Reimagining green teaching in early years educare. A review of Green Teaching: Nature Pedagogies for Climate Change and Sustainability by Claire Warden (2022, London: Sage)

Claire Warden’s newest book offers an educational contribution to the increasingly urgent issues around the sustainability of humans and the needs of the planet. Internationally recognised as a pioneer in educational thinking, Warden is acknowledged for her original contributions in the field of nature pedagogy, a pedagogical approach that seeks to respect and support the rights of children and the planet with dual importance. The book aims to influence a societal shift in the perception of the role of the natural world in the education of humans by arguing a way forward for early years practitioners and primary educators to embed green teaching and nature-based pedagogy in practice and transform teaching with young children. More specifically, Warden encourages those working in the early years sector to re-evaluate the dominant ergocentric way of thinking, whereby we view ourselves as separate to the natural world, and to adopt a more ecocentric way of thinking, whereby the needs of the natural world are placed at the heart of decisions when planning for play and learning.