Lincoln County Conservation District
Earth Day Activities and Fun Facts
Earth Day is held on April 22nd every year. It began in the United States in 1970 to help raise awareness of environmental issues. The first international Earth Day celebration was held in 1990 and has been celebrated in countries around the world ever since. It is a day to learn about and discuss environmental issues and ways we can work together to save our earth for future generations. It is also a day to celebrate and appreciate nature.
Earth Day provides us all with a great opportunity to talk about the environment and things we can personally do to be more environmentally friendly.
It's a perfect occasion to plan some fun activities the whole family can enjoy together. Here are some of my favorite Earth Day activities:
Plant a Tree
Planting trees is an activity commonly associated with Earth Day, with good reason. Trees provide us with many benefits. They can help to reduce energy consumption by breaking winter winds and providing shade in the summer. They also provide shelter for birds and animals and help stabilize soil to reduce erosion, and they improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gasses by absorbing carbon dioxide.
Whether you plant a tree in your own yard or participate in a tree planting project in the community, this is a perfect Earth Day activity.
Clean up Your Neighborhood
Pick a local park, roadside or trail in your community and see who can collect the most garbage and recyclables. Be sure to have everyone wear gloves!
It's not a glamorous task, but this activity definitely reinforces the idea that we should not litter and makes the community more attractive for everyone.
Go on a Nature Walk
What better way to celebrate Earth Day than by getting out into nature? Go for a hike in the forest, or walk to a local pond or lake to look for wildlife and enjoy the scenery.
Be sure to bring along a camera to capture some of the beautiful sights you see along the way. Take some photos too, and maybe you can put together a nature photo album or collage.
Build a Bird Feeder or Birdhouse
Building a backyard birdhouse or bird feeder is a great project. Building things is fun, and attracting birds to your backyard will provide many opportunities to watch and learn about birds in your area all year long.
You can buy kits from a hardware store or toy store, or you can also find instructions online for building your own creation from recycled materials.
Plant a Garden
Growing your own vegetables and herbs is a great way to reduce your environmental footprint, and is a wonderful activity for the whole family. It's easy and fun to help care for the garden by watering and even weeding!.
Helping to grow your own vegetables you might find you actually like them.
Go Birdwatching
Earth Day is the perfect day to do a little birdwatching, either in your own backyard or while out on a walk. See how many different types of birds you can spot in a day. Borrow a bird identification book from the library, or take photos of the birds you spot with your camera and try to identify them by searching on the internet when you get home. Make a photo album or scrapbook of the different types of birds. Although not absolutely necessary, a pair of binoculars can help make bird spotting and identification a lot easier.
