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EarthTalk: Environmental Q/A

Are you a teacher or a parent that wants to make this Earth Day a fun and educational one for the children in your life? Explore the below ideas, and click on the links provided for ideas on what you can do to promote learning on Earth Day!

Activity Ideas:

Plant a Tree:
Contact The National Arbor Day Foundation at 1-888-448-7337 or www.arborday.org for information on trees, as well as other educational materials, poster contests, lesson plans.

Organize a Clean-Up:
Organize a clean-up in your town. Contact your local public works and ask them how to proceed.

Organize a school-wide/classroom-wide poster contest:
Ask your students to create a poster that will send an Earth Day message. Display posters throughout your school to remind students of Earth Day.

Play a Classroom Game:
Register as an educator with Earth Day Network at www.earthday.net, and receive a free copy of Environmental Jeopardy, a fun and competitive way to learn about our environment. Registered educators also have access to free lesson plans, other games and more.

Interactive Learning Online:
If you have access to a computer lab, have your students explore than many online earth day educational tools. Here are a few:
Calculate your contribution to global warming: http://reference.aol.com
Enjoy many interactive activities, lesson plans and more from the EPA: www.epa.gov
Learn about your ecological footprint: www.myfootprint.org
Play Captain Planet's Energy Conservation Game: www.turner.com
Hippo Works Cartoons and Interactive Games: www.hippoworks.com

Decorate Grocery Bags and spread the Earth Day word to your community:
By decorating grocery bags with earth day messages, and returning them to your local market, you can remind your community of the importance of our planet. Visit Earth Day Grocery Project for more information at www.earthdaybags.org.

Adopt a Rainforest:
Students can adopt a parcel of rainforest in many different countries by visiting The Rainforest Alliance at www.rainforest-alliance.org

Color and Read:
There are many free downloadable coloring and activity books, as well as free environmental stories that you can read with your students. Here are a few:
Arctic Refuge Coloring Book: earthday.wilderness.org
Rainforest Coloring Book by the Rainforest Alliance: www.rainforest-alliance.org
"The Happy Earth Day Coloring and Activity Book" by the US EPA: www.epa.gov
Rustle The Leaf: www.rustletheleaf.com - this is a GREAT site with catchy fun cartoons, a downloadable coloring book and free lesson plans for all ages!

Spread Your Word:
Print out Earth Day cards, put Earth Day wallpaper on your computer screen, download Earth Day Booklets and much more by following these links:
Rustle The Leaf 3 tips Earth Day Card
Rustle The Leaf Every Day Earth Day Card
Rustle The Leaf Global Warming Coloring Book
Rustle The Leaf Ocean Pollution Coloring Book
Earth Day wallpaper #1
Earth Day wallpaper #2
Hippo Works Earth Day Cartoons and Games

Lesson Plans:
Teach your class about the environment. There are many organizations that offer free lesson plans about the environment right online. Visit the following sites:
Earth Day Network: www.earthday.net
Rustle The Leaf: www.rustletheleaf.com - this is a GREAT site with catchy fun cartoons, a downloadable coloring book and free lesson plans for all ages!

Bring your class to our EarthFair events!
If you are in New York City, organize a field trip to our EarthFair events at Grand Central Terminal. For more info visit our EarthFair page. Kids will be able to color, create art projects, see live Hudson River fish, climb a climbing wall on a vegetable-oil powered bus, try organic foods, learn about hybrid cars, and check out all of the many wonderful environmental organizations and what they are doing to protect our home! The event is appropriate for all ages.