A Sustainable Early Education and Development System (SEEDS)
By Dr. Joan Lombardi, PhD.
Young children and families are feeling the impact of climate change all around the world. Through no fault of their own they are living in communities of extreme weather events including heat, hurricanes, flooding, air pollution and other environmental hazards. Millions upon millions of children are already experiencing harmful impacts on their health, nutrition and early learning. The early childhood community, along with parents, youth and community partners can raise awareness and call for immediate action, improved policies and increased investments.
The Sustainable Early Education and Development System (SEEDS) is a framework that can be used at the local, national or global level to help integrate early childhood into climate adaptation plans and to begin to think more about mitigation. The framework includes eight strategies in two categories: strategies that support children and adults in their lives directly (nurturing care and integration of nature, workforce preparation and family support) and strategies that build more sustainable infrastructure (facility strengthening, community planning, financing and policy partnerships and research and data collection). This framework can be used to help programs and communities to think through the ways they can link early childhood services to environmental issues.
Focusing on children and adults in their lives
1. Supporting nurturing care
Young children need care that promotes healthy development and builds resilience throughout the early years.This becomes even more important for children facing adverse conditions brought on by climate change.Every child should be assured of thefive core elements of nurturing care: health, nutrition, safety and security, responsive caregiving and early learning.
2. Integrating nature and sustainability into early childhood
Providing opportunities for children to interact and understand the natural world should be a core element of early childhood services. An increasing body of evidence indicates that interactions with nature in the early years promote curiosity and overall healthy development. Nature classrooms, outdoor learning, and practices that promote sustainability can provide the core content in early learning curriculum. Healthy foods, kitchen gardens and farm to table initiatives should be integrated into all early childhood programs.
3. Workforce preparation and support
The early childhood workforce (including teachers, home visitors, community health workers and many others) provide essential support to young children and families. Too often those who work with young children go unrecognized with minimum resources and support. This undermines their ability to provide nurturing care and respond to the increasing demands of heat and other extreme weather. They need resources and increased capacity to respond, to prepare for emergencies, and to integrate sustainability into their programs.
4. Family support and action
Extreme weather events take a toll on family life. Parents feel stress and worry about the impact on their children. They wonder how to respond and increasingly are not prepared for the displacement that might occur. They need the time, resources and information to assure the social and economic security of their families, as well as to better understand how to help their children and their communities live a more environmentally friendly life and take action on policies that put them at risk.
Securing the foundation for success
5. Facility strengthening
Early Childhood centers and family childcare homes provide a web of support for children and families in neighborhoods everywhere. Providing resources for improved facilities is a critical step to ensure they are strong, clean and healthy enough to meet the demands of a changing climate and to protect children from environmental hazards. Schools and childcare facilities also provide critical support during emergencies and must be equipped and prepared to respond.
6. Community planning
No single program or group of families canface the issues of a changing climate alone. Communities across the country and around the world are developing climate adaptation plans, integrating nature and energy efficiency and increasing efforts to reduce carbon emissions and address other environmental risks. The early childhood community should play a central role in these planning processes, by partnering with other groups, and raising issues faced by young children and families.
7. Financing and policy partnerships
The major challenge of the climate crisis is changing policies that are directly related to environmental protection and the financing that supports clean and renewable energy. These are challenging topics for those of us who have spent most of our lives focused on child development. This is why partnerships between environmental groups and early childhood groups are essential. We know what young children need; we see the impact of heat, rising waters, air pollution, storms and other weather events. Together our voices are stronger as we build on the various perspectives and expertise needed to make real change
8. Research and data collection
There is increasing data about climate change and children- from individual stories, to reports from parents, to measuring pollution levels which are taken in by the lungs of young children at their most vulnerable stage. We need more researchers documenting impact, evaluating solutions, combining what we know about the status of children with the weather patterns that are affecting them. By documenting and disseminating this information, we have a better chance of convincing others that it is in the best interest of all of us to move to a more sustainable future.