Making Earth Day Meaningful

Earth Day was first celebrated on April 22, 1970, Over the years, it has become a tried and true opportunity to build student awareness of environmental issues.  Many schools have symbolically celebrated the earth with tree plantings and litter clean-ups. 

Today, our planet’s future is at more risk than ever before. Here are some options for you and your students to step-up your actions and make a bigger impact on Earth Day 2019:

     *  Work with your students to identify the top three wasteful practices in your school and spearhead policies to address these issues.

     *  Set up a Skype/video conference with a representative from your local recycling center to learn more about your recycling program.  Here are some questions you can ask:

              -- What materials are recyclable in our community?

              -- What percentage of the recyclable materials picked-up in our community are actually recycled?

              -- What can students do to increase the likelihood that their recyclables will actually be recycled? Are better habits needed to wash, sort or otherwise prepare recyclables before putting them in the bin?

     *  Start a “Personal Action” campaign.  Students can identify the items their families buy on a regular basis that utilize wasteful packaging and determine steps they can take to use fewer resources.  For instance, your students can:

              -- Eliminate the use of plastic produce bags by taking small mesh bags to the grocery store.

              -- Purchase produce directly from farmers or grow their own to eliminate the need for packaging.

              -- Buy dry (grains, beans, nuts, etc.) items from the bulk section of the grocery store and reuse the containers.

              -- Refuse plastic straws at the drive-through—buy a reusable straw, or drink without one.

              -- Carry a reusable water bottle and completely eliminate single-use drink containers.

Whatever you do for Earth Day, giving your students a sense of how they can personally make an impact on Earth’s future may be particularly inspiring for them.