Earth Day Observance
Apr 20th, 2008 by Bethany
Although I like to conserve energy and other resources, I admit I’ve never “celebrated” Earth Day. I remember hearing something about it in elementary school one year, and I think I’ve heard media references to it a couple of times, but I’ve never made a special effort to join the party. While I feel a little suspicious about what I assume are political-ish motives behind the origins of the observance, I do support efforts like recycling and re-using and reducing. So, thanks to a special request, here are a couple of ideas and resources for those who may be participating in the Earth Day efforts (you may even see me at it!).
Last month the Cub Scout theme was “Litter to Glitter.” You can see a copy of the programs for last month here: http://old.scouting.org/cubscouts/resources/34304/2008-03.pdf. I like the idea of having a bunch of regular household trash (“clean” trash) and having the group make something useful, fun, or creative out of it. The newspaper yo-yo could be fun to make with kids 7-11ish. Lots of good recycling-type games, too.
Take old, torn cotton jeans and make paper out of it.
Take a walk around your neighborhood and pick up litter.
Plant a vegetable or flower garden.
Plant a tree.
Buy a package or two of those energy-efficient light bulbs and use them to replace your regular light bulbs as they burn out (but finish out the old ones you have or they’ll end up in a landfill unused–what’s the good of that?).
Register to vote if you haven’t already. You can’t do much politically to help the environment if you can’t/don’t vote.
Turn off the water while you brush your teeth.
Take super-fast showers.
Ride a bike or walk somewhere you might have otherwise driven to.
Bethany–I just thought earth day would be a fun way to celebrate our earth and God’s creations, and made a great opportunity to teach the kids about some steps we can take to treat the world around us a little nicer. It’s been on the calendar for years–and I have no idea what political mismash is behind it nor has that ever concerned me, but I say if it makes for a day to celebrate EARTH and take note of what we can do better, it must be a great day!
Thanks for your ideas. Will check them out!!
Rachel, I’m glad you suggested it! You’re right–I looked it up and Earth Day has been around since the 1970s. The earth is a great gift and it’s a good opportunity to appreciate the things about it that we take for granted and do something extra to take care of it. Thank you for the reminder. Hmmm…I think making mud pies outside with the kids might make me appreciate the beautiful earth more than anything else. Maybe I’ll bring a bit inside with a houseplant…now that I have kids I understand why my mom had those macrame plant holders hanging from the ceiling–it was so that we couldn’t get to the plants and dump them on the floor!