Celebrate Earth Day

Simple

What is Earth Day? Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970. It was started to increase awareness of the Earth and what can be done to help conserve the Earth and it's resources.

Detailed

When is Earth Day? There are actually two official Earth Days. The first is celebrated during the March Equinox. John McConnell spearheaded this proposal and it was officially named by Gerald Ford in 1970. The second celebration is April 22. It was proposed by former Senator Gaylord Nelson, and was first called an Environmental Teach-In or Eco Day. Over time April 22, became the most widely known Earth Day celebration. However, many people celebrate on both days.

What is Earth Day Earth Day is a time to think about conservation of the Earth's resources. It is also a time to set goals for personal changes that can be made lessen the impact we are making on the earth.

Earth Day

http://www.earthday.net/
The Earth Day Network provides an indepth look at the earth resource problems and gives possible alternatives to them.

http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/earthday/history.html
Earth Day History at Kids Domain has lots of good resources for kids on earth day including a brief but complete history of the celebrated day.

http://www.earthsite.org/
International Earth Day, the official site of earth day. Lots of good historical information.

http://earthday.wilderness.org/history/
Earth day information from The Wilderness Society.

National Wildlife Week, April 20-26.

http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlifeweek/
National Wildlife Week, learn about wildlife myths and truths.

Air

http://www.lungsandiego.org/environment/kids.asp
Learn about air pollution and how it effects our bodies.
http://www.epa.gov/kids/air.htm
Environmental Explorers information about Air pollution.

http://www.pca.state.mn.us/kids/kidsQuizAir.cfm
Take the Air pollution quiz and test your knowledge.

Land

Endangered Species

wolf from U.S. Fish and Wildlife service

http://endangered.fws.gov
Endangered Species program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
http://www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/map.html
Fact sheets for 50 different endangered species all over the world.

The Artic National Wildlife Refuge

http://www.wilderness.org/OurIssues/Arctic/index.cfm?TopLevel=Home
Learn about the Artic National Wildlife Refuge and the dangers that face it.

Forests

deforestation

http://www.earthday.net/goals/forests.stm
Forests, a threatened but sustainable natural resource.

http://www.afandpa.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Educators_and_Students/All_About_Trees/All_About_Trees.htm
Fun Forest Facts from the American Forest and Paper Association

http://www.afandpa.org/
American Forest and Paper Association, provides tips on conservation and sustainability of forest resources.

Water

http://www.epa.gov/kids/water.htm
How do you wash water? EPA page for kids discusses water treatment.

http://www.earth911.org/master.asp?s=lib&a=Water/water.asp
Learn how to prevent water pollution from Earth 911.

Get Involved

What can kids do?

Conservation

http://www.earthday.net/goals/water/homeaction.asp
Learn how to conserve water at your home.

http://www.earth911.org/master.asp?s=lib&a=Water/WaterConservation/waterconservation.inc
Earth 911 water conservation tips.

http://www.lindabook.com/helptheenvironment.html
Linda Book's ideas for conservation practices.

http://earthday.wilderness.org/teachers/postings.htm
Read about what other kids have done to celebrate Earth Day.

Recycling

http://www.epa.gov/kids/garbage.htm
Environmental Explorers, learn all about Recycling.

http://www.earth911.org/master.asp?s=ls&a=Recycle&cat=1&serviceid=
Earth 911 recycling tips and recycling locators for all recyclables.

Composting

http://www.environmentaldefense.org/article.cfm?ContentID=2037
The Environmental Defense learn about composting and how to build simple composting bins.

http://www.cityfarmer.org/wormcomp61.html
How to set up a home composting unit using worms.

Organized Events

http://www.earthdaycoalition.org/
Cleveland Ohio Earth Day festivities.

Large Projects

http://www.earthdaybags.org/
The Earth Day Grocery Project serves to decorate paper grocery sacks with earth friendly messages.

http://www.earthday.net/goals/trees/treeplanting.stm
Plant a tree campaign.

http://www.earthday.net/goals/carfreeday.stm
Car free day.

Recycled Crafts

http://craftsforkids.about.com/library/bltrashtr.htm
Turn those old plastic bags into a cool craft.

http://www.kid-at-art.com/
The Imagination Factory, turn trash into art.

Games and Activities for Kids

http://ecokids.earthday.ca/pub/splash.cfm
EcoKids, play games, read stories, and check out the eco calendar.
http://www.epa.gov/recyclecity/
Recycle City contains lots of games to help kids learn about the environment and recycling.

http://www.earthdog.com/HOME.html
Earthdog: games and activities to teach about the environment.

For Teachers and Parents

http://www.planetpals.com/EDrecyclethings/recycle_lesson.html
Quick lesson plan about recycling.

http://www.plt.org/
Project learning tree, a leader in environmental educational resources for students/children grades K-12.

http://www.nceet.snre.umich.edu/index.html
EE Link curriculum for grades K-12.

http://www.education-world.com/holidays/archives/earthday_2000.shtml
Education World links to class curriculum, web quests and other activities for Earth Day.

http://www.k12science.org/curriculum/drainproj/
Down the Drain, an online project aimed at teaching kids about water use and conservation.

http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Schools/Curriculum/Worms/98Activities.pdf
Vermicomposting classroom activities.

http://www.woodrow.org/teachers/bi/1991/earthday.html
Article with recommendations for celebrating Earth Day with students.

http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/earthday/lessons.htm
Lesson plans sponsored by the Environmental and Agricultural Eduacation Collaboration.

http://earthday.wilderness.org/teachers/classroom.htm
Classroom activities for Earth Day.

Web Quests

http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/susan/webquest.htm
Web Quest for elementary kids grades K-6. Lots of good links to games and educational resources.

http://www.marshall-es.marshall.k12.tn.us/jobe/earthday99/main.html
Web Quest with scavenger hunt.

Printable resources

http://www.epa.gov/region5/publications/happy/happy.htm
EPA booklet for making earth day everyday.

http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/earthday/quiz.htm
Earth Day quiz.

http://www.planetpals.com/pprecycle.html
Recycle Kits.