Children’s Center Earns
Eco-Healthy Designation
by Nancy Elder, Director,
April 7, 2011, page 6.....

The Charlotte Children’s Center has been designated as an Eco-Healthy Child Care Center by the Children’s Environmental Health Network, a national organization committed to ensuring children are protected from environmental hazards.
To earn the designation, the center demonstrated compliance with more than 25 best-practices techniques focused on protecting children from exposure to hazardous substances, maintaining indoor air quality, serving healthy foods and implementing a rigorous recycling and reuse program.
Working toward the certification was a logical outgrowth of the center’s core focus on environmental sustainability. This program builds on the curriculum, which is focused on teaching children how to keep their bodies healthy. In addition, the children are encouraged to understand that they are members of the wider community and how important it is to learn about nature and to respect and care for the natural environment.
At the beginning of the certification process, the center was in compliance with the three mandatory Eco-Healthy Child Care Center requirements, which included using non-toxic techniques to control pests and weeds, operating a smoke-free environment and frequent testing of water to ensure no exposure to lead.
To meet the remaining requirements, the center began exclusively using natural cleaning products like vinegar and baking soda, as well as environmentally friendly disinfecting products from Seventh Generation. The center worked with Casella Waste Systems to expand its recycling program to include composting. The center also eliminated the use of plastic food containers in microwaves and only uses certified non-toxic art materials.

The center also operates a sustainable garden. In the spring families and teachers work together to plant the garden that is near the playground. Throughout the summer the children play in the garden, observing vegetables growing, watering them and harvesting them. Much of the food from the garden is served to the children for snack in the late summer and early fall.

The Charlotte Children’s Center, located on Ferry Road, is a nonprofit organization serving the childcare and early childhood education needs of Southern Chittenden County. The center was founded in 1984 and has an enrollment of 58 children ranging in age from six weeks to six years old. The center is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and has a 5-Star rating from Vermont’s Step Ahead recognition system.