Ways you can get your children passionate about the environment
More and more people are now paying attention and starting to take action to help protect our amazing planet. From small eco everyday swaps to completely transforming your way of life, everyone is starting to do their bit. It is said that our children are the future generation that will help save the planet with a lot more of them growing up more aware and educated about the environment and the steps we can take to help protect it.
Without meaning to sound like Whitney Houston, children are our future. They are the ones who will be negatively affected by the decline in the environment, but they are also the ones that can lead the change to help protect it. We love seeing and hearing about children being passionate about the environment and wanting to help do their bit, so much so we want to encourage as many children as possible to care about the planet.
We wanted to share some of our favourite ideas and some fun activities to help inspire our children to care about the planet and help make a difference for their future.
Recycled arts and crafts
Who doesn’t love a bit of arts and crafts? It’s an activity every child loves to get involved in and let’s them show off their creative side. But why not add in some environmental lessons too by focusing on using recycled everyday objects such as loo roll or egg cartons. This is a great way to show your children that things that are typically classed as ‘rubbish’ can be transformed into something else and given a second life. Let their imagination run wild creating new and exciting things out of rubbish. Check out our recycled arts and crafts blog for some inspiration to get you started.
Plant a seed
We promise you your children will be fascinated with this activity. Help them understand how nature grows and that every plant, food or fruit starts its life from a simple seed with this activity. They will love watching and nurturing a tiny seed to transform into a strong living thing, and fingers crossed, into something they can actually eat or a flower they can love. It can be as simple as a bean or a sunflower in a plant pot on your windowsill, or if you have the space you could go big by planting a veg patch or apple tree.
The whole idea is to show them the life cycle of products and how a small seed can bloom into something so beautiful that we would normally take for granted.
Nature Bingo
This is one the whole family can get involved in and can be played over and over again. The idea is simple, just prepare some cards with pictures of various objects, animals and nature you can find outside and set your children on the hunt to tick off as many as they can as quickly as they can. Head out to your garden or local park with the bingo cards ready to go and let the hunt begin! Choose sights such as trees, an acorn, a ladybird etc and let your little ones explore the nature that surrounds them every day.
You can either make your own cards, make it into an arts and crafts activity too by getting your children involved, or you can simply print off some we made earlier here.
Recycle
Recycling is a key activity for helping to tackle the waste problem that the world is facing. Teaching your children from an early age how to reduce, reuse and recycle objects will help inspire them for the future. There are a number of ways to get kids interested in recycling, whether it’s learning about the process of recycling and its benefits or actually engaging in the process of recycling themselves by reusing old materials in fun new ways. Getting them involved from the beginning can really help them to understand what can or can’t be recycled and why. For example, you could simply ask them which bin they think an object should go in and why when the times comes to throw things out.
Or you could turn it into a fun game by using print outs of household waste products and they have to assign the object to the correct bin. Create a point system or hints and tips to make it even more engaging for your little one. They will pick up the trends and themes very quickly and be recycling professional in no time that will stay with them for life and change their whole behaviour towards recycling.
Let them explore
There is no better way to show how beautiful and special our planet is by letting them see for themselves. To get your little one passionate about protecting the planet, you have to show them what they are actually trying to protect so they can love it and see it in all it's glory. It might be difficult for your children to get passionate about something they don't fully understand or if they never get to experience the wonder and beauty that is the outdoors.
Encourage their sense of adventure by going on bike rides, foraging or even camping so they can explore the great outdoors and see for themselves the beauty the nature.
Set an example
Your child looks up to you for guidance and you are often their most important role model. Help them to understand and learn about the environment in the best way by setting an example by taking small actions yourself to change your behaviour to help the planet so they can effortlessly follow in your footsteps. Children love to imitate and copy what adults do, so what better way to educate them and ignite their passion for the environment than doing it as a family too!
These fun but educational activities will help teach your children the simple things they can do to make a big difference and help encourage their love for the planet. These are just some ideas and inspiration to get you started, but as your little one grows and learns more, the opportunities to get them interested in helping the planet are endless. Our belief is that even the little things can make a big difference so try to start small but dream big, you might end up finding your little one’s passion for the environment and help make a huge difference to the world!
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