10 Ways Your School Can Celebrate Earth Day

Organize a school-wide swap meet. Instead of trashing old clothes and unwanted items, host a swap meet! This is a great way to reuse items and help them find new homes, rather than ending up in the landfill. This is also an opportunity for students to meet new friends while swapping items and promoting sustainability.

Walk/bike to school day. Organizing a walk or bike to school day is a fun Earth Day activity because it helps to decrease traffic congestion and pollution, while also providing a perfect opportunity to incorporate physical activity into the day. Discuss the harmful effects of pollution in our environment with students and what they can do to help. 

Organize a community clean-up event. Get your school together for a clean-up event where students and staff work together to pick up trash and clean graffiti in your community. Discuss with students the need to keep the Earth clean for future generations. This can be a fun way to meet neighbors and make new friends as well!

Connect to nature. Plan a day for students to explore nature around your community! Find local hiking paths and other natural landmarks to visit together. Don’t forget to pick up any litter you find along the way! Immersing yourself in nature is a great way to get more conservation-conscious.

Plant a community garden. Celebrate Earth Day by getting students together to plant a garden. Teach kids how to care for plants and the earth, while also prioritizing nutrition and healthy eating. Watching their hard work turn into healthy plants and trees can be a rewarding and bonding experience for students. This is a good time to talk about plant diversity and how different plants interact with each other!

Hold a recycled art competition. Organize a recycled art competition to get kids thinking about ways to reuse everyday items that would otherwise be thrown away. This kind of event is great for the environment and inspires innovation and creativity. Bottle caps, paper towel rolls, plastic soda bottles, and cereal boxes are some easy-to-find materials that can be transformed into impressive art!

Recycle your e-waste. Set up your schools with an e-waste recycling event to keep hazardous materials out of landfills! Recycling your electronics is an effective way to reuse materials, such as aluminum, copper, silver, and plastics in order to produce new products, rather than sourcing brand new materials.

Don’t forget the wildlife. Earth Day isn’t just about plants and recycling! Encourage students to learn about the amazing critters that depend on the health of the Earth just as much as we do. Here’s an easy DIY bird feeder that students can make out of recycled milk containers!

Explore the world with Google. Exploring other parts of the world doesn’t have to mean taking a plane ride! Use Google Earth to show students other parts of the world to learn about their geography and natural landmarks. Students can see the Grand Canyon’s rock layers, “climb” Mount Everest, and “swim” in the Great Barrier Reef all in one school day!

Craft conservation reminders. Have students make colorful signs to remind others to turn the lights off, not let the faucet run, and eliminate plastic bags. Teach students about why  we should do these things. This is an easy way to encourage a change of habits and prioritize conservation.

We hope these ideas spark inspiration for your school's Earth Day celebration! By educating students about the importance of conservation and the benefits of going green, we help preserve and improve the health of the Earth for generations to come. While working as a team is important, we can each do something every day to make our planet better. Let us know how your community celebrates! Happy Earth Day!