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Earth Day Ideas for Schools
Earth Day is celebrated by schools, communities and organizations, which honored the first Earth Day in April of 1970. It reminds us to be better stewards of our earth. Please contact
Kathleen Rocco at 216-443-3731 if you would like a speaker for your Earth Day celebration. Please book several month in advance. Every day should be Earth Day, so have Kathleen come to your classroom for a
presentation.
For more information about Earth Day, please visit the Earth Day Network.
For information on Earthfest at the Cuyahoga County Fairground, a celebration in honor of Earth Day for Northeast Ohio, visit the Earth Day Coalition.
Here are some fun and educational project ideas:
- Plan an Earth Day Celebration and invite guest speakers.
- Do the Earth Day Coffee Jacket Project.
- Develop an environmental day at school.
- Do a zero waste lunch day or week.
- Conserve resources day by reducing the use of water and energy. For example, turn off the lights when students are out of room or when it is a sunny day, carry a water bottle, etc...
- Organize a bike or walk to school that day with the help of parents.
- Organize an anti-litter campaign for your community.
- Start an environmental club at your school.
- Feed a Tree. Each classroom or science class creates a bucket or bag of compost. Trees and plants can be planted with a special ceremony. Each classroom contributes a bucket of soil/compost.
- Growing worms:
- Materials: Plastic tub or bucket with lid, drill, bedding: shredded newpaper, cardboard, leaves, dried grass cuttings, dead plants, manure or peat moss; sand and soil, shovel, red worms called red wigglers; food waste: fruits and vegetables, coffee grounds, tea leaved, bread, eggshells.
- 1 square foot equals 1 pound of food wastes.
- Drill holes every 2 inches at top and bottom of container for air and water exchange. You'll need something to catch the liquid called worm tea.
- Add worms and food. Worms need to be kept in a warm place.
- Plant Bulbs: Each student plants a bulb around the school grounds. Get bulbs donated. Each classroom or grade should have special section around the school. Add signs for recognition.
- Speak out. Write your legislator asking your representatives to support environmental legislation. Tell companies to put their products in containers and bottles that can be recycled.
- Do a can-can. Raise money and recycle aluminum by holding a can drive. Fundraisers with recycling include ink cartridges, cell phones, paper and much more through TerraCycle.
- Save trees by participating in a paperretriever or river valley recycling program for paper, phone books and cardboard.
- Beautify your school. Maintain an adopt-a-spot for litter pickup or plantings around school and the neighborhood. Funding for bags and gloves can come from Cleanup Cuyahoga.
- Entertain others. Present an environmental play or puppet show to students in other grades.
- Go on a field trip to a nature center, landfill, recycling center, composting site, wastewater treatment plant, etc..
- Monitor a stream near your school.
- Inventory the trees trees in your school yard and other plant more.
- Hang buy recycled signs on items made from recycled materials or products that are recyclable in your local grocery store.
- Conduct a waste audit at your school. Start a school recycling program.
- Build blue bird, bat or butterfly boxes.
- Raise native fish and release in area ponds or rivers. Raise native plants and sell them.
- Create a rain garden at your school.
- Raise money and donate it to an environmental cause.
- Decorate a cloth shopping bag for your parents to take with them whenever they go to the grocery store.
- Attend EARTHfest and other environmental festivals around the region. Link to earth day coalition.
- Visit a green store like Earthfair, Nature's Bin, Wholefoods, Furry Nation, Revive, etc...