Creating respect for discarded things
“Even though we use the term ‘creative recycling’, what we really try to do is prolong the life of materials, to give them new identities.” (Graziella Brighenti)
Children have an innate respect for their environment. In a recent encounter, one child exclaimed, “There’s rubbish, maybe we can take it back to nursery and make something?”. Curious by their surroundings, children naturally relate to and build empathy for the protection and care of the world around them. Having noticed rubbish within our beautiful Forest School setting, we wondered if we could tap into the thoughts of the children and recreate a space that honours their thinking.
Takinginspiration from Reggio Emilia, our nurseries already welcome the use of open-endedmaterials that provide our children with endless possibilities for creativity,problem-solving and invention. These are materials that create flexibility, adaptability,a different purpose and new possibilities. They open opportunities fornegotiation, communication and language development through the use of the imagination.The children have the freedom to express and create without frustration orlimitations, fostering a sense of well-being and self-confidence.
Thespark from our children to build on our environments gave us the idea for a Remida.Within Reggio Emilia, the Remida is a place that “promotes the idea that wastematerials can be resources. The Centre collects, displays, and distributesalternative and reclaimed materials obtained from the unsold stock and scrapmaterials of industrial production, with the aim to reinvent their use andmeaning” (www.reggiochildren.it).
Within the erection of our own Remida,the children and adults will have access to materials and take the autonomy of collecting and sorting them into useful resources. We have begun the process with visits to The Children’s S.C.R.A.P. Project which collects, stores and distributes clean, safe industrial waste and by creating a wish list of materials on our website. We will also be distributing recycling baskets inour nurseries so that parents/carers can drop off their home recycling (we welcome plastic, card and paper!). We would also welcome any other unwanted treasures so do let us know if you have any items that you would like to donate.
