12 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

by Heather Lee Leap

Earth Day is close at hand, but don’t wait until April 22 to celebrate.
Jump into action with these ideas.

Create an Earth Day Recycled Village. Delve into the recycling bin for small boxes and cardboard cylinders. Using a piece of cardboard as a base, design a fantasy village of recycled materials with your child. Glue objects together to create skyscrapers. When the village is dry, bring out poster paint. Snap a photo, and later pitch it all back into the recycle bin.

Expand your palate. Visit a local market with your children and seek out unfamiliar produce. Locally grown produce puts fewer trucks on the road.

Use alternative transportation. Walk, bike or use public transportation to reach a destination you normally drive to.

Decorate re-usable canvas tote bags. Your kids can personalize their own bags using fabric markers and fabric paint. Use them all year long for shopping, library books and sleepovers.

Visit Zoo Atlanta or the Georgia Aquarium. Discuss the way zoos and aquariums have changed over time with an ever-increasing emphasis on scientific research and species conservation.

Plan and plant your garden. Set aside a portion of the garden for your children, a special patch they can tend; let them choose what to plant.

Make Earth Cookies. Bake sugar cookies and decorate them with blue and green icing to represent Earth’s continents and oceans. Look at a globe or map for inspiration.

Volunteer for a neighborhood clean-up project.

Use only echo-friendly and reusable products all day to help your children think about what they can reuse; for instance, a refillable water bottle instead of a disposable one or cloth napkins instead of paper.

Clear the clutter. Search your home for items you no longer use and have your children do the same. Finding a new home for these things keeps them out of the landfill and saves manufacturing, transportation and packaging costs. Donate items to charity, hold a yard sale, sell items on a site such as Craigslist or leave them by the curb with a “free” sign.

Go for a hike. Visit your local park or a nature center or hit the trails at the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

Plant a tree. Arbor Day is officially the last Friday of April, the same week as Earth Day. Celebrate both days by joining a tree-planting group or by planting a tree on your own property.