6 Earth Day Activities to Do with Your Grandchildren
Grandparenting
Audio By Carbonatix
By Carrie Lowrance, Crosswalk.com
Earth Day is coming up soon. On this day, people raise awareness of environmental issues, promote sustainability, and rally for collaboration to save our planet. The first Earth Day was in 1970, started by Senator Gaylord Nelson in response to growing concerns about pollution and environmental degradation. Here are some ideas to do with your grandkids this Earth Day.
1. Exploring Nature Walks: Discover Local Flora and Fauna
Taking a nature walk is a great way to celebrate Earth Day. Regardless of the terrain you’re on, whether it be a local park or a nearby wetland, you can see different plants and animals on your walk. Nature walks promote exercise and help your grandkids sharpen their observation skills, relax, and develop a deeper appreciation of our ecosystem.
Nature walks are great for everyone’s well-being, promoting reduced stress, improved mood, and mindfulness. There are many places you can take a nature walk, including community parks, botanical gardens, nature reserves, and forest preserves.
Start by observing the flora—the plant life in your local area. Observe trees, wildflowers, ground plants, shrubs, and vines. Next, observe the fauna, including birds, insects, and pollinators (such as bees), mammals (rabbits, deer, squirrels), reptiles, amphibians, and aquatic animals if there is a pond, stream, or marsh nearby.
Some tips for observation are:
-Walk slowly and quietly
-Listen
-Use your eyes at different levels (ground, trees, sky)
-Download a plant or bird app to help with identification
-Take notes and pictures
-Return regularly to explore in different seasons.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Dusan Stankovic
2. Gardening Together: Planting for a Greener Future
Gardening together is a great way to teach your grandkids about plants, life cycles, and how to start and grow their own garden. They will learn skills like cooperation, patience, and responsibility, and also produce tangible results that kids can enjoy. Who doesn’t love picking berries with their grandparents? You can also teach them about pollinators like bees and set up your garden to be useful to them by planting native flowers and avoiding harsh chemicals. Other things you can teach kids are about soil and water conservation. A garden is a fantastic learning experience for kids.
3. Creative Recycling Projects: Turning Trash into Treasure
When we think of recycling, we think about sorting aluminum, plastic, and paper into the right bin in our garages. However, creative recycling takes things a step further by transforming discarded materials into something useful, beautiful, and sometimes something new. This shows that trash can become a treasure with a little imagination.
Why Does Creative Recycling Matter?
Each year, we discard numerous items that could be used for alternative purposes. Creative recycling addresses this issue by:
-Reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills
-Saving money by reusing materials instead of buying new ones
-Encouraging sustainable habits
-Inspiring creativity and problem-solving
-Creating unique, handmade items with personal character
Ideas for Creative Recycling Projects
-Glass Jar Lanterns
-Tin Can Organizers
-Cardboard Drawer Dividers
-Old T-shirt Tote Bags
-Bottle Cap Magnets
-Egg Carton Flowers
-Newspaper papier-mâché bowls
DIY Bird Feeders: Attracting Wildlife in Your Backyard
Making homemade bird feeders is cost-effective, customizable, educational, eco-friendly, and creative. Before you get started, do a little research about the birds in your area and what they need during the colder months and winter.
Common types of bird food include sunflower seeds, Nyjer seed, peanuts, suet, fruit, and mealworms. Common offerings that are harmful to birds include salted snacks, bread, and anything spoiled or moldy.
Some ideas for bird feeders include pinecone bird feeders, recycled bottle feeders, orange half feeders, wooden platform feeders, and mason jar feeders.
4. Eco-Friendly Crafts: Fun Projects Using Recycled Materials
Why Choose Eco-Friendly Crafts?
Crafting with recycled materials has more benefits than just creativity. Other benefits include;
-Repurposing items instead of throwing them away helps to reduce household waste.
-Saving money by using items you already have
-Teaching your grandkids about sustainability
-Encouraging creativity by problem-solving and reuse
-Creating pieces that are one-of-a-kind, just like your grandkids
These kinds of crafts are also a great introduction to upcycling, which means turning unwanted materials into something of a higher value or usefulness.
Materials to Save for Craft Projects
Here are some great things to save for doing crafts with your grandkids.
-Cardboard boxes
-Toilet paper and paper towel rolls
-Glass jars
-Tin cans
-Old clothes
-Old newspapers and magazines
-Scrap fabric
-Bottle caps
-Plastic bottles
-Broken jewelry or buttons
-Leftover string, ribbon, and wrapping paper
Craft Ideas
-Paper Roll Animals
-Toilet Paper Roll Binoculars
-Cardboard Box Robots
-Egg Carton Caterpillars
-Newspaper Hats
-Plastic Bottle Bird Feeders
Tips for Successful Crafting
-Wash and dry materials before use
-Sort items by type so they are easily accessible
-Use safe tools that are age-appropriate
-Consider the item's durability if you will handle it often.
-Combine materials for a polished look
-Reuse leftovers from one project for another.
Outdoor Clean-Up: Teaching Responsibility for Our Planet
Cleaning up outdoors isn’t just about picking up trash; it’s also a great way to teach your grandkids about taking responsibility for our planet. By taking part in a clean-up effort, kids can see how polluted our highways, parks, sidewalks, and other areas are.
Why Does Outdoor Clean Up Matter?
Litter and waste are signs of environmental neglect. Things like paper wrappers, plastic bottles, and cans may seem like a small issue, but they can lead to more serious problems, such as clogged drains, harm to animals, contamination of our soil and water, and making public places much less enjoyable.
Teaching Responsibility through Action
One of the best ways to teach your grandkids is to let them do some hands-on learning. Outdoor clean-up projects let them take meaningful action. For example, when they pick up trash on their playground, they will learn their choices matter. They will notice how easily and fast trash can pile up and defile a place that should be beautiful and enjoyable for both kids and their parents. This will also develop character traits like accountability, teamwork, respect, empathy, and consistency. There are also many educational benefits, such as expanding vocabulary and learning about unfamiliar concepts like recycling, pollution, conservation, and sustainability by seeing these concepts in action. Some examples of this include:
-Counting and categorizing the trash they collect
-Discussing what is recyclable and non-recyclable
-Researching how litter affects wildlife
The things that kids learn during outdoor clean-up projects can instill habits that last a lifetime.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Westend61
5. Nature Scavenger Hunt: A Fun Way to Appreciate the Outdoors
A scavenger hunt is an outdoor activity in which people look for specific natural objects, features, or signs of wildlife. Some things your grandkids may look for are a smooth rock, a bird feather, or a pinecone. Kids can check off what they found on a list rather than disturbing the environment.
This activity benefits your grandkids in various ways.
-Encouraging observation skills
-Making outdoor time more engaging
-Supporting learning
-Promoting mindfulness and relaxation
-Helping build an appreciation for the environment
Fun themes for scavenger hunts include picture scavenger hunts, color scavenger hunts, sensory scavenger hunts, and seasonal scavenger hunts.
Planning a Scavenger Hunt
-Choose a location
-Decide on a theme
-Create the list
-Set rules for safety and respect
Learning About Endangered Species: A Virtual Zoo Tour
If your grandkids love animals, taking a virtual zoo tour is a significant Earth Day activity. Through videos, interactive exhibits, live webcams, and educational resources, they are a great way to teach them about endangered species of animals.
What Does Endangered Mean?
An endangered species is an animal or plant that has a high probability of becoming extinct in the wild. When something becomes extinct, it disappears forever. Many factors, such as habitat loss, pollution, climate change, hunting, invasive species, or disease, can endanger species.
Scientists and conservative organizations study species closely to determine how endangered they are. This matters because every species plays a role in our ecosystem. If one species disappears, it affects the food chains, plant growth, and the balance of nature.
Why Virtual Zoo Tours Are Valuable
Virtual zoo tours are valuable not only for their convenience but also for making wildlife education accessible, raising awareness, supporting learning at home, and encouraging action.
Kids can also learn how they can help endangered species.
6. Creating Earth Day Art: Expressing Love for the Planet
Earth Day is an accessible way for kids to learn about environmental care. Earth Day art can bring people together to protect the environment.
Getting Started with Earth Day Art
-Choose a theme like nature’s beauty, protecting the earth, climate and change, reuse and reimagine, hope for the future, or human connection to nature.
-Choose the right medium, like drawing and painting, collage, sculpture, murals and posters, and mixed media.
Earth Day Art Ideas
-Recycled material animals
-Handprint Earth Poster
-Nature Collage
-Scenes from before and after, illustrating a polluted environment compared to a clean one.
-Tree of Hope: Create a painting or drawing of a tree, then incorporate your hopes, promises, and actions for the planet.
-Earth Day Mandala (Create art using natural elements)
-Ocean Protection Artwork
There are all kinds of activities you can do on Earth Day with your grandchildren. Talk with them about what matters most to them, and plan crafts and activities to help them learn about and actively protect the planet.
Related:
What Does it Mean to Celebrate Earth Day From a Christian Perspective?
Earth Day: Celebrating God’s Creation with Your Children
