Great Ideas to Get your Kids on a Permanent Earth Friendly Kick
Teaching children to respect and appreciate this beautiful planet Earth will insure that future generations are empowered to take the actions needed to remain environmentally conscientious. Here are some fun and practical ideals to be sure the legacy of responsibility continues.
Plan a day to clean up the neighborhood, including the parks. Ask many friends to help out too. Have plenty of garbage bags ready for the clean up. This same plan can be used to have a clean up day at school. It can be fun to create posters and have contests with an environmental theme. Have these posters placed at nearby businesses to spread the word.
Help parents to choose plants and trees to place in the yard to create shade which will be helpful in cooling the home, as well as provide cleaner air. Grow a vegetable garden too. Start a compost pile to help with fertilization of the planting. Tell parents about using organic pesticides, such as the ones made from orange extract. Water the garden in the early morning to safe on water.
When shopping with parents, always look for symbols that state the product has been recycled. Use recyclable packaging and encourage the rest of the family to stay away from products that have excessive packaging. Buying everyday necessities in bulk supply is a great way to decrease package waste. Share the idea of the three R’s with the family: Recycle, reuse and reduce.
Ask parents to start using reusable cotton bags to bring home groceries. Plastic bags are a huge problem for the environment. Every year hundreds of thousands of marine mammals such as sea turtles and whales die from eating discarded plastic bags. Plastic bags are not biodegradable, instead then break down into smaller toxic bits that contaminate the soil and waterways, which endanger many animals. If it is necessary to purchase six-packs of soda, always take the extra time to cut the plastic rings into pieces, as they can pose dangers to raccoons, possums, and small animals with strangulation. It is estimated that each year 500 billion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter. In the United States, the estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion (100 billion bags). In Africa, plastic bags that have been blowing in the wind are so common that a young industry has sprung up harvesting bags and using them to weave hats, and even bags.
Instead of taking a bus or car to school, if possible, use a bicycle or walk. Ride and walk with a friend and be sure the route is safe; have friendly homes or businesses along the way in case assistance is needed.
When you leave a room in the house be sure to turn off all the lights, fans and the television. Remind siblings to do the same. Help your parents look through the home for leaky faucets and toilets, then help them fix them. While washing your face and brushing
teeth, do not leave the water running. Turn it off until needed for rinsing. Take quick showers. Use less water when doing household chores; use a broom instead of the hose for cleaning the porch, sidewalks, driveway. Save water by asking parents to wash the car less often, and remind them that it will save them money too. Another way for parents to save money is by raising the thermostat a few degrees in the summer and lower it in the winter. This will save energy. When the sun is out and strong, lower the window blinds to keep the heat out of the house. Open them up in the winter months. Replace air filters often to aid in more efficient heating and cooling
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