Celebrating Earth Day in School

April 22, 2014

Happy Earth Day! Each year on April 22, events are held all around the world to show support for environmental protection. 1970 brought the first Earth Day celebration, and since then it has been picked up by the Earth Day Network and continues to be recognized as a day where we honor the Earth and show our dedication to protecting the world we live in. In honor of this special day, we’ve compiled a list of activities that you can use in your classrooms to emphasize the importance of going green and acting in environmentally responsible ways. In fact, these activities can be used in your classrooms all year long to remind students how they can help our planet. The following are some Earth Day activities that you can implement in your schools:

Walk, Bike, or Carpool to School: During the week of April 22, encourage students to take environmentally friendly means of transportation to school. Start by sending home a permission slip asking parents if their children may walk or bike to school. If this option appears to be unfeasible, suggest that families carpool as a way to reduce the amount of pollutants that are emitted – you’ll also reduce the amount of  traffic before and after school!

Earth Day English Lesson: Collect books from your school’s library dedicated to recycling, pollution, global warming, or other environmental issues. Then spend some time teaching students how they can help eliminate some of these problems. For an extra activity, consider handing out a word search or crossword puzzle where students can work in groups to find Earth Day related words.

Collect Donations: During the week (or all throughout the year), place a box in your classroom to collect donations. Ask students to bring in art supplies, old books, backpacks, and folders that can be donated to local charities, libraries, or shelters.

Liter-free Lunch: Hold a contest where classes compete to have the least amount of garbage left over from lunch. This can be a contest held specifically on Earth Day or each week throughout Earth Month. To help students get started, suggest that they begin to pack their lunch in lunch boxes rather than paper bags and bring drinks in thermostats instead of using plastic bottles.

“Green” Announcements: Throughout the day, week, or month, choose students to recite interesting environmental facts over the loud speaker. Instead of handing students the facts, allow them to work in groups to find facts on their own and see what they come up with. Then, give each group a specific time when they can announce their fact of the day.

For more Earth Day activities, click here.

Although it only comes once a year, it’s important to spend time focusing on the environment all year long. After all, without our planet, where would we be?

At Nickerson Corporation, we are committed to environmentally friendly business practices and partner with manufacturers who express the same values. In addition to supplying products that are created with the environment in mind, we supply a variety of classroom furniture that can assist you in implementing effective classroom activities. Products include tables, chairs, desks, white boards, shelving and more. For more information, call us today at 631-666-0200.