Going green Danish style - CareforKids.com.au®

Going green Danish style

by Tony Innes

It is well documented that Scandinavians are at the forefront of sustainability on a global scale. In particular, the country of Denmark is an environmental leader with a high use of clean energy sources such as wind and solar.

Therefore who better to look to for inspiration than a Danish child care centre regarded for its sustainability practices?

Stenurten Early Learning Centre is a 102-place nursery and kindergarten situated close to the central business and tourist area of Copenhagen, Denmark.

The centre was established in 2002 and since inception it was designed to operate with minimum impact on the environment from the building materials used to the everyday operations of the centre along with a passion to maximise childrens' interaction with nature.

The Stenurten centre is located in a building that was custom built and constructed mainly from recycled wood, stone and glass sourced from unwanted building construction material. Due to the cold Danish climate, the building has been designed to capture as much sunlight as possible by using large glass windows that attract sun and warm the interior.

Skylights are used extensively throughout the structure to minimise the use of electricity. However when artificial lighting is required, it is provided by an array of energy efficient light fixtures.

Furthermore, a bank of solar panels are attached to a northern facing wall, providing an efficient source of power to the Centre.

The building is insulated in a unique manner with the use of stonecrop planted on the roof surface on top of the building to provide natural insulation (see photo below). Stonecrop does not have a deep root system, is slow growing and a hardy perennial that serves as a natural barrier from the impacts of the cold weather in winter.

All natural and non-toxic materials are used in the interior of the building. Recycled wooden floorboards are used in most of the rooms (except wet areas) and under floor heating is used throughout the centre. Using the principle that hot air rises, this is an efficient way of heating the building during the sub zero winter months.

The centre strongly encourages plastic free lunch boxes, supports organic food for children and recycles any leftovers from the kitchen that are then transformed into mulch for the vegetable, herb and flower gardens located in the outdoor area.

The outdoor play area for children has been developed using natural and recycled materials. As the centre is located in the inner suburbs of Copenhagen, children are regularly treated to day excursions to a nearby forest in the countryside to learn an appreciation of nature and a duty to take care of the environment.

The carbon footprint of the Stenurten centre is calculated on a monthly basis and the co2 emitted by the centre is monitored as a key performance indicator.

It is also no surprise to learn that they also have a suite of Environmental Policies and Procedures.

In the early years, the Centre had a "Green Team" however this has since been disbanded as ALL staff at Stenurten have a responsibility and commitment to the Centre's sustainability objectives. Maibritt Iversen the Centre Director (Paedagogisk Leder) at Stenurten explains "all employees are recruited based not only on their child care skills and experiences but also on their knowledge and passion for creating a more sustainable future."

Maibritt is very proud of the Centre's sustainability achievements and is keen to share her experiences with other Centre's around the world. She hopes one day to travel to Australia to spread the Stenurten story. You can visit the Stenurten website at www.stenurten.dk

Copenhagen was voted as the 2014 European Green Capital and has ambitious plans to be a carbon neutral city by 2025. This target is helped by the extensive array of wind turbines situated in the sea between Denmark and Sweden and the fact that over 35% of Copenhagen residents cycle to work.

This article has been written by Tony Innes the creator of Small Green Steps, a cost-effective sustainability program specifically developed for early childhood education and care services in Australia. The program is available on-line or in Workshop mode.

Small Green Steps has been designed to help providers embed sustainable practices into service operations in order to meet National Quality Standard 3.3 contained in the National Quality framework.

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