There are many farms and orchards across the country that let you pick your own fruit and buy them at very reasonable prices. Buying from local farms is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint and ensure that the food you’re eating is the freshest possible.
The types of fruit available for picking depend on the season. You can usually find strawberries and cherries starting in late June and all sorts of other fruit in late summer.
Some of my favourite things to do with freshly picked fruit include making jams, baking pies and other goodies and eating them as they are! Apples are probably the most versatile fruit because they are available throughout summer and fall.
Here’s an easy recipe for Apple Crisp that you can try at home. You can make it with almost any fruit–peaches, plums and strawberries with rhubarb work really well too.
Apple Crisp
What you need
6 medium-sized apples
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup regular uncooked oats
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
½ teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
6 Tablespoons vegetable oil.
What to do
1. With the help of an adult preheat the oven to 400°F, and grease an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with butter or non-stick cooking spray. Peel, core and slice the apples and place them evenly into the baking dish.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the vegetable oil and stir the mixture with a fork until it looks crumbly.
3. Spread the mixture on top of the apples so that they are all covered. Bake it in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Don’t forget to keep an eye on it! It’s done when the apples are soft and the topping starts to brown. Let it cool for 10 minutes, then dig in!
You may have just come back from summer camp, the cottage, a family vacation, or maybe you’ve done a tonne of summer reading. In any case, you can bet everyone is super excited to go back to school and tell all their friends about their holiday!
It’s a new year, a new class and a new you. But in the spirit of being eco-friendly, EcoKids know that not everything needs to be new all the time and we should always try to reduce, reuse and recycle.
So when you go back-to-school shopping this year, consider some of these tips to help you reduce waste, make environmentally sound choices, and be mighty cool at the same time.
1. Shop Vintage!
Thrift shops and clothing consignment stores are becoming more and more popular and many of have lots of cool clothes. Proceeds from some thrift stores go straight to local charities to help kids and families, so in addition to caring for the environment your purchases can help other people too.
2. Reinvent!
Your notebooks and binders from last year are likely still in good shape. Empty them out, recycle your old notes, put new labels on and reuse them. You can always reinvent your notebooks with bumper stickers, decals and colourful permanent markers. And if you need new paper, choose products that have the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) logo on them. It means that the paper was made responsibly by a company that cares about our forests.
3. Pack an Eco-lunch!
Still using a brown paper bag? It’s time to trade it in for a reusable lunch bag. It’s also great to pack your lunch in reusable plastic containers instead of disposable baggies or plastic wrap. And of course, take a refillable water bottle or juice container with you.
One last thing: when you’re buying new stuff look for quality materials–solid, sturdy backpacks, clothes, etc. that will last you a long time (natural or organic fibres like cotton and bamboo) are sustainable and better for the environment).
So that’s it. Three things you can do to make back-to-school shopping more eco-friendly. If you have more tips to share with us, leave them in the comments section below! And let us know about your latest eco adventures by becoming one of our Guest Bloggers. Just click the tab at the top of the page.
In the ocean Co2 levels are increasing which will endanger many species unless we do something about it. This is called ocean acidification. Ocean acidification is mainly caused by the burning of fossil fuels. If we stop burning so many fossil fuels it ’ll help this problem because burning them causes carbon dioxide in the atmosphere end up in the ocean. This makes the water more acidic and less hospitable for animals to live in. Over time co2 reduces calcium carbonate and this effects shell which will dissolve. Crab and lobster shells will dissolve don’t you want to be able to eat them if this problem continues, probably won’t. The acidic water from all this makes the base of the food web die because there skeletons wont form in those conditions. This causes all the animals who eat them in trouble cause if they die out what will they eat?
by the Buck Tooth Tigers
(Misha, Eric, Mitchell, Adam)
The students worked in teams to create their own original animated films about environmental issues. These video were created at the National Film Board Mediatheque. For more information on how you can get involve with the National Film Board visit their website or if you would like to participate in the National Film Board Mediatheque Summer Camp in Toronto, click here.
Be creative too and send us your animation video at ecokids@earthday.ca
I want to let you all know why bike riding is important to Toronto. The first reason is that it doesn’t make pollution because it doesn’t have a motor running so you have to use your own body’s energy. The second reason is that you get a good work out and if you want to burn off some calories because you are working hard and if you are sweating after your bike ride that means you have burnt off some calories. The third reason why biking is important is that it is enjoyable on sunny days. My very last reason why it is good to bike in the city is that you go a lot faster than cars on the road because you get your own bike lane.
These are my suggestions and it is your choice to listen to them.
By Julien Brule-Treffry
Photo credit: Courtesy of flickr user Aubrey Arenas
“Oh little worms in the bin so neat, how we wonder what you eat. Apples, eggshells, veggies, too. All these things are good for you. Little worms in the bin so neat. Now we all know what you eat!”
Hey kids, these are lyrics to the song Little Worms, which is a song about how worms compost our food scraps. You can create your own compost at your home or in your class. And what kid doesn’t like exploring insects?!
Here is a step by step guide for making a worm compost bin (you will also need an adult to help).
Materials: One 12-gallon coloured plastic storage bin (choose one that is smaller if storage space is an issue), Electric drill with 1/2-inch drill biT, Hot glue gun (Be careful. These are very HOT and may cause burns. Please ask an adult to help.), Four plastic pop lids, Newspaper, Water, One pound of red worms.
Instructions
Step 1: Ask and adult to drill eight holes into the bottom of the compost bin. Space them out evenly to allow water to drain throughout the bin (please ask an adult to do this part).
Step 2: Glue plastic pop lids to each of the four corners on the bottom of the container (please ask an adult to this part). The pop lids will act like “legs,” which will slightly lift the container to allow water to drain.
Step 3: Place the compost bin on a flat surface outdoors or indoors. The compost bin may remain outdoors when the temperature outside is between 12º C and 25º C. Otherwise, place the compost bin indoors with a tray under it.
Step 4: Shred some newspaper into strips about an inch wide. Fill about two-thirds of the compost bin with the newspaper strips.
Step 5: Pour six cups of water into the compost bin and mix the newspaper strips around to get them wet.
Step 6: Place the worms in the compost bin. Allow them to live in the bin for about three days before feeding them.
Step 7: Fill the bin with scrap foods such as fruits, vegetables, eggshells, tea bags and coffee grounds. You can also continuously add shredded paper (not glossy), coffee filters, leaves and lawn clippings. Do not add plastic, meat or dairy products.
Step 8: Continue to put your food waste into the compost once or twice a week but do not add more then one pound of food waste at a time. Dig halfway down into each section, place the food down in an even layer and cover with the old waste you dug up. Rotate quarter sections each time you feed your worms.
Let us know how your worms are doing! If you have a worm compost bin, share your experience with us. What do you like about it? What do you think is interesting in a worm comport bin? What have you composted?
by the Hollywood Filmmakers
(Shiran, Alegra, Salena, Julia, Ady, Tarquin)
The students worked in teams to create their own original animated films about environmental issues. These video were created at the National Film Board Mediatheque. For more information on how you can get involve with the National Film Board visit their website or if you would like to participate in the National Film Board Mediatheque Summer Camp in Toronto, click here.
Be creative too and send us your animation video at ecokids@earthday.ca
I am a tiger. I am an endangered animal. Many people kill me for my fur and also medicine from my body. There are only 3,200 more tigers in the world. Please help me exist in this world. There are more endangered animals. Help them too.
On Earth Day, April 22, 2010, an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded and sank. There is now an open oil well off the coast of Louisiana that is leaking about 795 000 litres of oil every day. That’s almost as much as filling an Olympic-sized swimming pool with oil every three days.
The US Coast Guard and many volunteers are trying to plug the hole, clean up the oil and stop it from spreading. This is very difficult to do. The hole is really deep in the water and it is very hard to plug. The weather is also causing big waves that are pushing the oil past the big inflatable bars, called booms, that are trying to keep it in place.
The Coast Guard has set fire to the oil in different spots to burn it away. Once burned, the oil forms into hard balls that can be scooped out of the water much easier than liquid oil. Nobody knows how many days it will take to plug the hole and clean up all of the oil.
Oil spills are very dangerous for the wildlife living in the area, which includes birds, sea turtles, dolphins, fish, crabs, oysters, shrimp and many other species.
After seeing the damage that the spill in the US caused, the Sierra Club of Canada wants to delay offshore oil drilling. They think this disaster has shown that the process is not safe enough.
If you want to help, try to walk, bike and use public transit as much as possible so that you use less oil and won’t need offshore drilling!
Let us know what you think about what’s happening with the Gulf of Mexico oil spill!
Lauren, EcoKids Assistant
Photo credit: Courtesy flickr user Marine Photobank
There are many farms and orchards across the country that let you pick your own fruit and buy them at very reasonable prices. Buying from local farms is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint and ensure that the food you’re eating is the freshest possible.
You may have just come back from summer camp, the cottage, a family vacation, or maybe you’ve done a tonne of summer reading. In any case, you can bet everyone is super excited to go back to school and tell all their friends about their holiday!
In the ocean Co2 levels are increasing which will endanger many species unless we do something about it. This is called ocean acidification. Ocean acidification is mainly caused by the burning of fossil fuels. If we stop burning so many fossil fuels it ’ll help this problem because burning them causes carbon dioxide in the atmosphere end up in the ocean. This makes the water more acidic and less hospitable for animals to live in. Over time co2 reduces calcium carbonate and this effects shell which will dissolve. Crab and lobster shells will dissolve don’t you want to be able to eat them if this problem continues, probably won’t. The acidic water from all this makes the base of the food web die because there skeletons wont form in those conditions. This causes all the animals who eat them in trouble cause if they die out what will they eat?
Many Canadians go camping when they are on summer vacation. But did you know that camping can actually be harmful to the environment?
I want to let you all know why bike riding is important to Toronto. The first reason is that it doesn’t make pollution because it doesn’t have a motor running so you have to use your own body’s energy. The second reason is that you get a good work out and if you want to burn off some calories because you are working hard and if you are sweating after your bike ride that means you have burnt off some calories. The third reason why biking is important is that it is enjoyable on sunny days. My very last reason why it is good to bike in the city is that you go a lot faster than cars on the road because you get your own bike lane.
“Oh little worms in the bin so neat, how we wonder what you eat. Apples, eggshells, veggies, too. All these things are good for you. Little worms in the bin so neat. Now we all know what you eat!”
On Earth Day, April 22, 2010, an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded and sank. There is now an open oil well off the coast of Louisiana that is leaking about 795 000 litres of oil every day. That’s almost as much as filling an Olympic-sized swimming pool with oil every three days.
