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Activities to Encourage Environmental Stewardship in Kids (and You!) this Spring

ACTIVITIES
Egg-Carton Herb Garden
This is an easy and fun activity to get your kids involved in gardening and cooking healthfully.

Materials Needed: empty egg-carton; potting soil; herb seed packets (such as basil, oregano, thyme, and sage); Popsicle sticks; and plastic wrap.

  1. Punch a few small drainage holes in the bottom of each well.
  2. Fill wells with potting soil and plant seeds according to package instructions.
  3. Write the name of each herb on the Popsicle stick and place in backs of wells.
  4. Cover carton tightly with plastic wrap and set on a warm, sunny windowsill.
  5. When herbs sprout, remove plastic wrap and water every few days.
  6. Move to larger pots as necessary.

Passport to Adventure
(1) The State of New Jersey has a program entitled “Your Passport to Adventure in New Jersey’s State Parks, Forests & Historic Sites.” The program guide highlights a sampling of New Jersey's natural and historic treasures and provides a brief explanation of the location’s significance and contact information. When you visit a state park, forest or historic site listed in the guide, a sticker that represents a significant feature of the area will be placed in your “Passport.” Collect a minimum of 10 different stickers to receive a prize. Visit http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/passport/passport-index.htm for more information.

(2) REI, an outdoor adventure sporting goods and equipment store, also has a program where each store will provide free directions, maps and information for five local hike and bike trails. Kids also get an “Adventure Journal” passport, which they can take back to the store to be stamped after each outing; three trips earn them a certificate and a prize. Visit http://www.rei.com for more information.

BOOKS
Who's Hiding in the Backyard (Little Footprints)
by Autumn Publishing

This book encourages young children to explore and appreciate the habitats on their doorstep—a backyard, a park, a pond or lake, and a playground. Through coloring and activities, children will discover animals in their habitat as well as what threatens the future of these animals. This is a great coloring and activity book from a publishing company that specializes in green projects.

WEBSITES
These websites provide families with great information and ideas on how they can make a contribution to protecting the environment. Check them out! We think they’re great and know you will too.

http://www.carbonrally.com
Carbonrally is a web-based activism platform offering individuals and groups a fun, simple and social way to have a measurable impact on climate change. The website posts a featured “challenge” every few weeks, which suggests an action you can take to lower your CO2 emissions (e.g., change light bulbs to compact fluorescents; avoid bottled water; unplug your computer nightly). You can compare how you're doing at lowering your CO2 emissions to others involved with the website. You can also compete by creating or joining a Carbonrally team; the website’s “leaderboard” shows that top cities, teams and individuals. You can also post an idea for a new challenge, and socialize with like-minded individuals on a message board.

http://www.goinggreenfamily.com
Going Green Family is a website that provides resources and support to start Green groups. The website offers discussion guides—with a different environmental topic each month”that can be used to structure and lead groups of similarly-minded neighbors or friends.

http://www.zwaggle.com
Zwaggle is a national network of parents who have come together to share. It’s similar to EBay, only parents are recycling and giving away gently used items for free, including children's gear, schoolbooks, educational and other toys, and anything related to children and parenting. Parents earn points for items they recycle and can use earned points to obtain “new” things from the site.

http://www.truegreenconfessions.com
This is a forum for sharing environmental concerns. Writers use humor as well as serious conversation, and show that most of us are not perfect when it comes to being Green.


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