5 Kid-Friendly Earth Day Ideas

by Phil Stott

Hands up if you woke up on Earth Day and didn't realize was upon you. I certainly did, and feel more than a tad ashamed for not having planned anything to do to mark it. Y'know, like planting a couple of trees, or making arrangements to cycle my commute for the day-that kind of thing. Still, starting out in a (shorter than usual) shower, the thought struck me: Earth Day's only a reminder of things we're supposed to be doing every day anyway. To that end, one of the best things we could do for the planet is to educate our kids about why it is we need to take care of what we've got. Here, then, are five suggestions (plus a bonus one) for ways to go about doing that. And most of them are extremely cheap, if not free.

1. Recycle

The oldest chestnut of them all, as far as environmentalism goes, and an ongoing challenge for us all. For those with kids old enough to take on the responsibility, putting them in charge of household recycling is one of the easiest ways to get them involved in thinking about the environment. It won't take a child too long to sort the paper from the plastics (although you'll need to keep an eye on them where glass is involved), or to lug it to the kerb.

2. Composting

Obviously this isn't something I'd recommend for those in a third-floor walkup with no garden, but composting is essentially the ultimate form of recycling. Not only that, it's a cheap source of nutrient-rich soil for those with gardens, as well as a great way to ease the guilt over all that food you'd otherwise be throwing away. It's also a good mechanism for teaching your kids about things like the carbon cycle, as well as the virtues of reducing waste.  For those that feel especially handy, Stopwaste.org has some great plans to assist you in building your own composter, although ready-made units are also available at most hardware stores. Depending which type you choose, you can get your kids further involved by having them decorate it.

3. Plant your own garden:

What better to do with all that freshly-generated soil than to plant your own garden? Even if you don't go down the composting route, there's no reason not to allocate a little patch of your garden (or a window-box, or even some empty yogurt pots) for planting a few seeds to allow your kids to experience the wonder of growing something. While the feeling of pride they'll get from seeing the family eating any vegetables they've grown is immense, even those pushed for space or completely lacking a green thumb should be able to handle the light/water ratios required to raise a few shoots of grass in a pot.

4. Make your own bird feeder

Who with children doesn't have an empty milk carton in their near future? Allfreecrafts.com has a very simple plan for turning one into a bird feeder. Easy to do, and the possibilities for decoration are almost limitless (although I'd think twice about letting your child use a montage of cat pictures!).

5. The "use less" challenge

Have your kids brainstorm all the ways in which they use different resources (water, electricity, packaged goods, etc). Then, challenge them to think of ways in which they could use less of them-shorter showers, less T.V. time, things like that. Those with slightly older kids could even challenge them to go for a set period of time (anything from an hour to a full day), without using any resources that aren't absolutely necessary. Hint: send them to play outside, and when they come in, encourage tap water rather than soda.

5 + 1. Talk to your kids

Perhaps the most important thing you can do is to explain why concepts such as reduce, reuse, recycle are more than just slogans or marketing gimmicks, and should be thought about and put into action for the 364 days that fall between each Earth Day as well. For further suggestion and resources on ways to do that, the EPA's Environmental Kids Club is a great place to start.