Ways to Celebrate Earth Day as a Family and Enjoy the Outdoors

Earth Day is a time to celebrate the beauty of our planet and learn how to protect it.  And this week, I’m sharing ways you can celebrate Earth Day as a family!

Earth Day is an important time to teach kids about how our planet takes care of us, and why it’s so important to take care of our planet.  It’s never too early to start teaching children these important lessons.  And one of the best ways to educate kiddos is by modeling positive behaviors yourself!  By getting kids involved in caring for the planet, you are encouraging them to continue these practices as they get older. 

So, here are some of our favorite ways to celebrate Earth Day as a family.  Not only are these activities fun for all ages, but they also help make the planet a happier and healthier place to live!

Get Planting

Earth Day is a wonderful time to begin growing a garden, planting trees, or volunteering with community gardening efforts.  While gardening, discuss with your kids the negative effects of deforestation and explain the positive effects planting can offer. 

If you’re planting flowers, explain to kiddos how flowers support pollinators, who in turn help our plants produce and flourish.  If you grow a vegetable garden, explain how the plants not only provide food for us, but also food and shelter to wildlife. 

My kids love planting milkweed because it feeds monarch caterpillars and butterflies.  Every year we get to admire all the monarch butterflies that flock to our garden!

Go on a Litter Hike

Grab some gloves and garbage bags and help clean up the community! 

This is a great time to explain to kids the dangers of litter in the environment.  Point out how animals may accidentally ingest or be hurt by carelessly discarded trash.  Litter can also leech chemicals into the soil plants grow from.  To protect the Earth, we need to be responsible with discarding trash and recyclable materials.

While this may sound like hard work, this is a great way to get kids outdoors.  And if you have a child like my six-year-old, they are always finding “treasures” amongst others’ trash!

Get Crafty

There are tons of great crafts you can make as a family to celebrate Earth Day.  You can use recycled materials to make an animal feeder or birdhouse, make seed bombs to give as gifts, or nature crowns from found objects on the ground.

Or simply make an art project with natural items you find outside such as leaves, rocks, petals, and grass!

Here are some great crafting projects to help you celebrate Earth Day:

• Wildflower Seed Bombs from Run Wild My Child
• Milk Carton Bird Feeder from recyclart.org
• Upcycled Birdhouses from Tom’s of Maine
• Nature Crowns from Laura Radniecki
• Bug Hotel from Red Ted Art
• Nature Art Craft from Made With Happy

Learn About Conservation Efforts at Your Local Accredited Zoo

AZA-accredited zoos are great places to learn about wildlife and habitat conservation.  Each year, our local zoo hosts Party for the Planet with special Earth Day-focused events and learning opportunities for visitors.  Attending this event is one of the highlights of our Earth Day celebration!

During a zoo visit, kids can enhance their understanding of local wildlife and learn why it’s important to protect these animals and the places they live.

Get Outside

Simply spend some time in the great outdoors and appreciate Earth’s natural beauty with your family!

You could do a nature scavenger hunt, go on a bike ride, try a kid-friendly yoga session, or have a picnic at your favorite park.

Taking time to appreciate the wonders of nature will remind kiddos why it’s so important to preserve it.

Watch An Eco-Focused Documentary or Movie

After a busy day of appreciating Earth’s beauty, kids are probably ready to take it easy and relax.  But the learning doesn’t need to end there!

To commemorate Earth Day, Disney+ has tons of great documentaries and films in their Earth Month collection.  The vast catalog highlights conservation and nature-themed content to inspire audiences to celebrate our planet.  Your family is sure to find many things to pique their interest!

For younger children, consider watching an eco-focused movie such as WALL-E, The Lorax, or Fern Gully.  These are just a few of our favorites that share a common theme: to love and preserve our planet.

Pick a film that kids can relate to, but still relays the important messages of celebrating Earth Day!

Read Eco-Friendly Books

We end our evenings reading together, and a great way to end your Earth Day celebration is to read an eco-friendly book together.  Reading stories that inspire action instills the importance of loving and caring for our planet in children. 

My go-to is The Lorax, which also happens to be my favorite Dr. Seuss book.  I love the powerful message that it takes people who care to change the world for the better.  I can’t help but get choked up!

For a great list of eco-books for kids, check out Green + Simple!  If you have a favorite Earth Day book, let me know in the comments!

I hope you enjoyed these ideas of how to celebrate Earth Day as a family! 

When we celebrate Earth Day as a family, we can get back in touch with nature and give back to our planet and its inhabitants.  And by teaching our children how to care for our planet, we ensure a brighter future for us all.

Looking for other holidays to celebrate as a family?  Check out our Family-Friendly Valentine’s Day and New Years Eve Party!

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