Announcing our Earth Day Coloring Contest Winners!
By keeping the environment clean & green through proper waste management, you too can do your part for the planet!
WE’VE GOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN OUR HANDS!
Let's Celebrate Earth Day!
Support our pollinators - Clean up plastic in your neighborhood or park - Swap out your kitchen and household products - Stop pesticides and chemicals in the garden - Let’s work together to make our planet healthier! Below are some ideas of ways you can make this Earth Day a green one.
Did you know?
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, "the first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970, when San Francisco activist John McConnell and Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson separately asked Americans to join in a grassroots demonstration. Dealing with dangerously serious issues concerning toxic drinking water, air pollution, and the effects of pesticides, an impressive 20 million Americans—10% of the population—ventured outdoors and protested together."
Supplies:
Paper Plate, Blue Paint, Green Crepe Paper (tissue or construction paper will work as well), White Cardstock, Black Marker, Googly Eyes, Scissors, Glue
Directions:
Paint paper plate blue
Cut pieces of crepe paper and glue to paper plate. Remind the kids that Earth is made of more water than land
Glue googly eyes to the plate and draw a mouth and any other facial features your child may want with a marker
Cut 4 strips of white paper. I cut 2 longer and wider for the legs. Accordion fold the strips of paper and glue or tape the back of the paper plate so that your earth has arms and legs
Credit: The Resourceful Mama
Supplies:
Colored paper (blue, white and green), Packets of wildflower seeds, Water, Bowls, Blender
Directions:
Start by tearing the paper and putting into three separate bowls. Cover with water and leave to absorb for about half and hour.
A grown-up is needed for the next step - put one colour of paper into a blender and blitz thoroughly until it forms a wet pulp. If you find it doesn't blend very well you can always add a little more water. Do this for each of the colours and put them in separate bowls. The mixture might try to separate a little but don't worry, you can always squeeze out any excess water.
Tip your seed mixture into the blue bowl and mix thoroughly.
Scoop up a small amount of the blue pulp and seed mixture (around the size of a large marble) and form it into balls
Take smaller pieces of the green and white pulp and press them into the surface to create the contents and ice caps. To give them and even finish, roll the balls gently between the palms of your hands.
You can plat your seed bombs in the ground straight away, just make sure you follow the instructions on the seed packets. If you need to wait to plant them, you can leave them to dry, just make sure you give them a good soak when it comes to planting time!
Credit: How We Play and Learn
Supplies:
Cardboard, 10 inch cardboard cake board, Magazines, Pencil, Glue, Mini wooden sticks (optional), Paper tag with "This is Me" written on it
Directions:
Start by cutting out a piece of cardboard for your background, about 12 inches by 14 inches.
For our circle we used a cardboard cake board, but you could also just cut a circle out of a cardboard that is about 10 inches in diameter
Use your pencil to freehand part of the wold onto your circle. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Kids can even look at a map and do this step themselves.
Look through several old magazines and tear out pages that have lots of black, green and blue on them.
To start our collage, trace your circle Earth onto your cardboard background then remove it. Tear little pieces of the black colored magazine pages and glue them around our cardboard backing, leaving the circle empty in the middle to put your Earth on.
Credit: I Heart Crafty Things
Check out your local library, or trade books with a friend! Here are some ideas:
Earth Day, Every Day
by Lisa Bullard
Compost Stew
by Mary McKenna Siddals
Michael Recycle
by Ellie Bethel
Why Should I Recycle?
By Jen Green
Fancy Nancy: Every Day is Earth Day
by Jane O’Connor
Emeraldlicious
by Victoria Kann
Oh Say Can You Seed?
By Bonnie Worth
Check local websites for a list of trails in your area. Use search words like "hiking trails or city/county parks near me"
Grab a trash bag and some gloves and take a walk around your neighborhood and beautify your local roads
Use key words like "Bike paths near me" to search for areas to explore by two wheels
Check out
this link for more information on how to compost at home
The link will take you to a site with more than 20 ideas of bird feeders you can make with items you likely already have at home!
What Are Pollinators? Birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, small mammals, and most importantly, bees are pollinators. They visit flowers to drink nectar or feed off pollen and transport pollen grains as they move from spot to spot.
Why Is Habitat Creation For Pollinators Important? Improved pollinator habitats can increase the presence of native pollinators on working vegetable, fruit, and grain farmland. This can improve farm viability and climate change resilience. Climate change is causing more frequent and erratic weather extremes, such as drought and intense rain events.
Here is a list of ideas for ways you can practice conservation from
howstuffworks:
Conserve Water
Be Car-conscious
Walk, Bike or take Public Transit
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Switch to LEDs
Live Energy Wise
Eat Sustainable Foods
Plant a Tree
Give Up Plastics