Bush Kinder at Yarralea

At Yarralea Children’s Centre we believe that regular unstructured play in nature is essential to children’s health, development and wellbeing.  Yarralea’s Bush Kinder has been running since 2013. It is an extension of the Yarralea centre based program and is an integral part of the children’s total kinder experience. Bush Kinder is compulsory for children in the Walert and Dulai wurrung kinder program for 4-5 year olds and they attend at least once a week from 8am-3.30pm in the Darebin Parklands from March. Only children enrolled in the Wednesday Gurrborra kinder program for 3-4 year olds attend Bush Kinder from 8am from Term 3. Through Bush Kinder we acknowledge and respect that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have been learning in nature for thousands and thousands of years, and connect Country and our local community. 

The Bush Kinder program enables the children to spend regular, long periods of time in a natural environment. There is mounting evidence of decreasing opportunities for children to play outdoors in nature and this links to concerns about children's health and well being.

There are well documented diverse benefits of nature play including increased confidence, motivation, imagination and concentration; increased social, physical and language skills; deeper conceptual understandings; an authentic connection and respect for the natural environment and sustainability; and enhanced family and community attitudes towards natural play spaces and risk management.