Recently, I had the wonderful privilege to speak at my local nature center. I was incredibly humbled that they would invite me to attend one of their biggest events of the year to speak about zero waste. As apart of my yearly goalto reach out more locally – this was a huge step for me!
At the event, kids had the opportunity to learn about animals they may have never seen before. Local organizations brought in various reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and insects that were rescued so kids could see them up close. To see the amount of people who turned out for this event with their children warmed my heart and motivates me even more to continue to teach and inspire people to care for the environment.
Zero Waste Kids | I wasn’t expecting a huge crowd to swarm my booth considering there were baby goats across the room – I mean come on….they had diapers on! But I was so thankful that I actually had interest! Maybe I don’t give people enough credit – maybe there are more out there that really care than I think. Shame on me! By talking to the local news station and speaking with dozens of people about zero waste I’m motivated even more to be that positive change, locally.
While discussing an upcoming event, I was asked if I do presentations for kids. Of course I said yes, despite only talking to a class of 5th graders once since I’ve started this blog. I said yes because the importance to plant that seed for environmentalism needs to start as early as possible. But doing a possible presentation for kids about zero waste got me thinking…
Let’s Raise Zero Waste Kids!
Get Them Outside
Encourage them to put down the screened devices and get kids outside. How can we expect them to love nature and the environment if they never truly experience it while engulfed in Minecraft? And let’s not forget the resources that are being saved by kids not being “plugged in.” I think being forced (ok, probably not forced) to go outside a lot as a child perpetuated my love for environmentalism and is what eventually led me to zero waste.
Get Kids Involved in Gardening/Growing Food
Give Kids their own Reusables
Encourage them to Pick up Litter
Involve them in the Kitchen
I make an effort to have my kids help me sort the recycling, load the car and take it to the recycling center. I also get their help to hang the clothes to dry outside in warmer weather or carry reusable bags to the store. I hope this way it is just part of what we do together as a family and that it builds habits over time. I especially agree with “green therapy”; my kids are so much happier when digging in tbe dirt and exploring nature
That's wonderful! Yes, your kiddos will think that those things are just normal and will take those habits on into adulthood. Way to go! 🙂
Thanks for the inspiration. I keep saying that we need to start young. It seems counter productive as adults, trying to change the bad habits we learn as children.
Since we are merely borrowing the planet from our children, it just makes since to give them the right tools. 🙂