Earth Day is on April 22 and the theme for this year is “Protect Our Species.” There’s lots of activities planned across Canada to mark this important day and you can find out more about the theme and learn about endangered species at www.earthday.org.

What is Earth Day?
Originating in 1970, Earth Day was first created when millions of people around the world gathered to protest the adverse effects that industrialization was wreaking on our planet. Today, people in more than 190 countries worldwide mark Earth Day by joining various events like signing petitions, planting trees, cleaning up local roads and parks and participating in countless other earth-friendly activities.

How Your Family Can Take Part
Celebrating Earth Day together as a family is a great opportunity to learn more about our planet’s ecosystems and explore ways to protect them. Be sure to check out your local city and regional websites for activities that might appeal to your family. Conservation authority websites will also have events planned throughout Earth Week and beyond. They’ll offer workshops on gardening, beekeeping, bird watching and many others that will inspire you and your family to become caretakers of the environment and all the world’s species.

Activities For Your Family
Earth Day is for people of all ages, young and old. Here’s some suggestions for how your family can celebrate the day together.

For families with toddlers: Read together. Scholastic offers a fantastic list of books for children 0 – 5 years old that are geared to mark Earth Day, including titles like the beautifully illustrated At the Pond by Werner Zimmerman.

For pre-school and kindergarten (ages 3 – 5): Get outside, play, explore. Earth Day Canada is an organization with a mission to get kids outside to play and build resilient communities. Take a look at their website at earthday.ca to discover programs, resources and tools that will encourage your children to connect with the outdoors.

For elementary school-aged children (ages 6 – 12): Make something together that will help local species thrive. At littlebinsforlittlehands.com you will find the full instructions on how to create your own “seed bombs.” Made with recycled items and bee-friendly seeds, these little packages can be planted directly into soil or pots to grow flowers that will attract bees and help kids learn how plants grow.

For teenagers (13+): Participate in a local community clean-up. This is a great way for older children to connect with their community and to learn to be caretakers of public spaces. You can search for clean-ups planned near you at cleanup.earthday.org. If there isn’t one nearby, you and your teen(s) can plan your own. The website offers a toolkit that can help you organize and publicize your clean-up event.