Over the last year and a half, the three of us - Zoe Raven, Becky Watanabe and I - have been bringing together our shared passion for sustainability into a book: Sustainability in the Early Years: An Essential Guide for Educators. It’s a practical handbook for sustainability written specifically for early years professionals working in nurseries.

The plan for this book came about quite unexpectedly while Zoe and I were presenting our research at the 2024 European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA) conference, and Routledge approached us about publishing a book on Acorn’s approach to sustainability. At that EECERA conference, I shared research exploring how early years practitioners conceptualise and understand sustainability. What came through strongly was that there wasn’t a shared or consistent definition. People spoke about things like not depleting natural resources, reusing and recycling, growing fruit and vegetables, saving and using rainwater, reducing carbon footprint, and preserving our planet. All of these are absolutely part of sustainability, but the ideas often sat separately. Some practitioners weren’t sure how to define it at all. In most definitions, the bigger picture was missing: that sustainability is not just about the environmental pillar in isolation, but also the social and economic pillars working together. And that all the different examples of being sustainable exist for the purpose of a better future for future generations – the children in our care.

Although sustainability certainly isn’t a new topic, it is very much evolving in the early years space. Through a literature review, we found that while there are some brilliant books and articles exploring eco-friendly practices in early years, very few are written directly for practitioners working day-to-day in settings. Sustainability can feel like an intimidating term – it’s big, broad, and appears in many different contexts. It can also feel heavy. When we think about the climate crisis, we are confronted with its scale and impact, which can make it feel as though we cannot make a difference.

Therefore, we felt there was a gap to create something accessible – something that breaks down what sustainability actually is, shows how crucial it is to the early years, and sparks thinking around the many opportunities for positive change. A handbook that practitioners can pick up, use, and adapt to improve sustainability in their own settings.

What’s inside the book?

We begin by sharing our backgrounds and values, introducing concepts such as an ethic of care, the importance of outdoor play, and children’s connection to nature. We then explore what sustainability means in practice, including the three pillars, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and tools such as the Eco-Schools framework.

From there, the focus shifts to sustainability in action:

· Approaches to indoor play and learning, including natural materials and sustainable food practices

· Creating and developing outdoor spaces, from gardens to habitats and play areas

· Building connections beyond the setting, including communities, green spaces, and Forest School principles

We also explore wellbeing through a ‘healthy children, healthy planet’ lens, covering time in nature, food, cooking, mealtimes, and toilet learning as both a developmental and environmental consideration.

A later chapter focuses on sustainable habits, highlighting the role of practitioners as everyday role models, and covering areas such as waste, nappies, transport, and resource use. The final chapter looks at Inner Development Goals, Climate Action Plans, and the importance of celebrating progress, alongside practical tools and resources in the appendices.

Why this matters

Sustainability is constantly evolving, and our understanding will continue to grow. In writing the book we were very aware that there will always be more to learn – but that’s exactly the point. Sustainability isn’t about having all the answers but about all of us learning, adapting, and making meaningful changes over time.

Our hope is that the book offers useful insights for everyone working in the early years – and, importantly, helps people see that sustainability isn’t something for “someone else” to do. We all have a role that we can and should play.

An invitation to the early years community

We want to invite all early years professionals, and students currently studying early years courses, to read the book, reflect on sustainability, and most importantly, talk about it with one another. There is so much to discover when it comes to being more sustainable, both in our work and in our personal lives, and some of the best ideas come from sharing experiences and learning from those around us.

Those small changes really do add up, especially when lots of people are making them together. When that collective understanding of why sustainability matters is paired with everyday actions, it has the potential to create long-lasting positive change for the futures of the children we care for.

We’d like to thank our Acorn colleagues, especially our Eco-Leads, for everything they do every day to connect children to the natural world. We’d also like to thank Eco-Schools for their helpful framework for embedding sustainability in education settings. You can buy the book directly from Routledge here.

Remember, sustainability isn’t about being perfect. It’s about starting where you are, learning together, and making small, achievable changes – for today’s children and future generations.