20 Kid-Friendly Earth Day Activities to Enjoy All Year

Bitsy’s Brainfood co-founder, Maggie Patton encourages families to involve kids in Earth Day, to teach them that they can make a difference.

“When it comes to my own family and taking action on Earth Day, we like to think globally, and act locally. There are so many simple ways to get the whole family involved in celebrating Earth Day,” Patton says. Below, she provides 20 kid-friendly Earth Day activities that can extend into loving the environment every day.

20 Kid-Friendly Earth Day Activities

Compost your fruit and veggie scraps and watch your garden bloom!
Buy, fill and refill reusable water bottles — help keep millions of single-use plastic bottles out of landfill.
Save a tree! Use both sides of your notebook paper.
Visit a zoo or farm and learn how to care for animals. It’ll promote local food, too.
Go for a family walk or bike ride and help keep the Earth cool.
Get everyone a pair of work gloves and pick up trash in your neighborhood or town.
Buy or make your own green cleaning products and spring clean your home.
Grow a community garden and nourish your neighborhood green spaces.
Plant more trees in your town — they’ll help clean the air.
Help remove stuck plastic bags out of trees. And switch to reusable bags instead … for everything!
Make an appointment with your town leaders to add more neighborhood trash cans and recycling bins — or start a recycling program.
Collect glass food jars to paint and turn into candle holders (and use soy-based candles!).
Love surprises? Plant bulbs and flower seeds and keep a weather eye for spring blossoms!
“Turn off the lights!” Make switch plate reminders for your whole house.
Show your kids the beauty of the beach. Collect shells and rocks for art projects.
Make extra food for dinner then ditch BPA-lined plastic and get glass storage containers instead for leftovers.
Transform colorful magazine pages, comics and more into artful projects and gift wrappers.
Learn how to donate/recycle old computer equipment and post instructions (with permission, of course) at your local library, cafes, electronics stores and more.
Breathe in nature: Turn off the a/c and open a window to the world.
Just get outside and play!