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Sponges soak up everything, keeping whatever they touch clean.

That’s why board members of Nackawic ChildCare Inc. are setting goals to influence children. Board member Andrea Hull said young minds are like sponges, which means environmentally friendly practices can be soaked up easily, and the knowledge children acquire will produce a cleaner Earth.

“Kids are very agreeable to new things,” she said. “It’s probably more difficult to get parents on track just because, as we get older, we have more of our habits entrenched, so the kids are probably where we should be starting.”

In late May, Hull organized a presentation at Nackawic High School to kick-off the daycare’s Growing Green initiative. The evening began with an introductionofseveralchangesofficials are implementing at the daycare.

“We have taken an initiative to changethewayourbuildingiscleaned,” she explained. “We’re looking into using more environmentally friendly cleaning products.”

Hull said the products have environmental and health benefits because there is a reduction in chemicals.

Also, the daycare children are taught to sort their garbage and to recycle plastic bottles and cans. On Earth Day, Hull added, officials took the money from the recyclables and purchased a compost bin, which the children are learning to use.

“Our hope is that kids at the daycare take ideas home to parents. I think it’s all changes that families would agree are only for the good ... The changes will make their children be better stewards of the environment.”

After daycare officials explained their hopes and new procedures to guests, Sonya Hull of Climate Project Canada shared environmental truths.

Sonya Hull was trained on the climate crisis by Al Gore in Montreal in April 2008. She showed a slide show based on Gore’s award-winning film An Inconvenient Truth. She also discussed practical tips people in the community can do to help address climate change.

People can access tips at www.greenmattersfredericton.

ca. By clicking the title Green Gurus: Youth and our Earth on the right-hand side of the Web site’s homepage, parents can learn how to raise their children to be environmentally friendly.

Andrea Hull said the session was an eye-opener. She added, although the presentation is over and the Growing Green initiative has been introduced,daycare officials are not stopping with the compost bin and teaching children to recycle.

“We will be applying for funding through an organization called Evergreen,” she explained. “Evergreen is an organization who partners with funders to provide financial support to publicly-funded Canadian schools and not-for-profit daycares who want to undertake greening and food garden projects.”

If the daycare receives funding, Hull said, officials will purchase trees and shrubs to plant in the yard, “and, at the same time, teach the children about the importance of planting trees because of the ecological benefits they provide.”

Hull said, nowadays, it’s essential to make changes; it’s more than just doing a good thing.

“I think people are starting to realize it’s something we have to do; it’s not necessarily going to be a choice. So I think it’s important for kids to learn at a very early age, which is great at a daycare level because they’re going to go into the school system, and they’ll already have learned some good habits.”