Celebrating their 10th birthday this year after opening their doors in January 2008, Regand Park Early Childhood Education Centre (ECEC) have taken out the coveted Gold Rhino for Most Outstanding Business, while the team was also awarded the Rhino for Excellence in Sustainability at the recent Rhino Business Awards in Dubbo.
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After taking out both awards, owners of Regand Park ECEC Justine and Karl Richards, said that winning one award was great but two was simply amazing as they recognised the efforts of their educators, staff, families and children without whom the wins would not be possible.
“Winning the Gold Rhino was a huge surprise and an absolute honour. This award recognises our fantastic team of enthusiastic educators and staff who go above and beyond our national standards each and every day to provide high quality programs to children in Dubbo,” Justine said.
Justine hoped that winning the Gold Rhino would also help shine some light on a profession that plays a pivotal role in shaping our future generations. “To do this well my team has spent many hours studying, researching and critically reflecting on our practice and have formed professional partnerships with services both locally and in Sydney and Canberra”.
“I am extremely passionate about advocating for Early Childhood Education, about giving country kids access to the same innovative programs as their city counterparts and about teaching children to prepare them for 21st century living,” she said.
Their second major win was the sustainability award, better known as the Green Rhino, which recognises businesses that work towards reducing the impact of their operations on the environment and provide products and services that have positive environmental outcomes. Justine said winning the Green Rhino was especially important for them given the improvements they have made within their business to help reduce their environmental impact, but also they way the children they care for interact with the world around them.
“Winning the Green Rhino celebrates the changes we have implemented to reduce the toxic load that children, families, and staff are exposed to whilst still maintaining a healthy, clean and safe environment,” she said. “We consistently look for ways to reduce, reuse and recycle our waste and develop our nature and sustainability curriculum, such as our ‘Plant to Plate’ program, with children growing and harvesting their own produce and maintaining our compost and worm farm, along with this years launch of our Nature School program”.
