Earth Day Activities for Kids

In Whitney Houston’s chart topping hit The Greatest Love of All, she began by singing, “I believe the children are our future…teach them well and let them lead the way.” Fewer words could contain a stronger truth than that very statement since the little ones we see today packing the playgrounds will eventually run our country as we approach retirement age. Not only is education and moral integrity more important than ever in America, but it is also the only way future generations will understand the sacrifices, both good and bad, that were made by our founding fathers and continued over the next two centuries. Factories and automobiles have exponentially polluted the very air we breathe; and when combined with the millions upon millions of trees that we have cut down while building and expanding throughout North America it is no wonder that major cities now are forced to have ozone warnings. In a very selfish way our ancestors began to destroy our very fabric of existence on this planet and for the most part we have continued in their path. If our children do not properly learn about renewing our planet's ecosystem, this destructive trend will continue into the future until it reaches life altering and irreversible stages.

Marking the start of spring is Earth Day, which is right around the corner on April 22nd this year. Although teachers will be sure to mention to our children what Earth Day is and why it is celebrated all over the world, this is one holiday that deserves a much more practical application. For those who are not fully aware, Earth Day is not about tie-dyed tee shirts and dancing through the forest, nor is it a day to compare which political activist makes a better case for or against global warming. Instead, Earth Day commemorates an occasion for students young and old to learn about the Earth, the balances within our ecosystem, and making a personal pledge to help overturn the destructions that we have brought against our own planet by rapid expansion at a cost to our own health and livelihoods. While it is a comforting feeling to hear politicians take the stage and preach about how they are concerned with our environments right before each election, there is too much bickering among the various political parties for our government to offer a definitive plan of action. Instead, it is up to us as parents to educate our children on what it means to protect the world we live in.

The most important part of Earth Day is gaining and sharing knowledge of our planet, a topic which most children will normally enjoy learning about. For example, because of the global popularity of seafood over 80% of edible types of fish within the ocean are between the stages of slowly to rapidly decreasing. Not only does this trend mean that our grandchildren may not have seafood available, but it also throws off the natural balance set by Mother Nature herself millenniums ago. Small fish eat plants and nutrients found in the shallows of the ocean, and the bigger fish eat the little guys. If there are no more large schools of predatory fish to maintain this balance, what happens to all the vegetation within the sea when there’s billions more herbivore-types living years longer than normal? If all the plants are consumed and no longer considered renewable, many scientists predict erosion will greatly increase while reshaping our ocean floors and continents. The same arguments can be made for renewable energy or trees and construction materials; if we do not let the Earth replenish what we have taken, what will our planet be like in a thousand years?

One of the most popular activities on Earth Day is to directly give back to our environment by planting a tree within our properties. In the long term scope of things that single plant will not do very much alone for your local ecosystem or the air quality around your home, but if everyone on your block were to repeat this procedure then long term effects could slightly be measured. If everyone within your city planted a locally grown tree on Earth Day it would carry a long way towards fighting the pollution we produce with our vehicles and industries; and if that trend were carried out each and every year our planet would become a much greener place. This is a great activity to complete with children because as they grow they can witness the tree sprouting towards the sky as well, and it makes a great reference point once we are older.

Another smart Earth Day activity is personal reflection around your home and how we can reduce our power costs. This makes sense two-fold because reducing our monthly energy bills directly effects how many fossil fuels need to be destroyed in order to provide your home with power, so by turning off unnecessary electronics and appliances actually helps save the environment to a minor degree. Using the same snowball type example above, if everyone took this task to heart we could power the entire continent on renewable energy alone and save billions of wasted dollars annually. Children are often prone to leaving on lights, televisions, and games after leaving a room; and helping them understand that the power actually has to come from somewhere is often a valuable and habit-changing lesson. (see the Take Charge! Small Changes Can Lead To Big Savings! blog)

Some of the things to look at around your home are investing in energy saving light bulbs, making sure you have the proper insulation for heating and cooling purposes, cleaning the air coils on all major appliances, and adjusting thermostats on air conditioners and hot water heaters. By combining these simple steps an average homeowner can slash their monthly electric costs by as much as 50% or more, and that is without replacing any of the appliances. Of course, if you are in a financial situation where upgrades are possible, the latest line of dishwashers, air conditioners, refrigerators, and hot water heaters are extremely energy efficient when compared with models produced even ten years ago.

To summarize Earth Day events in regards to children and what to convey, teach them about our planet and why it has to be protected. There are nearly endless ways to convey this very simple idea, and good habits formed at an early age can often last a lifetime. If we all follow Whitney Houston’s advice our grandchildren’s grandchildren will inhabit a greener, more beautiful Earth, and in return our planet will thank them by providing several additional centuries of prosperity from within the United States.