There are many ways to celebrate Earth Day. To enjoy some great earth day activities, you should plan to visit a local park, teach children facts about nature, and learn about the importance of hurricanes and other natural events.

Earth Day is a great time to teach your kids about the importance of the environment. But Earth Day activities should be fun, as well as informative. If you are interested in celebrating Earth Day with your children, consider getting permission for hands-on activities like planting trees or flowers in your local park, or arrange lessons about the benefits of natural phenomenon.

Get Hands-On With The Ecosystem

The best activities for Earth Day are the ones that allow you and your children to get hands-on with nature. When you get the option to plant a tree, for example, your children become more invested because of their interaction with it. You can also explain how the tree acts as a filter for local water, prevents loose dirt and mudslides, and improves soil quality in the area.

Plant Flowers And Other Flora

Consider buying seeds for some small, easy to grow plants, such as flowers or beanstalks. When you plant these flowers, you can explain how seeds work, and demonstrate the importance of nutrient-rich soil, fresh water, and sunlight. And once they flourish, you can point out the importance of bees and pollination while adding new colors to your environment.

If you can plant a tree in your yard, or in a local park, that can be an entertaining activity that involves the whole family. Planting a tree helps to demonstrate how easy it is to kill a tree, and how long and difficult raising a new one to replace it is. It will also grow up with your children, giving them more attachment to their local environment over the years.

Build A Garden

If you can’t get permission to contribute to a local park or community, consider spending the day building a garden with your children at home. A garden is something your family can enjoy after Earth Day passes. There are many ways to recycle in a garden and protect the environment as well, such as recycling gray water and never throwing away yard trimmings.

Poor gardening and farming habits, like sending grass trimmings to a garbage dump, remove nitrogen and other vital resources from the soil. This can damage your land and the environment around it permanently. Thus, planting some local flowers or vegetables can be an excellent excuse to explain the dangers of ground-waste while enjoying a day outside.

Help Fight Pollution For A Day

Although it might not be as enjoyable for your family as visiting animals or planting a tree, many local communities pick up trash or clean up shorelines on Earth Day. These events can grant you a sense of community and are more enjoyable in a group. And once you’re done, your family will have an excuse to spend the rest of the day on a clean beach, or in a local park or forest.

Visit Areas Affected By Environmental Marvels Or Researchers

Even ecological researchers will easily admit that they don’t know everything about nature. Earth’s ecosystems are so complex that there’s always something new to explore. Consider arranging a lesson on subjects your family thinks it knows, like hurricanes. Explore the beneficial side of these natural phenomena, and how they improve the environment for wild animals and plant life.

Meet A Researcher

Ecologists study the relationship between animals or plant life, and their environment. Their research largely depends on public interest, so a visit from you and your family can help show the government how important their work is. And specific ecologists, like zoologists, might be able to teach your children about the lives of animals that are too dangerous to approach.

If your area has a local greenhouse or zoo, you may plan a day trip to one of those as well. Most greenhouses and zoos plan special events for Earth Day. Staff on hand may talk about uncommon or in-depth facts relating to the plants and animals. If you can’t go outside for Earth Day, these can be an excellent alternative for your family.

You can also teach your kids about water pollution and acid rain through fun experiments if you, a teacher, or a researcher possess PH paper. If you can purchase PH paper, you can have your family test normal water, and then chemically altered water. The paper changes colors, which can entertain children, and you or the researcher can explain the effects of acid rain as it does.

Look For Local Wildlife

Areas in the wilderness, like streams and valleys, are heavily affected by changes in the weather or seasons. If you’re interested in some fun Earth Day activities, consider taking your children to a local stream or forest if it’s safe. A stream, in particular, is a good place to explain rising and lowering water, and how that can enrich the soil with nutrients carried by the water flow.

A local stream is also a good place to find small water life, like crayfish or fish. You can also have your children dig for worms and other subterranean creatures in the soft, wet dirt. If the water is deep enough, consider teaching your children to fish. Just remember to use a catch and release policy!

Go Camping Or Hiking

Camping and hiking are great Earth Day activities. Some activities, like bird watching, are great ways to show how avian wildlife can contribute to the environment. But in case the birds don’t cooperate, you can still enjoy the day by hiking through a local, scenic forest or park.

If you plan a trip away from your local community, it can also be an excellent chance to demonstrate different ecosystems. If you live in an open area, plan a hiking trip up a hill or mountain, or vice versa. You can explain how weather and climate change may affect areas differently based on elevation and temperature while pointing at examples for your family.

Read A Lesson On Natural Phenomenon

While your kids might not think that studying and fun go hand in hand, these activities should challenge that notion. For Earth Day, look up a natural phenomenon like volcanic eruptions or hurricanes. Then, you and your children can look up ways these disasters shape or improve the local environment, and how animals have adapted to survive them.

Or if you have the ability, try visiting a beach or environment where these natural occurrences take place. You can often find natural phenomenon to point at that demonstrate the power of hurricanes or tropical storms. Rocks that have been bleached white by tall waves caused by hurricanes, for example, can show the height and ferocity of these events.

Join An Official Earth Day Activity

There are many annual Earth Day activities held by local and federal groups. Consider joining your city’s celebration of Earth Day. And if there isn’t a local campaign you think your kids would find interesting, check out the EPA’s list of Earth Day campaigns held by different government organizations to see if one of them appeals to you.

Play Word Searches, Learn Songs And Incorporate Existing Activities

Teachervision.com has a catalog of activities to teach children of all ages to enjoy Earth Day. Considering creating your games based on these ideas. A word search based on recycling, for example, can act as both a brain teaser and a fun activity to do while indoors.

You can also incorporate their favorite forms of entertainment. Teachervision.com suggests talking about deforestation using Treebeard for fans of the writer J.R.R. Tolkien, for example. But that idea can easily be adapted for your children based on their favorite cartoon animals or storybook characters.

Join An Earth Day Campaign

Even if you don’t have much time to spend outside during Earth Day, you can still take part in some Earth Day campaigns. NASA is holding a #GlobalSelfie event for those who have to work, or who have little free time on Earth Day. Simply step outside and take a selfie, then post it to social media. The intention is to encourage your friends and family to enjoy the outdoors more.

Hold A Local Cooking Event

Consider cooking outside, or creating a community meal like a curry. Use the event to explain the importance of natural ingredients like fruits and vegetables over processed sugars and sweets. You also get to explain the importance of farming and rural activities, and enjoy a delicious meal at the end.

To Summarize

There are many Earth Day activities for you to enjoy with your family. Consider going outside to hike, bird watch, or visit scenic natural environments. If you can’t do that, ask about planting a tree or starting a garden in your local area. Or take your children to visit a nature expert, join an Earth Day event, or create your own indoors activity to teach them the importance of nature.