You know what it is to go green; this entails becoming eco-friendly in your activities in the environment. In this article, we are going to explore some green activities for students and youth.
There are simple ways you can help the environment that takes little to no time or effort and can also save you extra money in the process.
Environmental activities for students encompass a range of engaging, hands-on learning experiences that connect children with nature while promoting eco-friendly and sustainable values. From outdoor exploration and conservation challenges to art projects and science experiments, these activities raise awareness through fun and education.
With climate change and other pressing environmental issues, it’s more important than ever that the next generation take action. That’s why I’ve put together 10 Go Green activities for students and youth that are both educational and engaging.
The students learning about nature, climate change, and sustainability in the classroom today will be stewards of the environment in 10 or 20 years. The future of our planet will soon be in their hands.
Sustainability and environmental concerns are relevant to everyone. Hence, there is a need to implement activities that will create environmental consciousness among students and youth.
Keep reading to learn about the best ideas that will raise environmental awareness among students and youths
Table of Contents
10 Go Green Activities for Students and Youths
Here are 10 go green activities for students and youths which will help build a greener and healthier environment.
- Determine Your Carbon Footprint
- Nature Scavenger Hunt
- Create a Classroom Compost Center
- Go Paperless
- Adopt Reusable Bag Practices
- Planting a Garden
- Transportation
- Recycling Practice
- Save up Electricity
- Conserving Water Practice
1. Determine Your Carbon Footprint
Students can use a carbon footprint calculator to determine approximately how much carbon their lifestyle emits in a year. The calculators provide some small lifestyle changes they could make to reduce their carbon footprint.
Establish what the average carbon footprint is for your entire class and set a goal to reduce it to a certain amount by the end of the school year. Students will also examine the lifestyle changes suggested to them in their results and identify which change they will embrace to help lower the class’s carbon footprint.
2. Nature Scavenger Hunt
We know that children learn through play, and learning to be more sustainable and caring for the environment follows that same trend.
Then add in the fact that spending time in nature can help children develop a connection to the environment, making them more aware of the beauty, diversity, and interdependence of natural systems, and a nature scavenger hunt is a great way to get kids thinking more sustainably.
This involves hunting for natural items such as leaves, flowers, rocks, etc. It helps students learn more about plants and animals while connecting with nature.
When you connect young people to nature you imbibe a sense of stewardship for the natural world, leading our students to think more carefully about how their actions impact the environment.
3. Create a Classroom Compost Center
Helping the environment at school doesn’t have to mean leaving the classroom. It can start with dumping the grounds from your classroom coffee pot and student lunch leftovers into a class compost bin.
The students can learn how to set up their classroom compost center and set up a reference poster that reminds students how composting works. Classroom recycling and compost station posters and bins
4. Go Paperless
One of the most efficient ways to make a college campus greener is to reduce the use of paper. Luckily, it is not hard at all, with all the digital devices.
Electrical notes can be taken, and laptops or even phones can be used to work. If you need to print something out, you can use two sides of the paper to go green at school. Eliminate paper towels, napkins, cups, and dishes too.
5. Adopt Reusable Bag Practices
Bags are another enormous source of waste. Sustainability ideas for college students include shopping with a reusable clothing bag. Take reusable bags to the store with you to the grocery shop instead of opting for paper or plastic.
It is wasteful and unnecessary and several bags with every grocery trip can add up to a whole lot of garbage over a lifetime. Or you can simply use a backpack instead of paper or plastic bags for groceries.
6. Planting a Garden
Growing your organic food helps save on the distance food has to travel to get to you. Plus, teaching young people to garden is such a beneficial experience!
Also, if you don’t have the space for a large tree, planting even a small tree in your backyard is one of the best things you can do for the environment. Few trees can be planted in a designated area and nurtured to attain full growth.
7. Transportation
Reducing the use of transport as much as possible is a vital go-green activity for students and young people.
You can get a bike or just walk around the campus. You can also prefer public transport to a personal vehicle; there, you can enjoy great movies on the way home.
This not only helps you live a healthier lifestyle but can also help the environment and save you a lot of gas money as well. This plays a great role in eliminating the use of fossil fuels around the world.
8. Recycling Practice
This is another easy environmental activity that will help the environment right from the classroom! It is one of the main parts of sustainability activities for college students.
Segregate the trash and recycle what can be recycled, whether it is paper, plastic, or electronic batteries. Go Green projects for students on campus probably have recycling stations they can use.
Recycling can also be made mandatory by the teachers by adding it to a classroom contract and the teachers practicing them, so students see the teacher regularly pitching paper into the recycling bin or adding leftover cardboard boxes to the pile for the janitors to tote to the recycling center.
The more it becomes a habit when they’re young, the more likely they are to continue this sustainable practice into the future.
The teacher can also organize a simple competition involving teams or groups fighting to collect and sort recyclable materials (like cardboard) around the school compound, marketplace, etc. This is known as the recycling relay race. This is a great way to protect our air and water quality.
9. Save up Electricity
Another essential go-green activity for students and youths includes being responsible for the use of electricity. When you’re not using appliances or you’re not in a room, turn off lights and other electronics.
You can also change the light bulbs to fluorescent ones or LED bulbs, which are more sustainable. Though they may be a little more expensive, it’s worth it because they can last up to five times longer than regular light bulbs and are very bright, so you won’t need to turn on as many lights.
Another easy way to implement this is by connecting your electronics to a surge protector and flipping the switch when you leave the room.
10. Conserving Water Practice
Reducing water use is one of the main go-green project ideas for students. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth, washing your face, or shaving.
Take shorter showers and fewer baths, It’s estimated that, using an average number of 2.5 gallons per minute from the typical shower head, reducing your shower length by 4 minutes per day would save (assuming you shower every day, ahem) 3,650 gallons per year. Small changes make a big difference in the long run.
Conclusion
We have only one planet to live on. As such, we can’t ignore the harm we’re doing to it if we truly care about future generations. Most importantly, we share the earth with many plants, animals, and microorganisms.
Therefore, we should be mindful and avoid thinking that we can do whatever we want with it. Conserving the environment means protecting our future.
Hence, the mentioned environmental activities for students are critical to promoting awareness and knowledge that are critical for our survival and future prosperity.
These activities for students and young people instill a sense of stewardship towards the earth’s resources.
By understanding the values and fragility of natural resources the learners can develop a sense of responsibility to protect and preserve them for future generations. Small things can change the world for the better and these activities can go a long way to do that.
It’s time you go green to save the planet Earth and your wallet as well.
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Ahamefula Ascension is a Real Estate Consultant, Data Analyst, and Content writer. He is the founder of Hope Ablaze Foundation and a Graduate of Environmental Management in one of the prestigious colleges in the country. He is obsessed with Reading, Research and Writing.