Celebrate Earth Day with this Family Conservation Challenge!

There are numerous ways in which we can contribute to preserving and minimizing our use of precious natural resources in our everyday lives. Children and teens can learn to become compassionate ambassadors of nature and its many gifts if they are taught to become aware of what can be done in their own homes to conserve energy and use resources. Celebrate Earth Day by taking the following Confident Parents, Confident Kids’ Conservation Challenge together!

1. Take a Home Tour with the Earth in mind!

Grab a notepad and pencil before you begin. Enter your front door and as you pass through each room ask the question:

• What energy is being used in this room right now (i.e. a computer on but not used, chargers plugged in, lamps plugged in)?
• What energy has the potential to be used in this room (i.e. lamps that are not turned on)?
• In what ways can we work on reducing the energy that we use here?
• In what ways can we work on using less water here?

Be sure to stop in the laundry room and bathroom and ask questions about how much water is used. For example, can you turn off the running water when you are brushing your teeth? Can you take shorter showers?

2. What Top Three Challenges Can You Adopt as a Family?

Maybe you’ll commit to turning lights off or unplugging appliances when not in use. Maybe you’ll turn your heat down by one degree. Or maybe you’ll only do laundry when you know the washer can be fully utilized. Set three goals for family members all to work on together.

3. Learn About Your Home Systems. 

Whatever challenges you decide to take on, part of that challenge can include learning about those systems of energy or water you are using. How does water leave and enter your house? Where does it go? How is it treated to make it safe to be used again? What about your heat? Where does it come from? How does it use energy? Where does that power source come from? Your exploration of household energy and water systems will deepen your own and your child’s ability to care and become compassionate about conserving.

Check out this “How Does Water Get to your House?” By SciShow Kids.

Or check out this video on “Energy Conservation for Kids — Heating and Cooling” by Horizon Utilities.

These ideas are all to explore inside your home and your interaction with the many resources you may take for granted. Walking outside and exploring nature together is yet another way to raise an environmentally-aware child. Check out the following ideas from the article, Celebrating the Earth – Ways Families Can Explore Nature through the Ages and Stages.

We also love Kind News, a newsletter for children that highlights stories of kindness between children and animals.

Our children and teens – as they grow in their sense of justice — can be important accountability partners reminding us that we need to be stewards of our environment. Learning together about the many ways we can care for the sustainability of our natural resources in our homes, our neighborhoods, our parks and local wildlife areas can extend our compassion and opportunity to teach our children to be empathic and contributing citizens.