This painting is a collaborative work of me and my students aged 3 to 4 years old. The mediums are washable paint, watercolour and white canvas paper. As we always talk about nature on a daily basis - what we see in our outdoor spaces, parks nearby or on television - this specific work reveals the children’s understanding of our ecosystem.

This painting talks about the elements of the earth from the children’s perspective. Green represents grass and trees. Blue is for water, which they often call this tone of blue “Mizu Iro” in Japanese. Red and pink are the symbols of fire.

Our ideas to protect the earth are simple yet practical. We should not leave the water running in the sink or else the river might dry up. We need to be gentle when we play outside with the trees and their branches as they might get hurt. And lastly, snakes are not always scary so we have to remember to be kind to them.