7 Earth Day Games and Activities for Kids

As you may know, Earth day is fast approaching. If you check your calendars, you’ll find that it’s set to take place on the 22nd of April, in a world where environmentally friendly initiatives are more important than ever.

With even big corporate companies falling in line to aid the planet, it’s critical that we as a collective raise awareness for this event.

Celebrating Earth Day

Earth day is an initiative formed in 1970 that aims to promote a clean and sustainable environment for all of us to co-exist on the planet. It began with one day set aside in the United States for environmental preservation.

However, in the meantime, the same day was transformed into a global phenomenon that aims to provide support for environmental protection and make plans to save the planet.

Ultimately, this is a celebration that wants to trigger people’s attention towards nature and saving the planet, and shows that the change starts with one person.

Every person on the planet acting as an individual can still make a massive difference in saving the environment. If everyone would share the same respect for the environment, then the world would only benefit and we would all be able to co-exist in a flourishing and vibrant environment.

For this reason, it’s very important to teach the young generation about environmental protection. We must give them the information and the tools they need to save the planet.

The young generation seems to be more interested in environmental protection, because they learn about nature in schools and at home using a wide variety of fun activities that are very appreciated by kids.

Fun Games and Activities for Children Promoting Environmental Protection

Here is a list of fun games and activities that could help your children learn about sustainable living.

1. Plant a Tree

This is something that is often done as a wide initiative in the class or school.

Kids planting trees, image source: intelligentliving.co

However, this can also be done at home, where kids can plant a tree and learn about the importance of having a large number of trees in nature. They have to learn that trees are turning CO₂ (carbon dioxide) into O₂ (oxygen), which improves the quality of the air that we all breathe.

They also have to learn how trees are serving as habitats for wildlife, the dangers produced by deforestation, and how can we replace these natural resources by planting new trees every year.

If you want to find out what trees are best for planting at home and how to care for them after that, you only have to visit a local garden center to find out specialized information.

2. Recycling Races

The idea of recycling is something that children should learn from a pretty early age.

Kids recycling plastic bottles, image source: bbc.co.uk

Being aware of what is happening with their own waste is the key to being mindful about binning it correctly. A fun game that can be played in classrooms is the recycle race.

To play this game, you have to split all children in the class into several teams with the objective of placing all the waste items into the correct bins. For example, you can use a standard bin for non recyclable items, a bin with the recycling symbol for the recyclable items and another bin for bio-degradable items.

This will teach the kids how to put the waste into the dedicated bin, and will help them to better understand what environmental protection actually is. Such a lesson will prepare them for the future where they will live in a sustainable way by protecting nature.

3. Outdoor Games

Kids love to play outdoor games and this is another way of teaching them about sustainable living.

Outdoor games for kids, image source: ourglobalclimate.com

By teaching them how important is to have a clean nature, will also teach them to appreciate a clean environment. You can start by organizing a walk outside in nature, where you will let the kids run through the forest or countryside, while educating them about the importance of trees, plants and wildlife for keeping a clean and healthy environment.

You can also organize outdoor games, which will help the kids to feel the togetherness and teamwork among them. Games like Tetherball, Ladder toss, or even Cornhole, are all excellent outdoor options.

4. Earth Day Art Projects

A great way to both raise awareness for the event, plus helping children appreciate the natural environment is through art projects made using only items available in nature. Again, this is something that can be done both in the classroom and at home.

When kids are tasked with finding their own items in nature for artistic purposes, it urges them to get their hands dirty, become one with the environment and also allows them to build a tactile and personal relationship with the planet itself.

Working outdoors, will help the children develop a relationship with nature, which hopefully continue throughout their adult lives. At the end, they will get a spectacular piece of art created using only natural items and the talent of the kids.

If you need some inspiration in your work, here are some amazing examples.

5. Creature Spotting

This is an activity that works best on family outings or planned school trips. It involves children being exposed to natural habitats to watch and interact with wildlife.

Searching for tiny creatures on the shore, image source: mumsgrapevine.com.au

This may be through finding birds, bugs and squirrels in the local forest.
If you live close to a coastal area, you can also plan a visit with the kids there to investigate the rock pools to find crabs and other crustaceans.

Planning these trips will allow the children to learn about wildlife in its own habitat.

At the same time, they can learn the importance of protecting these natural habitats where all these animals live.
They will learn how to protect the forest by keeping it clean and by using less paper (which can save the trees).

They will also learn how vulnerable are these habitats and the animals living there, and how can we conserve the habitats to benefit from their beauty even in the future when the young generation will become adults.

6. Photography Competition

This is something that can be done in the school. Though you will often find that local communities can run initiatives like this all year long. The premise is pretty simple. Children will often be given an area to work within or a theme to stick with. This may be a park or a theme that involves photographing the fauna in its habitat.

From there, the children will be tasked with capturing the most captivating and fascinating image that meets the criteria. It allows children to see the beauty of nature in their own community. Plus the importance of maintaining nature through a sustainable lifestyle. Here’s a list of competitions involving such activities.

7. Building Nests and Feeders

To supplement the lessons of trees planting (which can clean the air and protect natural habitats), it is also important to promote the protection of the birds living in those trees. This is an activity that can be done at home with the aid of a parent or in the classroom with the help of a teacher.

Children can create custom nests for their aviary friends. Or alternatively a handmade bird feeder to place it in the garden or in a local area.

These outdoor activities will allow the kids to actively care for wildlife, which is very important in a world with a changing climate produced by the reckless human activity on the planet.

Conclusion

This is a good list of fun and interesting Earth day activities for children. Have you tried any of these yourself? Or are there any ideas that you want to share with us? Please let us know in the comments section.