My early childhood education students and I are at the Resource Rescue, and it’s a mixed bag! Some feel like kids on Christmas morning, stuffing their bags with all sorts of materials, while others are a bit puzzled and unsure why we’re here. But slowly, they’re starting to get into it. This visit is a great way to show an important part of modern education: the value of recycling centres. These places not only help with sustainability but also boost creativity and learning using open-ended materials.
Where it all started: Remida Centres in Reggio Emilia
Remida Centres are part of the Reggio Emilia educational approach in Italy, which focuses on promoting creativity and sustainability in education. These centres are named after the mythological figure King Midas and serve as a hub for repurposing industrial waste into educational materials. Here’s what you need to know about them:
- Origin and Purpose: Remida Centres were founded in the 1990s as part of the Reggio Emilia philosophy of education, which emphasises creativity, collaboration, and the environment. They aim to transform discarded materials from factories into resources for creative education.
- Materials: These centres collect a wide range of materials such as textiles, plastics, metals, wood, and other industrial offcuts. These materials are cleaned, sorted, and made available for teachers, artists, and community members to use in educational and artistic projects.
- Educational Role: Remida Centres serve as a bridge between industry and education, fostering a culture of sustainability and creativity. They offer workshops, training sessions, and collaborative projects to inspire innovative thinking and environmental responsibility among children and educators.
- Community Engagement: These centres are open to the public, encouraging community members to engage in creative reuse. They also organise exhibitions and events to showcase the potential of repurposed materials.
- Why Educators Should Visit: Visiting Remida Centres provides educators with access to a wealth of materials that can inspire innovative teaching methods and creative projects. The centres offer resources for hands-on learning experiences and promote sustainable practices. Educators can also participate in professional development workshops that focus on integrating creative reuse into their curriculum, enhancing their teaching strategies and supporting environmental education.
You can find more information on their website: ReMida.
Reverse Art Truck Inc. in Melbourne, Australia
Reverse Art Truck Inc. (formerly Reverse Garbage Truck Inc.) is a Melbourne-based not-for-profit organisation that has been operational for over 30 years, promoting creative reuse and sustainability. Here’s a detailed overview:
- Mission: The organisation’s mission is to promote creative reuse within the community by repurposing industrial offcuts, rejects, and seconds that would otherwise end up in landfills. These materials are made available to educators, artists, makers, crafters, and hobbyists of all ages.
- Support and Operations: Reverse Art Truck has enjoyed long-term support from the Maroondah and Casey City Councils and various industries that donate their offcuts. The organisation redistributes these materials to the community, contributing to environmental sustainability.
- Community Impact: The organisation has become popular in the community, providing affordable resource materials to thousands of individuals. It aims to educate the public about the benefits of creative reuse, resource conservation, and waste reduction.
- Materials and Programs: Similar to Remida Centres, Reverse Art Truck collects a variety of materials such as fabric, wood, metal, plastic, and other industrial offcuts. These materials are available for purchase at affordable prices.
- Membership Prices: Reverse Art Truck offers membership options that provide discounts on materials. Membership fees are structured to be affordable, encouraging broad community participation. For detailed pricing, visit their membership page.
- Why Educators Should Visit: Reverse Art Truck is a treasure trove for educators looking to incorporate sustainability into their teaching. The diverse range of materials available can support various curriculum areas, from art and design to science and technology. By using these repurposed materials, educators can teach students about the importance of recycling and creative reuse, fostering an appreciation for environmental stewardship. Additionally, the centre offers workshops and educational resources that can help educators develop engaging and sustainable teaching practices.
You can find more information on their website: Reverse Art Truck.
Resource Rescue in Australia (Storykate personal favourite)
Resource Rescue is another organisation in Australia focused on creative reuse and sustainability.
- Mission: Resource Rescue aims to save useful materials from landfills by collecting industrial offcuts and surplus materials. These materials are repurposed for use in schools, early learning centres, and by artists and community groups.
- Materials and Services: The organisation collects a wide range of materials, including paper, fabric, plastic, wood, and other industrial by-products. These materials are then made available for purchase at affordable prices.
- Educational Programs: Resource Rescue offers educational programs and workshops to teach the community about the importance of resource conservation and creative reuse. These programs are designed to inspire innovative thinking and sustainable practices.
- Community Engagement: By providing affordable materials and educational opportunities, Resource Rescue plays a significant role in promoting sustainability and creativity within the community. The organisation works closely with schools, community groups, and artists to support various creative projects.
- Why Educators Should Visit: Educators visiting Resource Rescue can access a wide variety of affordable materials that can enhance their classroom activities and projects. These materials support hands-on, experiential learning and encourage students to think creatively about resource use. Additionally, Resource Rescue’s educational programs can help educators integrate sustainability concepts into their teaching, providing valuable lessons on environmental responsibility and innovation.
Have a look at their website: Resource Rescue.
What are Loose Parts?
Loose Parts is the name given to loose, tactile materials and everyday objects collected and subverted to serve collectively as a play resource.
Loose Parts are moveable pieces, generally of a disposable nature, that enable players to create and recreate their environments, totems, and locus of play.
loose parts in action
Play that emerges through engagement with these types of unspecified objects is free of expectation and provides opportunities to create play, rather than simply conduct play. In contemporary Australia, humans engage less and less with these types of ambiguous artefacts, and experience reduced exposure to truly self-directed experiences with objects that don’t carry an implied use.
Loose parts have been found to improve the play culture and reduce incidents of antisocial behaviour. They do this by encouraging cross-age interaction, the variation of gross motor movement and reducing sedentary behaviour, and by increasing the variety of play, including dramatic play and self-directed STEM play. Loose Parts increase opportunities for valuable interpersonal and social skills by introducing opportunities for independent negotiation, compromise, resilience, and collaboration… and they’re also a great deal of fun.
Typical Loose Parts Checklist:
- Netting
- Cloth
- Curved wood
- Small pallets
- Plastic pallets
- Traffic cones
- Core flute sheets
- Rope and webbing strap
- Tyres of all types
- Foam shapes
- Synthetic grass
- Sails
- Barrels of different sizes
- Large plastic and cardboard tubes
- Carry-on suitcases
- Bread crates
- Milk crates
- Cushions
- 15lt water bottles
- Big bags
Linking to Sustainability and Loose Parts Theory
These organisations align perfectly with the principles of sustainability and the loose parts theory in early childhood education. Loose parts theory is the key component of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), which advocates for the use of open-ended materials that children can move, manipulate, and explore.
By using repurposed materials from these centres, educators can create rich, stimulating environments that promote creativity, problem-solving, and environmental awareness.
The EYLF highlights the importance of sustainability, stating that educators should embed sustainable practices into their curriculum to help children understand and appreciate the natural world. By incorporating materials from Remida Centres, Reverse Art Truck, and Resource Rescue, educators can model sustainable practices and teach children about the value of reusing resources.
Additionally, you can watch my video about Affordance Theory by Gibson on YouTube to learn more about how environments and materials afford various possibilities for action: Affordance Theory by Gibson.
