Earth Day (April 22) is a great opportunity to introduce kids to the idea of environmental stewardship. And there are, in fact, a number of environmental stewardship projects that lend themselves to school-wide initiatives. I haven't bothered to add a lot of detail to this list of project ideas, because I'm sensitive to the fact that every school will have unique social, cultural, economic, and environmental factors that will impact how projects can realistically be implemented. Never fear: you'll find any missing information out there on the web, waiting to be useful.
So, why even bother to compile yet another list of Earth Day projects? Because while good ideas are out there, too many of the lists I kept finding during my teaching career were what you might call "stewardship-adjacent." While they might teach kids about nature or science, or involve generating non-specific "Save the World" messages, they're not designed to actually help the Earth (or teach the kids how to help the Earth) in any authentic way. To the extent possible, I've tried to keep this list focused on realistic, actionable initiatives.
Hope there's something here that you'll find helpful!
Planting Things. (Keep in mind that gardens don't have to be dug into the ground; rooftops, raised beds, and containers can offer more flexible alternatives for planting.)
- Challenge students to identify keystone plant species in their community and use the information to plan and participate in planting projects
- Have students research and plant fruits, vegetables, or spices, to reduce the quantity of goods that must be trucked across long distances. (Bonus: implement a plan for growing the foodstuffs organically)
- Have students make and deploy seed bombs (utilizing seeds from native species, of course)
- Have students raise native plant seedlings and give them away.
Helping Animals.
- Arrange for students to build and install bird or bat houses
- Arrange for students to build bee or bug hotels (ex: dead wood habitats)
- Have students plant a pollinator garden to support the health of local pollinators (bees, moths/butterflies, hummingbirds, bats, etc.)
- Challenge students to create mini-ecosystems to restore/promote biodiversity (ex: dead wood habitat, water garden habitat) in their community
- Have students create wildlife feeding stations (birdseed, peanuts, salt)
- Arrange for students to raise and release native ladybugs or butterflies
- Arrange for students to raise and distribute worms for people who would like to use them for composting
- Challenge students to select a specific endangered species, conduct research to become familiar with the factors that are threatening them, and then brainstorm actions that they can take to help address those threats
Helping the Earth
- Help students organizes and participate in a watershed or roadway cleanup
- Have students protect and/or repair an area that is experiencing erosion. (Most campuses have areas of grass loss due to high traffic - the perfect place to start)
- Arrange for students to label local storm drains with "anti-dumping" reminders
- Help students educate themselves about invasive species and then provide an opportunity for them to remove them
- Have students research local community environmental issues (ex: erosion, water/air/soil/noise/light pollution, overuse of fertilizers, destruction of habitats, flood plain destruction, sustainable development) and then write letters to their local legislators advocating for realistic solutions
- Help students write letters to their local legislators suggesting solutions for to a legislator about an environmental issue in your community
- Arrange for students to participate in a citizen science initiative, gathering data that will inform environmental stewardship initiatives
- With storms expected to increase in severity, challenge students to identify potential local flooding issues and brainstorm solutions
- Encourage students to identify an environmental cause that they feel passionate about and organize a fundraiser to support their chosen activity.
Educating Themselves & Others
- Challenge students to create an activity that will educate members of their community (school or beyond) about an environmental issues and what needs to be done to address the issue
- Arrange for students to research a specific environmental issue (ideally something an issue that's nuances, with multiple stakeholders) and then organize a class-wide or school-wide debate
- Encourage students to calculate their family's carbon footprint and, based on the results, brainstorm ways to reduce their family's greenhouse gas emissions.
- Encourage students to calculate their family's water footprint and, based on the results, brainstorm ways to reduce their family's water usage.
- Organize a school-wide book club focusing on books with environmental themes. Challenge students to brainstorm actions that could address the issues presented.
- Host a school-wide watch party of an environmental documentary then, afterwards, challenge students to brainstorm actions that could address the issues presented.
- Have students research local community environmental issues and brainstorm actions that could address the issues presented (or, better yet, identify actions that they can personally take to address problem)
- Arrange to have a speaker talk to your class or school about an environmental issue that requires addressing, then challenge your students to brainstorm actions that need to be taken to address the issues
Living a More Sustainable Life
- Have students research stewardship ideas, choose one, and sign a pledge committing to implementing the practice in their personal lives
- Have students create reusable bags that they can use for shopping
- Arrange for students to build composting bins and/or implement a compositing program at school or home
- Arrange for students to upcycle items that would otherwise be destined for a landfill
- Challenge students to make a plan for sustainable buying. (Ex: have kids list everything they're planning to buy in the coming month and then brainstorm ways to find more sustainable sources or alternatives)
- Challenge students to keep track of all the trash they generate in a day and then brainstorm changes they can make to generate less trash in future.
- Challenge students to brainstorm ways to reduce food waste at home or school
- Arrange for students to research vegetarian recipes and/or create a collaborative vegetarian cookbook
- Challenge students to create a plan to reduce energy use in the classroom or at home
- Challenge students to create a plan to reduce water usage in school or at home
- Organize a "bike or bus to school" day with the object of limiting individual car trips
- Have students sponsor an "e-waste collection" event and appropriately dispose of the waste they collect
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