It's Your Oregon: Happy Hollow Children's Center

Carol McMurdie: Beaverton, OR

Happy Hollow sounds like the ideal place for your children to spend the day- and it may be. Educator Carol McMurdie, who has worked in childcare since the 70s, has owned the Happy Hollow childcare center in Beaverton since 1991. These days, it accommodates about 70 children year-round. It has a summer camp that allows the kids to participate in various outdoor activities, like helping in the flower and vegetable gardens and enjoying the bordering 5 1/2 acre park. One of the teachers grows Asian vegetables and shows the children how to grow and eat new foods. “We promote the outdoors and getting healthier,” McMurdie said.

The center sought the Eco-Healthy Childcare endorsement because it seemed like a perfect fit for what they were already doing. In addition to meeting most of the guidelines, Happy Hollow made even more significant environmentally-friendly changes based on the checklist. They now ensure that all of the cleaners are 100% eco-friendly, use essential oils instead of air freshener sprays, and use only glass in the microwave instead of plastic. The largest improvement involved replacing the tiled and carpeted floor with marmoleum, a natural product made from linseed oil, wood flour, rosin, jute, and limestone. McMurdie said, “We put our money where our mouth is.”

In addition, Happy Hollow has also started using a worm bin in order to compost food scraps. While buying only organic foods is a challenging task, the center has committed to buying organic versions of the ten most highly pesticide-contaminated foods, such as apples, peaches, and bell peppers. McMurdie said, “If our environment is going to be healthy, our food needs to be [healthful].”

McMurdie would encourage other childcare centers to become more ecologically aware as well: “It’s what we should all be doing - moving in that direction.

This is an opportunity to pass information along to parents as well.” 

Parents of the children have noticed the advances Happy Hollow has made to become a safer and healthier environment. “Parents like that we’re eco-healthy, even if they’re not,” McMurdie said. The center also has a bulletin board for parents with information on health and safety for kids.

Happy Hollow’s policies naturally correspond with many people’s desire for a healthier planet. “We are poisoning the world we live in. We need to start one person at a time. It’s time to pay attention to that. [This is] one small step towards making people more aware,” McMurdie said.

Click here for information on how to become an Eco-Healthy Childcare.