Designing for a childhood focusing on conservation and sustainability: The Lone Pine Child and Family Centre project in Australia

Abstract

In this article we present the development of a project that combines the environment of the Lone Pine Koala and wildlife sanctuary, a children’s day care centre and aims of sustainability. The first author, visiting the site from Iceland, was introduced to the project by the second author. We discuss the importance of sustainability education (SE) and describe the project and the collaboration of the Lone Pine Sanctuary with the Queensland University of Technology. The ideas for the Lone Pine childcare centre build on the Reggio Emilia philosophy of the whole community raising the child and respecting children’s strengths and interests. The intention for early learning in the centre is that experiences will be enhanced by an environmental and conservation focus including routine excursions to the sanctuary. Lone Pine Sanctuary leaders initiated a collaborative project with the Queensland University of Technology, based their expertise in Early Childhood Education for Sustainability. The collaboration created a cross-disciplinary network between academics and students from Early Childhood Education and Design. We conclude that the Lone Pine Project is an example of ambitious goal setting in SE based on quality collaborations between multiple partners.