Bush Kinder and Nature Play Programs

“Passion is lifted from the earth itself by the muddy hands of the young; it travels along grass-stained sleeves to the heart. If we are going to save environmentalism and the environment, we must also save an endangered indicator species: the child in nature.”

- Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder

Skye Children’s Co-Operative has run a bush kindergarten since 2018 with the knowledge that engagement with nature is critical for children physical, mental, social and spiritual wellbeing. We can testament that nature has profoundly positive effects on children’s ability to concentrate, to learn, to solve problems, to relax and to be creative. Research shows that children who learn outdoors are less disruptive, show improved social skills, motor skills and physical health, and develop resilience, self-awareness, self-esteem and independence.

We are proud to call Gresswell Forest our second learning campus and to re-invite nature into the lives of young children by routinely taking our learning outdoors. Skye Children’s Co-Operative’s bush kinder sessions occur one day a week (rotating every 6 weeks) to allow children to engage in a variety of activities, scenarios and demonstrations not typically available in the four walls of the kindergarten.

In early 2023 Skye Children’s Co-Operative piloted a Bush-Toddler program where our Swift Parrots (2-3 year old children) participate in a nature play program at Gresswell Forest developed for their age group. They attend this program on a fortnight basis for 2 hours. Following on from the success of our Bush-Toddler program later in 2023 our youngest children, our Sugar Glider group (0-2 year olds), the Sugar Gliders now also participate in the ‘Bush Babies’ program, an opportunity to explore and engage with the beauty of nature.