With the summer holidays finally here, there’s plenty of extra time to fill with the kids. With busy summer schedules starting to fill up, it’s a great idea to take some time to book in some eco-friendly and most importantly fun activities for your kids to enjoy. Not only will they be sure to keep the kids busy and learning all things ‘green’, there’s also the added benefit of them being kind to the environment. Here’s 8 eco-friendly activities for kids to get involved in this summer, all sure to help save energy, prevent waste and protect the earth.
1. Plant A Garden
Planting a garden is one of the best eco-friendly summer activities for kids because it offers so many benefits. Firstly, it’s a wonderful way for kids to embrace and learn about nature, where our food comes from and the scientific process involved growing. It’s also incredibly rewarding and your kids will probably enjoy knowing their actions helped make things grow. Whether it’s fruits, vegetables, garden plants or a flower patch, we recommend looking for things that prefer a warm soil or summer conditions- this way you will see progress throughout the next month or so.
2. Set Up a Rainwater Collection Point
This eco-friendly activity goes hand-in-hand with planting a garden! Getting your kids to embrace the bad weather and set up a water collection point in your garden is a wonderful way to re-cycle the rain and use it to water the garden. It’s also a great opportunity to teach your kids about water conservation and perhaps you could even encourage them to find other ways to save water at home or find other uses for the collected rain water.
3. Do a Litter Walk Or Beach Clean
Most kids love a day out at the beach or local park, which is why it’s important to encourage them to also take care of it. Organise a litter walk or beach clean at one of the spots you all like to visit regularly. You could even get the whole family involved or invite your child’s friends and parents too. With adult supervision, gloves and some bin bags, get them to look out for and collect any litter, food, discarded toys, clothes or food containers. Litter is not only a serious pollution problem that affects the health of people, wildlife and local economies, it can even injure people enjoying the public spaces.
4. Go For A Bike Ride
If you’re looking for an activity that gets your kids outside and active, going for a family bike ride is a fun and eco-friendly choice. With lots of parks, specific cycling routes or bike paths, there’s lots of places to explore and enjoy. Even better, cycling has the lowest carbon footprint out of any mode of transport, so even if you’re planning a day out somewhere close to home, it’s a great idea to cycle instead of drive!
5. Build a Bug Hotel
Kids love getting creative, so why not get them to build a bug hotel in the back garden? They can be built up by recycling any bits of scrap material you don’t have any use for, including old bits of wood, pallets, bricks, hollow pipes and stone. Not only will it be an exciting feature in your garden but it will offer protection to bugs and insects all year round. Once it’s built, encourage your kids to keep a track of all the bugs and insects that visit the hotel they’ve built- it’ll be a fun way for them to learn all about the different creatures that live in your back garden!
6. Go On A Nature Walk
Going out on a nature adventure walk is a wonderful way to keep your kids engaged this summer. Simply write a list of things they would like to spot or find on your walk, this can include anything from oak leaves and dandelion clocks to a woodlouse or hearing a bird sing and head out to explore! Don’t forget to remind your children that respecting nature means leaving it as they found it and they can enjoy the trees, wildflowers and birds surrounding them by looking, observing or even taking their own photos.
7. Measure Your Carbon Footprint
There’s bound to be a few rainy days during the summer holidays, but just because you’re stuck inside doesn’t mean you can’t encourage your kids to learn about the environment! A great activity to help them learn about energy and being eco-friendly is getting them to measure their own carbon footprint by using a special online calculator. Once they’ve measured their carbon footprint, they can learn about what uses energy, ways they can reduce their output, and just how much of an impact small changes can have.
8. Go Wild Swimming
Finally, rather than heading to your local swimming pool this summer, why not try out wild swimming with the whole family. With plenty of rivers, lakes, waterfalls, streams and beaches around the UK, there’s loads of places to choose from that are safe to swim in. Even though it might be a bit cold, there’s nothing like swimming in the wild! Just remember to make sure there’s someone with your child at all times and to remind them of how to be safe while they’re swimming.
