It may be autumn, but we’ve still got a taste for fresh local veggies. So grab your garden gear and learn how to plant tasty vegetables, right on your own windowsill! Growing your own food is not only fun, it has big environmental benefits, including reducing plastic packaging and emissions that would otherwise be used to transport products to your local grocery store and to your house. As winter approaches, countries like Canada often have to increase the amount of products they import from warmer places able to grow fruits and vegetables during our cold months. That’s why growing your veggies indoors is a great way to help the planet.

Materials:

• A place to plant your veggies – it could be a planter, a pot, or a repurposed can or container
• Potting soil
• Vegetable seeds
• Here is a list of some easy crops to grow indoors:
• Radishes
• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Green onions
• Herbs (basil, rosemary, dill, cilantro and more!)
• Tomatoes
• Microgreens/sprouts
• Hot peppers
• Hand shovel (optional)
• Garden gloves (optional)
• Water

Steps:

1. Fill your pot with soil
2. Lightly drag your hand shovel or fingers through the surface of the soil to create a few shallow rows
3. Grab your seeds and sprinkle them along the rows at the correct depth and distance apart as indicated on the seed packet. Note: It is always a good idea to sprinkle a few extra seeds just in case some do not germinate
4. Lightly pat them with soil, being sure not to bury them too deep
5. Always water seeds with a light shower after planting, being careful not to spray them too hard – they may wash away or become buried in the soil too deeply
6. Watch your veggies grow!
7. Sometimes as vegetables begin to sprout, they begin growing too closely together and need to be thinned out.  You can do this by simply snipping some seedlings with a pair of scissors – remember, veggies need ample room to grow to a decent size!
8. Continue to water your vegetables as the soil dries out – depending on the amount of light and heat they receive from the window, water the radishes every day or every other day – use the moistness of the soil as a guide!
9. Enjoy healthy, eco-friendly, and truly local veggies, Earth Rangers style!

The Earth Rangers App is where kids go to save animals! It’s free to join and you’ll have access to real-world Missions like this one. Plus, you can adopt an animal to support conservation projects, and learn all about animals in the Wild Wire Blog. Find activities like this, and so much more in the App!

Today’s #WasteReductionWeek theme is e-waste, so we’re going to tackle one of the most common types of e-waste: batteries! Dead batteries shouldn’t just go in the trash as they can release harmful chemicals and add to landfills, so they need to be recycled at special drop-off locations. For today’s Eco-Activity, let’s help out the planet and your neighbours by setting up a neighbourhood battery drive!

Click here to download instruction forms for your neighbours.

Click here to download battery checklist forms for your neighbours.

Click here to download your checklist form to calculate your drive’s totals.

This week is #WasteReductionWeek and we’re bringing you three extra eco-activities for extra tips on how to reduce waste in your life! Make sure to keep checking the eco-activities page each day to learn more about reducing waste with fun eco-activities. Want to learn more about waste reduction week? Click here!

The Earth Rangers App is where kids go to save animals! It’s free to join and you’ll have access to real-world Missions like this one. Plus, you can adopt an animal to support conservation projects, and learn all about animals in the Wild Wire Blog. Find activities like this, and so much more in the App!

Everybody loves to look fabulous, and oftentimes that means out with the old clothes and in with the new. But who ever said fashion couldn’t be sustainable? Over 10 million tons of clothing gets tossed into a landfill each year in North America, and a lot of it could have been reused or recycled. For today’s Eco-Activity we’re going to learn how to create a more sustainable wardrobe!

Click here to download your closet inventory form!

Instructions 

1. Fill in your closet inventory form. What clothes do you want to get rid of? Can they be given a new life by sewing or cutting them? Turning an old t-shirt into a tote bag or cutting it into rags for cleaning are great ways to repurpose clothes! 
2. Find a sustainable way to get rid of the clothes you no longer need. You can locate a clothing drop-off bin in your neighbourhood, donate them to a thrift store, or hand them down to a family member or friend.
3. Feel like you need some new threads? Plan a day with your parent(s) or guardian(s) to check out a thrift store or used clothing store – you might be amazed at the treasures you find and you’ll be doing the Earth a favour by keeping clothes out of the landfill!

This week is #WasteReductionWeek and we’re bringing you three extra Eco-Activities for extra tips on how to reduce waste in your life! Make sure to keep checking the Eco-Activities page each day. Want to learn more about waste reduction week? Click here!

The Earth Rangers App is where kids go to save animals! It’s free to join and you’ll have access to real-world Missions like this one. Plus, you can adopt an animal to support conservation projects, and learn all about animals in the Wild Wire Blog. Find activities like this, and so much more in the App!

You’re probably curious why there’s an eco-activity on a Monday… Well, it’s Waste Reduction Week in Canada! This week, we’re bringing you five exclusive Eco-Activities every day of the week to show you all the different ways you can reduce waste in your life. Make sure to keep checking the Eco-Activities page each day to learn more about reducing waste at home! 

For today’s Eco-Activity, try creating one or all of these crafts made from common household items that tend to get tossed into the garbage! Repurposing things that would otherwise go in the trash is a great way to reduce your household waste and keep things out of the landfill.

Craft #1: Glass jar soap dispenser

Make your bathroom or kitchen more eco-friendly with this recycled soap dispenser! 

Click here to download instructions

Craft #2: Homemade bird feeder

What can you make from an empty toilet paper roll? Would you believe… a bird feeder?! 

Click here to download instructions

Craft #3: Homemade wind chimes

Your recycling bin is a goldmine for crafty supplies! For this craft, old cans will get a new life as wind chimes and add to the ambience in your house or yard! 

Click here to download instructions

Click here to see all of the Waste Reduction Week Eco-Activities

The Earth Rangers App is where kids go to save animals! It’s free to join and you’ll have access to real-world Missions like this one. Plus, you can adopt an animal to support conservation projects, and learn all about animals in the Wild Wire Blog. Find activities like this, and so much more in the App!

Forests are wonderful places that give us so much – fresh air to breathe, habitat for wildlife, and they even help fight climate change. Today we’re going to create a cool craft that will bring the magic of forests right into your home!

Instructions:

1. Cut the white bristol board to form a tight fit in both the bottom of your shoebox, and the back of your shoebox
2. Draw an outline of your forest scene on the bottom and the back; make sure to include things like a river, the sky, and the horizon!
3. Using your paints, paint the bottom of your diorama! Let it dry. Once it’s dry, paint the back of your diorama to complete your horizon and sky.
4. Using glue and sticky tack, build your forest using your forest materials. You can even add in small figurines or toys to bring the scene to life!

Photo: Rakka/Flickr

The Earth Rangers App is where kids go to save animals! It’s free to join and you’ll have access to real-world Missions like this one. Plus, you can adopt an animal to support conservation projects, and learn all about animals in the Wild Wire Blog. Find activities like this, and so much more in the App!

Your local community is an important place! A strong community can be a powerful asset, and learning to support local people, ecosystems and businesses is just one way to strengthen your community. This scavenger hunt will help you to explore your neighbourhood and all of the components that make up a community, aiming to find some local spots to support along the way! So buckle up, grab a parent or guardian, and set off upon this local scavenger hunt!

Here’s what you’ll need to find to become a local connoisseur:

1. A local bakery or cafe. Enjoy a locally made baked good one weekend morning to start the day right! Don’t forget a reusable bag for your goodies.
2. A local greenspace. Explore a new local park or conservation area to get outside and observe the nature around you. Want to take it one step further? Bring a set of gloves and a repurposed plastic bag to pick up any litter you may pass by to keep your community clean and beautiful!
3. A local thrift store. Thrifting is not only a fun activity to do with friends and family, but shopping second-hand helps reduce your carbon footprint and makes sure perfectly good items get a new life!
4. A local grocer. Get your produce from your local grocer to support a small, often family-run business!
5. A community garden. Do you have an interest in gardening but don’t have the space? Try to locate a community garden to grow your very own veggies, fruits and flowers. This is a great place to meet other eco-minded people too!
6. A local farmer’s market. Busy and bustling market stalls filled with fresh produce, bread, and local goods harbour a wonderful environment of supportive community members interested in shopping local.
7. A local general store. Whether you’ve run out of milk or just need a little treat to keep you going, running to your local general store for pantry staples provides support to a cornerstone in your community.
8. A local artist. Whether there is a local painter, potter, sculptor, glass-blower or embroiderer nearby, check out their work when you need to purchase gifts for loved ones or maybe a little something for yourself!
9. A local refillery. Lucky for us, eco-friendly living is on the rise and we can now find refilleries popping up all over Canada. A refillery is a place where you can get household products, like dish soap and laundry detergent, as well as personal products like shampoo and conditioner all in bulk with reusable jars and containers. Help keep these zero waste hubs going by supporting your local refillery!
10. A local trail system. Get outside, breathe in the fresh air, and see what other organisms, like plants and animals may be part of your local community!

By finding all of the places or things on this list you will get the most out of your community and become a local connoisseur! Not only that, but you’ll have something to do or support for every occasion. Enjoy this neighbourhood exploration and support your local community.

The Earth Rangers App is where kids go to save animals! It’s free to join and you’ll have access to real-world Missions like this one. Plus, you can adopt an animal to support conservation projects, and learn all about animals in the Wild Wire Blog. Find activities like this, and so much more in the App!