Earth Day Activities For Kids

What are you doing for Earth Day 2011?  That's what my children keep asking me.  They're anticipating the holiday with as much excitement as they have before Christmas.  So I made a list of a few ideas to make the day fun and meaningful at the same time.

1.  Plant a tree, shrub, flower, or seeds.  The main objective is to get the kids to appreciate nature and what it provides (i.e. tree=shade, shrub=shelter for small animals, etc.).  Seeds can be planted indoors to be transferred outside at a later date.

2.  Attend an organized community event.  Many cities and/or communities sponsor events on or near Earth Day.  The event may include a "fair" with various eco-friendly organizations showing their products/services at booths.  The event may involve a trash clean-up at a local park or other public place.  Visit earthday.org to find out if there's an event in your area.

3.  Organize your own trash pick-up.  If your community isn't already doing this, you can initiate it yourself.  Start at a park in your neighborhood and walk the paths picking up trash along the way.  Don't forget to bring a large garbage bag (or two) to throw everything in.  Leave the trash bag next to the trash can at the park to be picked up on garbage day.  My family did this one year and by the end of our walk, we had several neighbor kids who had joined in our effort -- very fun!

4.  Go on a hike.  Get out and enjoy nature by hiking a trail in your area.  The goal is to help the children experience the peacefulness that nature has to offer.  This activity could be combined with the trash pick-up described above.

5.  Visit a farmer's market.  If you live in an area that has a farmer's market open, take the kids and let them choose an item or two to serve for dinner.  If you're like me and have just received another dusting of snow, this might not be an option.  Instead, visit a co-op or grocery store that sells local or organic products and let the kids choose an item or two.  Cook a meal using only local ingredients and discuss the benefits to the environment when you eat local.

6.  Get crafty.  Use some of the trash that you picked up earlier in the day (or items you have around the house) and be creative.  See what ideas you or your child can think of to craft with the trash.  How about a plastic bag kite, or a CD jewel case scrapbook.  For inspiration, take a look at the "Kids" section of this blog.


What about you:  Does your family do anything special to celebrate Earth Day?  Do your kids get excited about this "holiday"?