocabulary, counting, measuring, observation, physical skills, responsibility, and patience. A walk in the park might lead to conversations about seasons, animals, local places, patterns, colour, and movement.
Children do not experience these ideas as separate subjects. One interesting discovery can lead to communication, maths, creativity, physical development, and Understanding the World all at once.
At The Old Station Nursery, Wonderful World is part of our All Aboard Approach. It helps children learn about the world around them, how to care for it, and how small actions can make a difference.
Wonderful World includes Nature Explorers, Planet Protectors, and My Community and Me. That might mean watching wildlife, growing plants, exploring the seasons, talking about recycling, visiting local places, or finding simple ways to care for the community.
Some nurseries also extend these experiences through our Forest School Enhancement, where nature becomes a regular part of children’s learning and exploration.
At The Old Station Nursery Forest School Devizes, the children can explore woodland, meadow, gardens, allotments, wildlife, and the nursery’s animals as part of everyday learning. At The Old Station Nursery Dover, the River Dour and surrounding countryside create opportunities to notice wildlife, water, weather, plants, and seasonal change.
The setting will look different at every nursery, but the idea is the same: helping children notice their world, feel connected to it, and grow in confidence as they care for it.
Find your nearest nursery and discover the experiences available there.