Tag archives for Earth Day
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Earth Day is April 22! How are you and your family going to celebrate? It’s a great day to get outside and ride bikes, or make a point to recycle, but there are other ways you could spend the day. You can learn more about the Earth and the animals and creatures that make the world a special place to be.
Below are lists of books from National Geographic and movies which you and your family may want to take a look at on Earth Day. They all share the common theme of the environment (and some have cute animals too)! Do you have any favorites on the list?
BOOKS
True Green Kids: 100 Things You Can Do to Save the Planet by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin
This book offers you 100 great tips and tricks on how you can make a difference. Being environmentally friendly isn’t hard with these great ideas!
Classic Treasury of Childhood Wonders by Susan Magsamen
You’ll never get bored with this environmentally aware book. Chock-full of poetry, literature, art and activity ideas, there is something for everyone and is great to share with the family.
Book of Animal Poetry edited by J. Patrick Lewis
Poetry is pretty great. Animals, are also pretty great. How about 200 poems about animals with pictures? Really great! This book is full of roaring, squeaking and soaring.
National Parks Guide U.S.A.
America’s National Parks are some of the country’s most valued treasures. This book has lots of great pictures of the sites, facts about animals there, tips on exploring, and more.
Animal Encyclopedia
Amazing facts about 2,500 animals! This book has maps, fun trivia and 1,000 color pictures of just about any animal you’re curious about.
The World Is Waiting for You by Barbara Kerley
How many times have you been asked “what do you want to be when you grow up?” This book helps you figure it out based on things you love and are interested in now as a kid. All the while encouraging you to explore, discover, and go on adventures!
A Cool Drink of Water by Barbara Kerley
This picture book helps show how we are all connected around the world by our need for water. It doesn’t matter if you get it from the kitchen or scoop it up from a river, we all need this vital resource.
One World, One Day by Barbara Kerley
No matter where you are from or where you are going there is one very basic fact: we are all sharing the same journey. Through amazing pictures and storytelling, see how we are all connected.
Backyard Wilderness by Catherine Herbert Howell
Here’s a pocket guide to many of the great animals found in North America including bats, squirrels, birds and bugs.
Earth in the Hot Seat by Marfe Ferguson Delano
Take a look at how the environment is changing and the scientific reasons behind. Maybe it’ll inspire you to make a difference!
Check out these books in the National Geographic Kids Shop.
MOVIES
Wall-e
This film shows what may happen to our Earth in the future if we don’t take care of it and leave it behind. By taking care of ourselves and protecting the Earth, we can live in a happy and healthy environment.
The Lorax
Can you imagine living in a world without trees? They provide us with oxygen and hundreds of homes for animals. We can all be like the Lorax and protect the remaining trees, or even plant new ones!
Ferngully
Though the rainforests may not be the home of fairies, it is an important ecosystem for other plants and animals. Deforestation and pollution are one the greatest threats to these lush habitats.
Disneynature: Earth
After seeing all the beauty that’s out there, can you imagine it all being wiped out by mankind’s careless ways? Do your part to make the Earth a better place for all of these animals.
Furry Vengeance
How would you react if someone took away your home? These animals aren’t going to stand for the overdevelopment of their land!
March of the Penguins
Take another look at how amazing animals are and their natural environments. It’s our job to protect them.
Hoot
Not everyone has the environment’s best interest at heart. But just like these kids in the movie, you can take a stand and make a difference.
Phenomenal Friday Fact
Phenomenal Friday fact!
Earth Day is celebrated every year by more than a billion people in 180 nations around the world.
How do you celebrate Earth Day? Comment below.
Photograph by Kevin Turner, Flickr
Professional cartoonist and environmental activist Drew Aquilina is bringing fun and laughter to the 2011 Earth Day project “A Billion Acts of Green” with his new collection of nature cartoons in his book “Green Pieces: Green From the Pond Up.”
Aquilina uses his cartoons to teach respect for nature by reconnecting with it. Aquilina’s message focuses on the idea that the more people go outside to learn about the world from nature’s perspective, the more they’ll understand and want to protect it.
Click to enlarge cartoons:
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NGKids: What are your plans this Earth Day?
Aquilina: I am planning on going to a local childrens hospital to donate some Green Pieces: Green From the Pond Up cartoon books and light tables for use at the hospital’s classroom. Many of our local hospitals have classrooms for kids to help them stay academically current with their studies during their hospital stay. During my visits, I will be teaching kids how to draw cartoons by using the light tables and to talk about the environment.
NGKids: What are five fun Earth Day activities that kids of all ages can enjoy?
Aquilina:
1. Plan a camping trip in your own backyard, this can be a test run for future camping trips at local camp sites.
2.
Identify what plants and animals live in your yard. Try to discover
what is living right outside your house and get to know your local
plants and animals. Make a list. If you cannot identify each species,
take a photograph or notes and check your encyclopedia, local library,
or online research source to try and identify them.
3. Sign up for
a local Earth Day event. Check local listings for habit revitalizations
or clean ups and help your local environment.
4. Build a friend a
home. Put up or build a bird house to attract nature to your yard. Try
to attract hummingbirds: With the help of an adult, boil one part sugar
to three parts water. Place in a cup.
5. Plant a plant! What
better way to celebrate Nature than to add to it. Plant native trees,
shrubs, or wildflowers. Have fun researching with other people to
discover which native plants exist in your area and enjoy your efforts
long after Earth Day.
NGKids: What’s one thing every person can do every day of the year to help the planet, not just on Earth Day?
Aquilina: There are so many activities that are not only fun but helpful. The main ideas that can be applied every day include recycling, reducing trash, and disposing of it properly. If you see trash anywhere outside, take the time to put it in its right place. We wouldn’t want people to leave trash around our own homes, do think of the outdoors as Nature’s house and keep it clean.
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This weekend April 23-25 is Global Youth Service Day. Kids and youth ages 5 to 25 years old get involved in community projects all over the globe. In the Washington, D.C. area alone, there are 40 projects that will involve about 3,500 youth. Around the U.S., there are events in communities focusing not only on Earth Day clean ups and the environment, but also childhood obesity, helping the hungry, and many other service projects.
Find out if there are any projects in your neighborhood by visiting the Global Youth Service Day website.
How will you help your community this weekend?
The average bathtub can hold 40-50 gallons of water. That’s a LOT of water going down the drain when you’re ready to dry off. Want a quick way to save water on Earth Day (April 22)? Skip the bath!
If your parents insist that you wash off mud from soccer practice, think about taking a shower instead of hopping in the tub. Conventional showers use 7-10 gallons per minute, and water-saving shower heads use 2-4 gallons per minute. So if you jump in for a 5-minute shower, you’ll use about 10 to 35 gallons during a 5-minute shower.
Get more green tips from National Geographic Kids.
Play Creek Cleanup and see how much trash you can scoop out of the water.
Did you know that the average bathtub holds about 40-50 gallons (151 to 189 liters) of water? So when you take a bath you use a lot of water. Why not skip the bath on Earth Day and save some precious water?
Or take a quick shower to wash off the day’s grime. If you have a water-saving shower head installed on your shower, you might use only 10 gallons (38 liters) of water during a 5-minute shower.
What other water-saving tips do you have to share with other kids?
Earth Day celebrations began 40 years ago on April 22, 1970 to make people aware of pollution and other environmental problems that are harming the Earth. Small choices that people make every day contribute to the health or cause harm to the planet. When you think about it, every day should be Earth Day!
Many kids are finding ways to help the environment. Two committed kids on different continents have started websites to help kids around the world understand the issues and give solutions to some of the problems facing the planet.
Alec Loorz
Fifteen-year-old Alec (right, and with friends above) started Kids vs. Global Warming after he saw former Vice President Al Gore’s film, An Inconvenient Truth. Alec’s website explains the issue of global warming so kids can understand the causes, but he also offers solutions in his iMatter area of his site. He is planning a million kid march next year to bring attention to the issue, and he also has an iPod/iPhone application to connect kids and their projects around the world.
The 40th anniversary of Earth Day is only a few days away! Earth Day is a reminder to take time every day to clean up the environment, save energy, recycle plastic and paper, and reuse old items you have around the house in new ways!
If you spend time at a park this week, take a few minutes to pick up trash from the creek bed or the playground. Cleaning up your local streams can help keep waste from reaching the ocean!
After you help clean up the real world, treat yourself to an online game of Creek Cleanup!
While the contestants in the Great Turtle Race swim towards the Caribbean, we’re swimming in denim here at National Geographic Headquarters! Thanks to you, we have collected an incredible 6314 denim items. Keep them coming!
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Photograph from AP
Today is Earth Day! People in countries around the world will be celebrating our wonderful planet and raising awareness about the environment.
Earth Day is 39 years old this year. The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970. With support from Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson, a Washington, D.C. environmental group organized an event called the Environmental Teach-In to raise environmental awareness. This event became Earth Day. Earth Day spread from being recognized in cities and colleges in the United States to being observed in places all over the world.
Are you planning to do anything to celebrate Earth Day? Let us know!
See photos from the first Earth Day on National Geographic News.
Get green tips on National Geographic Kids.
Sort recyclables with Gus when you play Recycle Roundup!
