Earth Day is a great time for teens to learn more about this beautiful planet on which we live and to take action in their own unique way. Here are 10 cool ideas for Earth Day activities.
1. Do One Thing:
Read this brief summary about climate change and then pick a DOT (that’s Do One Thing) to fight climate change. Get a group at your school to join you and have everyone record their One Thing onto whatever template your group chooses. Then combine everyone’s DOTs to make a school-wide display, like this leafy tree.
2. Recycle your clothes:
Instead of trashing your old duds, why not donate them? (And enter for the chance to win a $5,000 scholarship while you’re at it!) As the old saying goes, “one girl’s trash is another girl’s treasure!”
3. Watch a live stream event:
Convince your teachers to ditch their lesson plans and join in on this amazing 60-minute live climate education event on Tuesday, April 19, at 1 p.m. ET (it will also be recorded, so hop over after the event to watch it anytime!). The event, hosted by the Earth Day Network and the Alliance for Climate Education, will feature American Ninja Warrior Meagan Martin!
4. Plant a (junk mail) tree:
Ask the kids in your school to collect junk mail from home. Then make a tree out of all that junk mail, and provide information to the school community about how to reduce junk mail, opt out of catalogs, etc.
5. Join the Get Loud Challenge:
Step out and speak up! The Get Loud Challenge is a youth climate action competition to turn up the volume on the issue of climate change. Win prizes such as a $5,000–$10,000 scholarship to study in STEM fields, a trip to the Amazon or a trip to Washington, D.C.!
6. Organize a team to plant trees:
Be part of Trees for the Earth, a movement that has pledged to plant 7.8 billion trees by Earth Day 2020. That’s one tree for every person on the planet!
7. Take action:
Create and distribute a petition to eliminate the use of plastic bags in your community.
8. Make a statement:
Organize a school-wide mural project for individual pledges such as “I will turn off the lights when I leave the room.” A pledge board or mural could be the start of an Environmental Mission Statement for the school.
9. Hold an arts-and-crafts fair:
Create jewelry, books, sculpture, whatever strikes your fancy, with used materials.
10. Have a poetry jam:
Inspire a group of friends to write environmental poetry. Poems can hang on a line or mural or be shared aloud at an assembly. Check out this teaching guide for samples.
