April 22nd, 2010 was the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, a day set aside by the Countries of the world to celebrate and appreciate the planet on which we live.
Earth Day Crafts
It is often celebrated with the planting of trees or flowers, maybe the picking up of trash. Unfortunately, trees can get overcrowded in some areas and it is not always safe for young children to pick up rubbish, but you can always try some fun family Earth Day crafts. Since it is Earth Day, the crafts should be environmentally sound and benefit the planet!
Birdhouse
One craft that is easy to make and fun is a birdhouse. Birds are important, they help pollinate flowers, spread seeds and can decimate insect populations that get out of control. Building small birdhouses can help these feathered friends and the Earth, and they can be a lot of fun to construct. The simplest way, and most environmentally friendly is by using gourds. Cut a hole out of the side, clean out the inside and then just paint your house.
You should also put some slots in the bottom for ventilation and drainage, birds may not urinate but moisture can accumulate from rain and dew, and kill baby birds! Building houses for natures little creatures can be fun, so include heavier and bigger houses for squirrels and even bats.
Native American Crafts
You can also make some of the traditional Native American crafts on Earth Day. They are fun, educational, and, properly made, ecologically safe. Try creating Dream Catchers using thick vines for the loop and then cotton thread or thin vines for the “webbing”. They can hang from trees in the wind, catching leaves as well as bad dreams! Maybe they will promote dreams of a green Earth that will come to fruition! There are also Ojo de Dios, Eye of God, that were hung in the forests of South America so God could watch over the forests and all its creatures.
Flower Pots
Other Earth Day crafts? Make flower pots using used paper cups and watercolour paints. This is recycling, which definitely helps the planet, and the plants can be set directly into the soil. These planters will decompose and help the seedlings! Families can also make bird feeders out of clay, fun to make and fun to watch the birds splash around!
We try to do crafts every week but I’m not so great at thinking things up so thanks for these ideas.
We love doing crafts too, it’s great to push their imagination.
I must confess apart from flower pots we rarely ever make anything for Earth day, lovely ideas here
We made the tissue paper stain pictures last year which the children loved, I even had a go myself 🙂
We spent Earth Day planting vegetable seeds in old toilet roll tubes. Once they start to grow we can plant the whole tube straight into the ground.
I love that idea, finally a decent use of empty toilet roll tubes!
I love the birdhouse, it looks so pretty! We just have a plain bird feeder hanging outside our window, this looks much nicer.
My daughter made a beautiful birdhouse a few years ago but it got destroyed in bad weather 🙁
These are great ideas. 🙂
Thank you, I am pleased you like them 🙂
These are so cute and such a great way to get the children involved. The time is now to start educating them from early on.
Yes it is, thankfully my children are very passionate about it already.
Some fab ideas here. Love the idea of paper seed pots.
I really like the paper seed pots too, I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of them before.