Exploring the Junior Landcare 2026 calendar: a year of environmental learning for early years

Junior Landcare’s 2026 Calendar is a rich educational resource designed to support children’s environmental learning, community engagement and hands-on connection to nature throughout the year. The free downloadable calendar outlines key national and international environmental dates alongside linked learning activities, making it easy for early childhood educators to plan meaningful sustainability experiences across the curriculum. 

Across its pages, the calendar highlights important environmental awareness moments such as World Water Day, Earth Day, National Science Week, World Wildlife Day, Landcare Week, World Environment Day and Save the Koala Day,  among many others, each paired with opportunities to explore local ecosystems and take action with children. 

The calendar has been designed to work in synergy with Junior Landcare’s broader suite of learning activities, which are grouped around core themes such as:

• Biodiversity, creating wildlife habitats, understanding plant and animal life, and engaging with soil and water systems. 
• Food Production, learning where food comes from, developing vegetable or bush tucker gardens and exploring plant lifecycles. 
• Waste Management,designing and monitoring worm farms or compost systems, and investigating recycling activities. 
• First Nations Perspectives, exploring seasonal patterns, cultural knowledge and community connection through land-based learning. 

These learning activities are part of the Junior Landcare Learning Centre, a curated digital hub offering educator guidance, step-by-step activity sheets, videos and extension ideas that link environmental learning with curriculum and developmental outcomes. 

Integrating environmental learning in early childhood settings supports multiple developmental domains, including:

• Cognitive and scientific thinking, through investigation of ecosystems, plant science and observation.
• Social and emotional engagement, by fostering stewardship, empathy for living things and collaborative care.
• Physical and sensory exploration, via outdoor gardening, habitat creation and tactile experiences in nature.

Using the calendar as a planning tool enables educators to embed these experiences across the year rather than as isolated events. Carefully scheduling activities around environmental awareness dates can also strengthen family engagement, inviting families to participate in events like National Tree Day or World Bee Day alongside children.

For more information and to download the full 2026 Junior Landcare Calendar and linked learning activities, visit the Junior Landcare website.