Abstract
Environmental education for young children needs to connect environmental concepts with concrete experiences that are close to their everyday lives. This study aims to formulate a framework for designing environmental education media for early childhood by integrating community environmental practices, visual translation, and interactive activities, while identifying further development toward gamification and immersive learning. A qualitative design-based approach was employed through field observations, discussions with residents, and needs identification at Kampung Proklim, Jawa Barat, where waste management and hydroponic cultivation are part of community environmental practices. The findings reveal a gap between existing environmental practices and learning media that are accessible to young children. These findings informed the development of visual-interactive media using mascot characters, simplified illustrations, colour differentiation, worksheets, stickers, and activities such as colouring, matching, sorting, connecting, and object placement. The prototype demonstrates initial gamification elements through task-oriented and playful interaction; however, a more complete gamification structure involving storytelling, mission, challenge, progress, and reward remains a direction for further development. Similarly, immersive learning is positioned as a future design direction by connecting visual media with physical interaction, real objects, environmental exploration, and community facilities rather than relying on advanced immersive technologies. Based on these findings, a five-stage framework was formulated: (1) identifying environmental contexts, (2) translating environmental knowledge into child-appropriate visual representations, (3) developing interactive and playful activities, (4) integrating community contexts, and (5) directing further development toward gamified and immersive learning experiences. The framework offers a contextual and adaptable basis for developing environmental education media in communities with limited technological resources.