5 Days 'Til the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day: Schools CAN Take Climate Action

Earth Day's 50th anniversary is coming up in just 5 days, and this year's theme is climate action, which is the biggest challenge for the future of people and the planet. However, a massive challenge also means endless opportunities to make a difference. Schools across the country are doing more each year to be as eco-friendly as possible. Here are some ways that you can make your school more sustainable and address climate change. 

Improve Lunches

Provide more healthy, vegetarian and vegan options to minimize your school's carbon footprint of the meat industry. You could host meat-free Mondays or provide non-dairy food choices. Encourage your school to buy locally grown vegetables. Read about how this school improved their school lunches by buying from local farmer's markets!

Teach About Climate Change / Sustainability

This is a huge topic, but luckily, teachers have access to our resources page that has tons of lesson plans, videos, activities and much more! We have resources for you to teach about climate change, saving energy, gardening, using the arts to inspire change, waste, consumption, and many more. You can also have your students get out, explore, and learn by organizing a field trip. Visit local landscapes, participate in environmental projects, or simply start a school garden!

Calculate Carbon Footprint

What we do on the planet translates to how it's being negatively impacted. Have your students calculate the school's carbon footprint or their own. This is a great way to see what improvements need to be made in how we operate our daily lives. Here are some different websites to use to calculate your carbon footprint.

• footprintcalculator.org
• myclimate.org
• greenschools.net​​

Change Materials

Try to avoid using single-using plastic as much as possible. Recycle paper, plastic bottles, cans, and glass objects and containers. Lean more towards eco-friendly products if possible. Make sure all cleaning materials are biodegradable. Repurpose classroom "trash" to use for storage and art projects.

Start Planting

Make your school grounds more green! Start a vegetable or flower garden with students. Teach them to plant trees and watch them grow over time. This teaches students the fun of helping the planet and helps them realize how important it is! 

Reduce Waste

It is extremely important that we keep garbage out of landfills as much as possible because some of it ends up in natural bodies of water like the ocean, which then threatens animal health and well-being. Also, the manufacturing, transportation, and use of products creates more greenhouse gas emissions, which causes climate change. Start thinking about composting, non-litter lunches, stopping the use of bottled waters, and going paper free.