Nature Explorers is a nature based preschool program available for children who currently attend Pottsville Community Preschool in Pottsville, NSW, Australia. Initially trialled as a pilot during term 3, the program is gaining momentum, as families and children embrace the environment, and sustainability, as a crucial part of their child’s development and learning.

Children spend 4 hours on either a Tuesday or a Thursday immersed in the local environment. This can be either the bush or the beach; educators facilitate children’s learning, following children’s interests - introducing concepts of shelters, fires, use of real tools, tying knots, and identifying local flora and fauna.

Children walk to the site, carrying their backpacks filled with what they will require for the 4 hours – snacks, lunch, water bottle, and spare clothes; this helps children to develop a strong sense of agency, and independence. Weather is not a barrier for children’s learning, as the  program provides wet weather gear for each child. Families are informed of the intended weather the night before via the Nature Explorers FaceBook Page

Nature provides the opportunity for children to develop risk taking and problem-solving skills – tree climbing is a great example. Children learn to assess the risks: testing the branches with their own body weight before they ascend to the next branch. Children communicate with their friends, letting them know what is safe and what is not; each week their confidence and abilities grow.  

All photos courtesy and copyright Nature Explorers