Terra Nichol Academy of the Arts
Terra Nichol Academy of the Arts
Terra Tominelli
Englewood, FL
Terra Tominelli has been taking care of children for 17 years. Currently, she cares for 52 children at TerraNichol Academy of the Arts, where she is both the owner and educational program director. Terra heard about the Eco-Healthy Child Care (EHCC) program while browsing the internet. She lives a green lifestyle so it was natural for her to seek out this endorsement. Terra says it is important to start with teaching young children to “keep the Earth safe…by beginning where learning starts.”
Like other child care providers, Terra has gone above and beyond complying with the EHCC checklist. Terra has created what she calls an “eco-village”, an eco-healthy playground. She brings the classroom outside, using tree stumps as chairs for their alfresco “library.” Each Friday, on “pizza day”, the children enjoy homemade pizza topped with fresh tomatoes and herbs from their garden. They also use filter water pitchers rather than using bottle water. And, all art materials are non-toxic; children paint with soy-based paint and they recently switched to soy and beeswax crayons.
At TerraNichol Academy of the Arts, recycling is the norm: there are recycling bins in each classroom, tires are reused for obstacle courses, rubber mulch, and flower beds, and they utilize rain barrels for their garden. They also recycle batteries, ink cartridges, and cell phones. In addition, trash bags are biodegradable, paper products are not used, homemade cleaning solutions are phosphate-free, and lunch boxes are waste-free (reusable containers and cloth napkins). There is a worm farm for composting and children learn to drop lunch waste into compost containers and children are also taught to conserve water and energy (by turning lights off). Terra has taken her commitment to being eco-healthy to another level—when she holds fundraisers, she chooses companies that are eco-healthy and do not sell toxic products.
Terra has some tips for helping child care providers become eco-healthy. She says, “Don’t feel like it’s something that can’t be accomplished. Educate and involve parents, utilize the community, have things donated that people aren’t using, and most of all, take baby steps.”
Parents have been very supportive of Terra’s eco-healthy practices. Terra’s recycling program has been well received—in fact, it’s often overflowing. One of the parents owns a company that makes products out of recycled materials—water bottles and other plastic materials are converted into things like picnic tables. Word has spread and nearby schools are enthusiastic to learn more about how they too can become eco-healthy.
Terra acknowledges that it can be a lot of hard work at first, but it is important to educate people for our future and our environment. It is clear her efforts have paid off. She has gone from 10 bags of trash per day to now only 2 bags per day, which mostly consists of diapers.
When asked why she thinks the Eco-Healthy Child Care program is important, Terra replies, “if you start early with children and educate them about taking care of the environment…it will continue into adulthood and they’ll pass it on to their children and their grandchildren.”
