April Hepokoski on creating a zero-waste, nature-based classroom

This week Brooke is joined by early-childhood educator April Hepokoski for a fascinating discussion about all things child-led and nature-based learning.

April is the founder and teacher at The Little Barnyard Preschool in Duluth, Minnesota, where she centres learning around being outside in nature every single day. April also founded a zero-waste living group on her local community, where she shares tips and tricks for living with less waste as well as lobbying the city council to make changes in her town.

There are so many parallels between slow living and the approach of nature-based learning, and April is a prime example of someone taking action into their own hands in every aspect of her life. We hope you enjoy this inspiring (and practical) chat about learning, nature and grassroots change.

Questions featured in this episode:

1. When did you first become interested in zero-waste living?
2. How did you structure a localised zero-waste living group?
3. What is the philosophy or mission of The Little Barnyard Preschool?
4. What caused you to combine child-led learning with nature-based learning?
5. What does nature-based learning look like on a day-to-day basis?
6. What do parents say? What benefits and differences do they see?
7. How can people begin to bring this philosophy into their own home if there are no nature-based learning offerings in their area?
8. What can educators do to start to bring nature-based learning into their school? Any resources or recommendations on how to start the conversation?
9. Do you have any tips for bringing zero-waste principles into the classroom?

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