ABSTRACT
Introduction: This chapter explores the ecological curriculum at Madeley Nursery School and its approach to learning with nature as opposed to about, in, or for nature (Fox et al., 2022). Practice Description: This approach considered the arts as activators of developing relational and mutual learning with nature in early childhood education that demonstrated how collaboration, expression, and research through creative modalities enabled children to communicate their understanding of the vitality of their nursery garden visually and verbally. Vitality is defined as the presence of energy and a vibrancy of liveliness that belongs to art, education, and nature. Outcomes: This approach resulted in children’s attitudes of care, empathy, and attention to the more-than-human as they built relationships of solidarity with nature and each other. Wellbeing was considered as a right for all species and matter entangled and learning together in the nursery garden. Implications for policy, practice, and research: The implications for educational practice are to question if it is enough to attach sustainability and environmental learning to an already full curriculum in England and argue instead for an ecological approach that is full of vitality and an ethic of wellness for all to be at the centre and transversal throughout.
