Business Awards - We are WINNERS!

“No one will protect what they don’t care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced” ― David Attenborough

We are absolutely delighted to announce that we are the WINNERS in the 'Sustainable category' in this year's North Devon Business Awards.

In early 2019 we set out a vision to become as green and eco aware in all aspects of our practice without compromising on our high health and safety standards. Four years, one Pandemic and lots of hard work later, not only have we achieved 'Plastic Free Status' with Surfers Against Sewage, we are now recognised as an award winning nursery focusing on sustainability at it's core.

We are proud of all our little Eco Heroes and we work tirelessly to ensure that our little learners are part of our green ethos. Cheeky Monkey is our official Eco-Hero ambassador and is awarded badges as the children progress their learning journey covering a range of criteria including biodiversity, wildlife conservation, recycling, marine/coast, litter and sustainability.

Sustainable Lead Katie Webber is absolutely delighted with the award, "What a privilege and honour it was to accept this award on behalf of our entire team, our wonderful manager Sarah & Lead Director in Sustainability Steve Roberts. Our incredible children deserve this recognition because they are so invested in the natural environment and how to protect our planet. They truly care for creatures and take part in bird watching surveys, make habitats in the garden, litter pick along the Tarka Trail, attend board meetings to discuss future plans and plant vegetables and wild flowers for our important pollinators."

Collectively, our team think this is an "amazing achievement" and we are "proud to be making a contribution to children's education." One student from Petroc who has been with us for four weeks was fascinated to learn more, gaining experience in a childcare setting that is so ecologically focused and driven.

Nursery Manager Sarah Sexon is "proud to receive this award on the same week of our 10th anniversary opening our doors at Sticklepath. It's an incredible achievement for a childcare setting along with our Plastic Free Status, proving we can shine and sparkle even without the glitter!" Sarah is looking forward to many exciting adventures and avenues on the horizon. Winning an award doesn't mean we stop there, infact it spurs us on further to extend our services and reach out to community groups and further develop our practice - watch this space!

Catering Manager Liz works hard to liaise with companies to refuse plastic and unnecessary packaging and she is passionate about locally sourced produce whenever possible.

We use Bamboo or cotton based 'Cheeky Wipes' which are reusable, instead of wet wipes for wet nappies. All our nappies are sent to a plant to be processed into ‘waste to energy’. We use flannels for wiping hands and faces, water saving taps, recycle weekly and we have switched to LED lights.

We learn about life cycles, raise caterpillars and release butterflies, watch frog spawn hatch and develop into little frogs, we even have an ant farm! We take part in the #rspbbiggardenbirdwatch RSPB Birdwatch, enjoy birdwatching by the Estuary, reuse household items for craft activities, plant seeds, grow vegetables, grow wild flowers and learn about pollinators. We compost and learn about the importance of worms.

We love to invite Plastic Free North Devon to nursery and enjoy learning about the marine life. Using VR technology, we even get to virtually swim with seals off the coast of Lundy! We read lots of books about our world and we've even had a video call from author Emily Martin reading us the story of 'Otto's Ocean' of Hilda’s Planet. We have planted trees thanks to Devon Wildlife Trust and The Woodland Trust. We have achieved Level 1 gardening award by the Royal Horticultural Society and we enjoy regular gardening sessions looking forward to our produce for a real field to fork experience. Our onsite chef has designed a menu that is healthy, nutritious and delicious! We have one plant based meal on the menu every week and the food is sourced locally.

We hosted a Toy Swap before Christmas and this was so successful we then launched an online Swapshop for our families.

Thank you to everyone for your support. It truly means the world to us and we endeavour to continue to teach our children how to care for it.