Many early childhood educators want to help young children care for the natural world. Sustainability means meeting today's needs without harming the ability of future generations to meet theirs. So which approaches actually make a difference with young children?
This review brings together more than a decade of research to answer that question. Seven researchers from three Turkish universities searched three research databases and found 72 studies from 23 countries, most of them from Australia, Sweden and Turkey. They then looked closely at the 15 studies where children, teachers or parents took part in a program and the researchers tracked what changed.
The researchers found:
1. Most research focuses on nature. Nearly half the studies looked at the natural environment. Fewer looked at the social, cultural or economic sides of sustainability.
2. Few studies test a program. Only about one in five studies tried out an activity or program. The rest mostly asked people about their views.
3. Outdoor experience followed by talking and making worked well. After outdoor exploration and observation, educators used conversation, drawing, drama, art, free play and stories. Children's knowledge, attitudes and actions changed around endangered animals, plants, the cycle of nature, waste and recycling. After hearing a story about a tree and an owl, children began talking about how trees, animals and people depend on each other. A week later, their descriptions of the environment were richer.
4. Children are capable problem-solvers. Asked how a frog could safely carry its babies across a road, children invented a tunnel under the highway and a trampoline for frogs. In another study, children came up with solutions to environmental problems without teacher guidance.
5. Nature kindergartens stood out. Children in nature kindergartens played outdoors for longer. They were also more curious, creative and resilient than children in other kindergartens, with stronger executive function (the skills used to plan, focus and manage themselves).
6. Parents are rarely included. Only one program worked with parents. After 10 sessions, the parents said their views had changed.
What this means for your practice
• Pair nature time with reflection. In one project with weekly forest trips, painting, role-play, model making and making books all helped children express what they had experienced. Try rotating these so children with different strengths can shine.
• Use stories as a springboard. Choose picture books with a problem in them, then ask children, "What could we do?" In one Australian program, story-based problem-solving led children to make their own plans to protect endangered animals.
• Pose real puzzles and step back. Give children a genuine challenge, like the frog on the road, and resist steering them toward an answer. The children in these studies produced their own creative solutions.
• Protect outdoor play time. Longer outdoor play went hand in hand with curiosity, creativity and resilience in the nature kindergartens.
• Offer reusable materials. Teachers in a waste-education program said working with reusable materials sparked children's imagination and creativity.
• Bring families in. Parents are powerful role models but rarely included. You might share what children are discovering outdoors, or invite parents to join an activity, so the learning continues at home.
• Make staff training hands-on. Training for future teachers worked when they actively took part through projects, concept maps and drawing. If you lead professional development, build in doing, not just listening.
The Bottom Line
Researchers in Turkey reviewed 72 studies, published between 2008 and 2019, on teaching sustainability to children from birth to age eight. Most studies asked children, teachers or parents about their views. The largest share focused on the natural environment. Only 15 studies tried out a program and tracked what changed, and those studies hold the most practical lessons. When young children explored outdoors and then talked, drew, acted out or solved problems about what they saw, they gained knowledge, grew more caring toward animals and plants, and came up with their own ideas for protecting them. Teacher training that got teachers actively involved also changed how they thought about sustainability. For early childhood educators, the review points to a simple approach: hands-on nature experiences, followed by creative ways for children to share and build on what they learned.