Here are 10 small actions that you can do to make a big difference:
Persuade adults to do more trips by bike or on foot. Could you share more car journeys with friends? Another idea is “park and stride” – drive some of the way, walk the rest.
Ask if you can start a Green Team at school with a few friends. You could suggest ways the school could recycle, do a talk in assembly, or make the grounds better for wildlife.
Pick up a book for eco-friendly ideas. Here are three to fire you up:
- Earth Heroes by Lily Dyu
- Climate Crisis for Beginners by Eddie Reynolds and Andy Prentice
- This Book Will (Help) Cool the Climate by Isabel Thomas
Home-grown fruit and veg cuts down on packaging and transport. Courgettes, spinach and tomatoes are easy to grow in a flowerbed. Make a frame from bamboo canes for sugarsnap peas and green beans. For juicy strawberries, all you need is a hanging basket.
Every garden should have nest-boxes for tits and robins. You can easily buy them, or ask an adult to help you make one: wildlifetrusts.org/actions/how-build-nesting-box-birds
Take turns to be in charge of your family’s recycling. Keep a “bin diary” for a week, jotting down everything you throw away. Could you swap products for ones with packaging that can be recycled?
Each time you visit a beach, do a #2minutebeachclean. Time yourself and pick up as much rubbish as you can. If you aren’t near the coast, clean up a footpath instead.
Let part of your garden lawn grow longer, and allow flowers like daisies and dandelions to appear. These will help bees and other insects, which in turn provide food for birds and hedgehogs.
Ditch single-use plastic, like bags, balloons, clingfilm, cups, glitter and straws. Now think of other ways to cut down on plastic. Have you tried bars of soap and shampoo sold in cardboard boxes?
Every green action you take qualifies you as an Earth Hero. As Greta Thunberg said, “I’ve learned that you are never too small to make a difference.”
Act now!
Find out more about the climate crisis and what you can help save Earth. Here are two free articles to download and read at home, or use as resource to stimulate ideas and class discussion.
Your planet needs you! Join the brilliant young eco warriors battling to save the world.
What is climate change and what can you do about it?
