The 42nd anniversary of Earth Day, April 22, is Sunday, and everyone ages zero to 100 can show their appreciation to Mother Nature and the planet. The first Earth Day was celebrated in San Francisco in 1970 to teach others how they can have a positive impact on the environment by reducing, reusing and recycling their resources. Today there are celebrations in over 100 different countries and countless ways we all can give back to the planet!
Here are five ideas for some Earth Day family fun:
- Get out and celebrate our great planet by attending a festival or event in your area. Most are free and open to the public and have something for everyone including fun games for children, organic foods and drinks, arts and crafts.
- Planning or attending a picnic is a low cost way to enjoy the nice spring weather and Mother Nature. You can share delicious dishes made from all-natural ingredients grown in your garden or purchased from a local farmers’ market.
- Movie fans in your family can help support the Jane Goodall Institute efforts to save chimpanzees by purchasing a ticket to see Disneynature’s Chimpanzee, during opening weekend. The film is being released on April 20.
- The little ones in your family will love getting their hands dirty learning to plant a garden or compost leftovers into food for nature’s smallest inhabitants. Children will better understand how food grows and can be used to strengthen their bodies’ and nature.
- Hosting family “contests” to see who can pick up the most litter or make the most creative crafts or costumes from things found in your home’s recycling bin is a great way to teach children about keeping the Earth clean and upcycling old things into new ones.
Pick one of these ideas today and start planning your Earth Day celebration with the entire family. Happy Earth Day!