4 Ways Children Can Protect The Planet on Earth Day and every day
As parents and teachers, we often underestimate the change that children can make. At home, school, and in the community, children can be leaders in caring for the planet.
Below are just a few examples of what you can do to encourage your child and yourself to help make our planet the best that it can be for your child/ren and the children to come.
1. Find an alternative to bottled water at you next sports or school gathering.
While water is something that everyone needs, the containers that water comes in much of the time are harmful to our planet. Two thirds of plastic water bottles are never recycled. If they are incinerated, they release toxic fumes. It takes over 1.5 million barrels of oil each year to manufacture plastic water bottles for the United States market. This does not even include the oil that’s used to transport the bottle water to the market.
If you child is on a sports team where bottled water is regularly brought to games or practices, ask you child if they would like to talk with the other children on their team about finding an alternative to the plastic bottles.
If you are not ready to engage in a group effort, your child could start by bringing their own reusable bottle to events.
*if you do use plastic water bottles PLEASE RECYLCLE THEM!*
2. Have your child hold you accountable into taking reusable bags to the store
How many of you have reusable shopping bags laying around your house, BUT 9/10 times you don’t remember to take them with you to the store? Well, all you need to change this is your child to pester you into remembering. Explain to your child why you want to stop using so much plastic and tell them that you need their help! Before you set out to the store, it is their special job to gather up the reusable shopping bags.
After your child helps you unload the groceries, their job is to gather all the reusable bags and put them back in the car. This way you will not forget them next time. To add even more excitement to this special job, you can have a running tally of how many plastic bags you have avoided using!
3. Search for energy vampires – and zap them!
What are energy vampires you ask? They are home appliance that still use significant amounts of electricity even when they are in standby or charging mode. Some of the biggest culprits are, Video games, cell phone chargers, microwaves, and plugged in MP3 players.
One of the most direct ways to stop these vampires from sucking energy is to buy a smart power strip and plug items that are often on standby into them. If you do not want to have another expense, you can ask your children to help by walking around the house and looking for items that can be unplugged while you are not using them.
4. Participate as a family in the People’s Climate March on April 29th
On April 29th, thousands of people are expected to gather in Washington D.C. for The People Child’s March. There will also be sister marches in locations across the country. Participating as a family is a great way to spark conversation with your children about the democratic process and what actions are needed to protect the earth!
For more information about the People’ Climate March in the Rochester area, head over HERE!
Remember you can do these things today and EVERY DAY!