The Earth is an important part of everyone's lives, it is the place where all people eat, work, breathe and live. Without the earth there would be no people, thus it is crucial that people help take care of the Earth and its environment. Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22nd, 1970. Gaylord Nelson was a United States Senator from Wisconsin who was concerned about the widespread degradation of the environment. Coming up with the idea following a horrible oil spill off the coast in 1969, he organized an "environmental teach-in" to spread the word about the importance of taking care of the planet. Earth Day has been celebrated each year ever since by millions of people in hundreds of countries around the world. In more recent times, Earth Day has been expanded by some communities to an entire "Earth Week."
Do A Bottle Drive
Many bottles are thrown out every day and clog up landfills. Instead, these bottles could be recycled to make new bottles. A couple weeks before earth day the school could announce a bottle drive, either to students, teachers and parents or to the entire community around the school. Bottles can be dropped off at a certain location by parents and community members. Bottles should be handled by adults with appropriate safety supplies. Different classrooms or grade levels could have contests with each other to see who can bring in the most bottles. The bottles would get counted up at the end of the campaign and returned to a recycling center. Proceeds from the bottle drive could be used towards upgrading something at the school to make it more "green" or could be donated to a charity.
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Lesson Plan
Plant A Tree
Trees are beneficial to the environment. They help keep the air clean and beautify surrounding areas. Many trees are cut down every single day so planting a tree is one way to make a difference. Schools could use Earth Day as an annual tree-planting event on their campus. A tree could be planted each year for the sake of earth day, or the tree could be planted in honor of someone important in the school or community.
Learn More About Planting Trees
Plant An Earth Day Garden
Tending to a garden can be a rewarding experience for anyone, including kids. Teaching them to grow their own fruits and vegetables will be beneficial to their lives. Using the food grown in the garden is great because it is not only healthy, but free of pesticides and cuts down on the cost of transporting food.
Earth Day Craft Ideas
Crafts are a fun way for kids to get hands on with a project and the best part is that they can use items found around the household or classroom that would normally just get thrown away. They can be used as just for fun projects or the items the kids create can be made for something useful, such as pencil holders or flower pots.
Saving Energy
A great way to help the earth is to save energy and electricity. One way to do this is to turn off everything in the school for an hour. Turn off all lights, computers and anything that is plugged into the wall or uses electricity. Open the blinds and allow the natural sunlight to come through. Teach kids about earth day during this time and explain that turning off all electricity saves energy and helps the environment as well as saving money.
Lesson Plans For Teachers
Teacher's Guide To Climate Change and Global Warming
Making the earth a better place is something that everyone can participate in on any day of the week or any week of the year. It is important to recognize earth day every day and to teach kids how to take care of the planet they live on.