IU day care center earns 5-star eco-friendly rating

Campus View Child Care Center has said goodbye to furry and fuzzy pets and disposable dishes to help the environment.

Ten years ago, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management started the 5-Star Environmental Recognition Program for Child Care Facilities.

Campus View has been part of the one-star program for several years. They recently applied for and received five-star membership.

The program now encompasses 24 day cares and will soon be adding more in Monroe and Lawrence counties.

Karen Teliha, IDEM community environmental health and education coordinator, said protecting children from environmental hazards is a crucial mission.

“We reach out to the most vulnerable population exactly where they play and learn and grow,” Teliha said. “Kids under the age of six are one of the most vulnerable populations out there.”

Potential members can apply for the one-star program and work their way up or start at the five-star program, she said.

The one-star program requires child care centers to never store pesticides on site and ensures the building is clean and well-maintained.

The three-star program requires facilities to be 100 percent tobacco-free, perform a radon test and check lead levels.

The five-star program requires centers to meet all one-and-three star requirements as well as recycle, remove pets with feathers and fur and use reusable dishes.

“One of the focuses is to reduce asthma triggers,” Teliha said. “Pets with feathers or fur have allergens that can induce asthma attacks.”

The program provides free decals, no-idling signs for driveways where parents pick up their children and free lead and radon testing for potential members.

“The program doesn’t cost to participate and we try to provide as much assistance as we can,” IDEM spokesperson Amy Hartsock said.

Program members apply throughout the year and are inducted in April, August and
December.

“Right now we just finished a round,” Teliha said. “We have several in Monroe County and Lawrence County.”

IU’s Campus View Child Care Center is one of the day care centers moving up the
ladder after recently obtaining its five-star status.

“It’s the right thing to do to not only have an environmentally safe facility and be recognized as such but to be safe for children and families,” said Linda Fields, Campus View Child Care Center director.

While Fields said the center’s program membership hasn’t presented a new marketing opportunity, the center’s most important goal — being environmentally friendly — is being fulfilled.

“It’s more of how we manage our recycling and keeping from having to throw away trash,” Fields said. “We use washable dishes. It’s not something we advertise as much as we practice.”