During the 10 years I spent as director of Briarcliff Nursery School, I became increasingly aware of the need for our program to adopt a stance of environmental stewardship. I committed myself to working toward two goals: Encouraging our school community to make more informed and sustainable choices and empowering the children to thoughtfully care for our planet. I was reminded of the importance of these efforts when, during my final year at the school, smoke from wildfires burning hundreds of miles away forced us to keep children indoors. You could see, smell, and taste the smoky air. This served as a powerful reminder that, while we cannot always see or feel the immediate impacts of climate change, the issue affects us all.
In this reflection, I highlight four ways that our program intentionally moved toward a more environmentally friendly school culture while maintaining our commitment to developmentally appropriate practice. I then offer key takeaways for others who may want to consider similar initiatives for their settings.
Environmental Education Through the Lens of DAP
Teaching young children about the environment— particularly the effects of climate change— is challenging( Beaver & Borgerding 2023; Spiteri & Pace 2023). When I first shared the goals I had in mind for our school, some teachers expressed concerns that 2- to 5-year-old children could not understand concepts like sustainability, climate change, or environmental stewardship. They felt that specific lessons and activities related to these concepts would be developmentally inappropriate and potentially harmful. They were not alone: Others have documented similar questions and concerns about young children and this topic( Beaver & Borgerding 2023; Hickman et al. 2023).
However, when children learn about the environment through hands-on experiences in their own settings( such as helping to pick up sticks on the playground after a big storm), they are more likely to understand and care about the issues related to it( NAAEE 2016; Beaver & Borgerding 2023). This is an important part of developmentally appropriate practice( DAP) and its emphasis on providing experiences that reflect what we know about how children learn best— though exploration, play, and interactions with others( NAEYC 2020). As early childhood educators, we can model environmentally friendly behaviors and provide experiences where children can interact with and develop an appreciation for nature and the environment( Falkner & Rodriguez 2024; Kirshner & Pettit 2025).
Every early childhood program has its own set of strengths and challenges that must be considered when deciding how to approach environmental and climate education( Cooper 2015; Kiewra & Veselack 2016). Briarcliff is a nonprofit parent cooperative located in a suburb outside of New York City. The school community is fortunate to have access to more than two acres of fenced-in land, where children play and explore daily. Over the course of 10 years and with the support of others, our school undertook a number of“ green” initiatives to engage the children, their families, and our teachers around environmental issues and stewardship. Following, I reflect on four of them.
Increase Time Outdoors and with Natural Materials
Children experience health, behavior, and cognitive benefits from increased time in nature( Cooper 2015; Sobel 2016; Ardoin & Bowers 2020). Time outside also fosters a deeper connection to the natural world, which leads to a greater desire to protect it( The Worldwatch Institute 2017; Barrable & Booth 2020; Gong & Li 2024).
With this in mind, our school prioritized and protected outdoor play, adopting the mindset“ There is no bad weather, only bad clothing.” Our families embraced this philosophy by making sure their children were dressed to play outside in any weather. As children grew, their families donated outgrown items, so we always had hats, gloves, coats, rain pants, and snow pants available for anyone who needed them. This resulted in countless joyful moments of water play, puddle jumping, sledding, and ice exploration.
At the same time, we had to adapt to rising temperatures and more frequent heatwaves. While we remained committed to outdoor exploration and play, we stayed mindful of the fact that young children are particularly vulnerable to heat( WHO 2024; Center on
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