Facilities
New Green Childcare Center Opens
UniverCity鈥檚 new $3.2-million childcare centre鈥攐ne of Canada鈥檚 greenest buildings and the world鈥檚 most sustainable childcare facility鈥攈as opened its doors to children and a window to SFU researchers.
厂贵鲍鈥檚&苍产蝉辫; developed the facility in partnership with the SFU Childcare Society and the Faculty of Education.
It鈥檚 the first building in Canada to meet the , one of the most advanced green-building rating systems in the world, and features carbon-neutral, self-sustaining energy generation.
鈥淭he new Childcare Centre represents a logical next step in our effort to build a model sustainable community on Burnaby Mountain,鈥� says trust president and CEO, Gordon Harris.
The setting will allow faculty and student researchers, led by SFU education associate professor Margaret MacDonald, to study such topics as children鈥檚 understanding of sustainability. A $200,000 grant from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is funding the research.
Teachers and researchers will also explore evolving curriculum and project-based learning related to the centre鈥檚 -inspired philosophy, which is considered to have one of the world鈥檚 best preschool curricula. The approach emphasizes three 鈥渢eachers鈥濃�攖he educator, the environment and the broader community.
Other studies may help determine how to best share early learning with parents, and how family members can best be involved in their children鈥檚 learning.
The bright, airy centre features two-storey, floor-to-ceiling windows, non-toxic natural finishes and furniture and a special piazza where children can create projects and work on them over time. SFU educators will use the area to observe the children as part of their research into innovative early learning practices.
The new centre brings to 320 the total number of children attending full- and part-time childcare on the Burnaby campus and at UniverCity. Twenty-five children are enrolled at the new facility, with 25 more expected by September 2012.