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Growing Up Green
9 ways to foster a love for the environment from an early age
Now’s the time to teach your children greener habits that will last a lifetime. Here are easy (and wallet-friendly!) ways to involve the whole family in making your home and garden more eco-friendly.
1. Spend as much time outdoors as possible. Many environmentalists say family picnics, hikes, bike rides and trips to the beach sparked their interest in the planet. Who knew saving the Earth could be so much fun?
2. Turn out the lights. The energy used in the average home over a year can put twice as many greenhouse gases into the air as the average car. Simple things can make a big difference: Switch the lights off whenever you leave a room, even if it’s for just a few minutes; remind your children to turn off the TV and computer when they’re finished; and unplug chargers for electronic toys when not in use can make a big difference!
3. Recycle your recycled paper. Every American uses about 700 pounds of paper each year, so introduce your children to the recycled symbol on the paper products you buy, then recycle your paper when you’re done! A ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees. Also, teach your little ones to use both sides of a sheet of paper and to think before hitting the print button on the computer.
4. Bring a tote to the grocery store. Plastic bags, which are made from petroleum, can remain in landfills for 1,000 years or blow away and harm marine life. In the U.S.,100 billion of them are thrown away every year; yet incredibly, less than 1% of plastic bags are recycled.
5. Take your kids to a local farmer’s market. The average fruit or vegetable travels 1,500 miles from farm to table in the U.S. Buying directly from farmers cuts down on fossil fuels and packaging. You will probably even save money. Visit www.localharvest.org to find a market in your neighborhood.
6. Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth. This small gesture can save as much as eight gallons of water a day, or about 200 gallons a month. The Environmental Protection Agency says that’s enough water to fill a fish tank capable of holding six small sharks!
7. Help your kids organize a garage sale. Rather than throwing out old or unused items, let your kids learn firsthand about passing them along to others. What’s more, the proceeds can be donated to the non-profit of their choice.
8. Weigh your weekly garbage. Make it a family project to see if you can bring the weight down by recycling more or composting. We each produce 4.6 pounds of garbage a day, so there’s plenty of room for improvement!
9. Ask your children to help sort plastics by recycling code. A fun project for little ones who are just learning to count and read numbers, this activity can also be quite useful. A recycling code — found on bottle labels — is a number, with arrows around it. Representing polymer type, Code 1 and 2 plastics are recycled most often; they account for about 90% of all plastics. To find out what your community recycles, go to www.nrc-recycle.org and click on “Consumers” for links to your local government department of sanitation.
Lori Bongiorno is the author of Green, Greener, Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-Smart Choices a Part of Your Life (Perigee, March 25, 2008).
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These are all really good ideas! Save some money too!