But what about the ecological capabilities? Relationality and school-based food gardening in the australian early years learning framework

Reflecting on students' personal and social capabilities is essential for individual and societal benefits. Typically, the focus is on emotional awareness, collaboration, resilience, conflict resolution, and learning to function within school settings. However, there is little emphasis on building ecological capabilities. As we face climate uncertainty, understanding how to exist in a changing world is crucial, and developing ecological capabilities is now of utmost importance for our survival. This paper aims to demonstrate that ecological learning (and the accompanying capabilities) is inherently linked to personal-social development and suggests that education should move beyond human-centric approaches. We observed a 10-week gardening program at an Early Childhood School in ACT/Ngunnawal country. Our analysis reveals that students show empathy towards plants, engage confidently with human and non-human participants, understand food sharing, and make autonomous decisions. They also develop self-regulation skills and consider the well-being of non-human participants. Students extend their learning beyond the classroom, showing resilience in diverse multispecies contexts. By integrating ecological understanding with personal-social development, our findings demonstrate the benefits of non-human companionship and ecological connections in education, which are crucial for navigating ecological uncertainty. • We emphasise integrating ecological capabilities in early education to prepare children for environmental challenges. • We advocate for interconnectedness among humans, non-humans, and the environment in education. • We highlight benefits of garden programs in fostering ecological awareness and relational skills. • We suggest enhancing Australia's Early Years Learning Framework with garden-based ecological activities. • We demonstrate how relational pedagogy in garden programs promotes inclusive and environmentally conscious learning.