How our kids can contribute to a greener lifestyle

Small things implemented collectively can make a huge impact. Below are some tips on how you and your kids can contribute to a cleaner and greener environment.

The power switch:One simple way we can conserve the earth’s resources is by not using more electricity than we need. Teach children to turn off lights when they leave a room and turn off the TV if they are not watching it.

Pull the plug: Even when turned off, electronics still consume energy when plugged in the electrical outlet. Conserve energy by teaching children to unplug their game systems, computers, chargers, or audio equipment.

Tighten up: Encourage children to check water taps in the house to make sure they are tightened and tell them that it is important to inform a grownup when a faucet leaks. A drop-per-second leak wastes about 2,400 gallons of water a year.

Turn off the tap: Water should not be running while children brush their teeth. Teach children to turn off the tap and reduce shower time to conserve energy.

Collect rainwater: Children often enjoy collecting rainwater. The next time it rains, place a pail or container outside and put a brick inside to prevent it from tipping over. When the rain has stopped, your children will have a fresh supply of water to feed household plants.

Use community resources: Learn about community resources and encourage children to find items that are new to them instead of purchasing new things. Book and toy libraries are great examples of this.

Pass it on: Sort through items with your children and find a local organization that will benefit from your donation. Children feel good knowing they are helping their community.

Litter free lunch challenge: Most disposable items can be replaced by reusable ones. Involve your children in finding creative ways to pack a healthy lunch that leaves no trash behind. Try inexpensive stainless steel cutlery instead of plastic, cloth napkins rather than paper, or thermoses and containers instead of disposable plastic or paper.

Reuse or recycle: Find creative ways to reuse household items. Make it a fun challenge for the entire family. Be creative and you will be surprised how easily an empty shoebox can turn into a storage container for photos and artwork. The possibilities are endless!

Bike or Walk: Encourage your children to walk or ride their bikes for short trips. For younger children, grab your running shoes and walk or bike with them.

With guidance, children will grow up to become stewards of the environment and their world will be a cleaner and safer place to live in. They are in other words the GreenBosses of tomorrow.

Ideas for kids on how to reuse and recycle

If you are about to throw away an old item, please wait and read below…

Did you know that leaving waste piling up in our landfills poses danger not only to the environment but also to our health? So instead of sending your trash directly to a landfill, why not double-check first whether the items we are about to throw away can be reused?

Here are some ideas on how you can turn waste into something useful.

Hanging Garden

We love sodas! Unfortunately, our favorite soda comes in plastic bottles that take at least 450 years to decompose. Instead of just ditching these plastic bottles to the trash bin, why not being creative and reuse them with a different purpose like a hanging garden.

• Pair of scissors or cutter
• Empty plastic bottles with lid/cap
• Used cardboard boxes
• Ruler
• Pen markers
• Seedlings
• Soil
• Sand
• Strings

How to do it

Safety Precautions: Since you will be working with sharp scissors, we recommend having your mom, dad or an adult to help you out.

1. Remove the labels on either side of your plastic bottle.
2. Wash and dry your empty plastic bottle.
3. Keep the lids/cap on the bottle to stop the soil from falling straight through the side.
4. Poke some holes in the bottom of your container using your scissor or cutter. These holes will act as a drainage. Tip: Heating the end of your scissors or cutter will help you poke through the plastic bottle easier.
5. Draw a rectangle in the middle of your bottle opposite the side with holes. This is an opening for your soil and seedlings. Once done, cut it out using your scissors or cutter.
6. Cut out your cardboard into strips and line the inner sides of your bottles with it, leaving the holes at the bottom clear. The cardboard box will act as an insulation for your soil, the same as what they get underground.
7. Mix the soil with sand: 2 parts soil to one part sand. The sand will help thin the soil and will allow the water to drain easier.
8. Fill the container with soil and sand mix. Then, plant your seeds giving enough space in between to ensure that they don’t overcrowd. You want the roots of your plants to have enough room to grow.
9. Water your seedlings and check if the drainage system you have done works and the water falls through the soil and out of the holes.
10. Determine your desired length for the string depending on how high or low you want your hanging garden to be.
11. Make a loop on one end of the string, wrap around one one side of the bottle and secure it properly. Do the same on the other side.
12. Hang your bottle on your garden wall. You may tie your string with hooks to keep it stable and straight.

Pencil Case with zipper

Getting tired of digging through your bag to find your pen? Get organized with this pencil case made from recycled plastic bottles.

Pencil Case with zipper

• 2 Plastic bottles (must be the same size)
• Cutter
• Acrylic Paint
• Paint brush or old sponge
• 1 Zipper
• Hot glue/Glue gun
• Ribbons or old cloth
• Old buttons
• Glitters

How to do it

Safety Precautions: Since you will be working with sharp scissors, we recommend having your mom, dad or an adult to help you out.

1. Remove the labels on either side of your plastic bottle.
2. Wash and dry your empty plastic bottle.
3. Heat up the tip of your cutter; heating up your cutter will make it easier to cut through the plastic bottle.
4. Begin by cutting off the tops of each of your bottles. Decide how long you want your case to be and cut down your bottles to appropriate size. (If you are creating a case for longer items like pencils or markers, you want to have 1 bottle long and the other one short. That way, the pencils can fit mostly down inside the longer end of the case and the shorter end will fit over the top of the pencils.)
5. Now it’s time to get creative. Paint the plastic bottle to whatever design you want - The ideas are limitless.
6. Take it outside to dry up.
7. Once dry, be sure that your zipper fits around your bottle with a slight overlap at one end. If it’s too long, cut some of the zipper from the two free ends - not the end with the zipper stop.
8. Now begin gluing one side of the zipper down to the inside of the bottle, with the correct side of the zipper facing outward. Be sure to give the zipper track a bit of space so that the zipper handle can function freely.
9. Continue gluing the zipper around the inner lip of the bottle edge and once you reach the end, overlap the ends of the zipper fabric onto the other end of the zipper and glue in place.
10. Do the same for the other part of the bottle. Start with the free zipper end and be sure that your bottle is positioned correctly.
11. Continue gluing until the other half of the zipper is completely attached.
12. Add in your pencils, pens or markers and VOILA! For instructions with illustrations, check out Ashley’s blog.