Settings share green ideas

My Favourite Colour is Green includes case studies from Alliance member settings. Michael Freeston, director of quality improvement at the Alliance, said that often settings started growing their own vegetables as a 'useful route in' to wider projects with an environmental theme.

'Almost without exception, settings hadn't set out to do something about sustainability, but projects took on a life of their own,' he said.

Josie Lait, nursery manager at Northend Children's Centre in Slade Green, Kent, said, 'One of the challenges that we faced is that we are based on a disused landfill site so there are no areas for digging. Lots of our families live in high-rise blocks with no garden.'

The nursery applied to Bexley council for Sure Start capital grants to improve the outdoor space. It now has planters for vegetables, a herb garden and mini-greenhouses. Parents collected vouchers from Morrisons supermarket to buy tools.

Fiveways Play Centre in Brighton is due to open in a new 'environmentally responsive' building in September, after receiving £695,000 in capital grants from Brighton and Hove Council.

The 100-place nursery, run by parent volunteers, is in the same ward as the first Green Party MP, Caroline Lucas, whom they have invited to open the centre.

Trustee Lili Roseveare, who is studying architecture, was involved in the design of the building.

She said, 'There is south-facing glazing opening out on to the garden, with high-level north-facing windows encouraging cross-ventilation, so we won't need air conditioning. With a well insulated building, heating costs should be kept to a minimum.

'We want to encourage children and staff to learn about energy use, so that they get an idea, for example, of how much energy can be saved if they hang out the washing rather than use a tumble drier.'

A website for sharing ideas goes live later this month at www.pre-school.org.uk/colourgreen.