EcoKids Blog

A lot of us have heard about it. A lot of us have read about it. Even some of us contributed to it. GLOBAL WARMING. Do you know what it really is? Do you know what can you do to stop it? We are the next generation of world leaders. Us kids!!!

In the future we are going to have to deal with this problem of global warming as it has gotten worse over the past century. Start thinking and planning for the future. If we all work together we may be able to stop decrease or even reverse the devastating effect on this planet =)

Kayleigh and Mattie and Dewald, age 12

Photo credit: Courtesy flickr user Pedro A Ribeiro

I will help you help the environment with 10 ways to help.

1-reuse paper to save trees

2-use eco friendly products

3-try to ride your bike more than riding in a car

4-use reusable water bottles instead of plastic ones

5-plant an organic garden

6-take shorter showers

7-boomerang lunch

8-use a reusable bag at the grocery store

9-turn off the lights

10-compost, recycle

Remember to teach other people to do these tips!

Maddy, age 10

Photo credit: Courtesy flickr user Travis Morgan

 At my school we are a golden Eco school! We all care about our environment very much and try to help keep the earth green. Some of the things we do are: Turn off the lights when we are out of the class, use the school garden to plant trees and flowers, use our “boomerang lunch” system to take home our own garbage. And my school does a lot more to help our planet! I hope that our school can make a big difference and help everybody live in a good clean planet.

Photo credit: Courtesy flickr user kosmopooch

Pandas and polar bears are endangered we must do all we can to help them stay alive. Here are some examples we have to help save animals that are in danger:

1- Ride your bike to school or walk to school.

2- Take a short shower.

3- instead of watching TV read to save power.

4- Donate to charities who help save the endangered animals.

Secca, age 10

Photo credit: Courtesy flickr user somesai

Hi our names are Chava and Megan

I go to an eco friendly school

So I am going to give you some tips on being eco friendly

 Separate your recyclables, compost and garbage from each other. Turn off lights when not using them. Bring reusable bags when going shopping. Try to encourage others to be eco friendly. When driving or if someone is driving you, try to carpool with a friend. Try to make an alternative to driving (public transportation, biking, walking). Use a sports bottle instead of a plastic one. Reuse pieces of paper. Plant an organic garden. Use eco friendly cleaning tools. If you can, use cold water when doing laundry. Don’t leave water running when brushing teeth.

 Thank you!

 Chava and Megan, age 10

Photo credit: Courtesy flickr user Leah Tihia

My ideas to save the planet are:

1. I would like to invent ‘Eco-machines’ which are robot garbage cans that walk around picking up garbage from our parks and conservation areas

2. I would like a special police department to be in charge of the environment.

3. Everyone should drive a hybrid car until we find something else to replace gasoline.

4. Everyone should plant a tree every year

5. Every country must ban pesticides

6. Every company must be eco-neutral

7. Everyone else must do their little part to help our planet: every family should do composting or green bin, every family saves energy by using only 1 light bulb per person, and every family should do only full loads of laundry.

Thanks for reading. Please let’s make it happen. Our polar bears’ survival depends on stopping global warming.

Lucas, age 8

Photo credit: Courtesy flickr user Wilson Lee

  We need to conserve fossil fuels and start to change our energy. Did you know that about 76% of our fuel comes from fossil fuels? So anyways soon enough we will probably run out of oil and coal and need to find another fuel source. The problem is where will we find it and will it run out. We could use some renewable energy but, how are we supposed to make them work. When we grow up we could become scientists that try to figure out how to make cars, our homes, etc. that will work without fossil fuels.

 If we could do this that means no more pollution from cars etc. Then we could have a bit greener future.

 Jordan, age 11

 Photo credit: Courtesy flickr user woodley wonderworks

Hi all,

 To help the environment I am going to make compost. Here are the steps to create your own compost.

 Step one: first you get a bin; big or small whatever you have is fine.

 Step two: put a layer of soil and you can add dry leafs or hay. Vegetable and fruit scraps (potato and carrot peeling, apple cores, banana peels, etc) are a great addition to your compost bin but avoid meats, dairy, fish, or bones.

 Step three: add to your compost another layer of soil and hay or leafs and then add water to your home made compost. Wait for 1 to 2 weeks for amazing results and wait for more weeks for better results.

 I hope you come up with some more earth saving tips. For more info go to your library or surf the web. Save the earth and help the earth by using your ideas.

 I hope it works and remember, help save the earth and spread awareness in your community, town or city. I hope you liked it!!

 Cheers!

Renee, age 10

Photo credit: Courtesy flickr user hughroper

The Holidays are a very happy time for us, but not such a good time for the environment. There is more waste produced during the holidays then any other time of the year. This year, why not try to have an eco-friendly holiday season?

 Here’ a few ways to do that:

 - Make your own recyclable wrapping paper. Get a roll of recycled brown paper and decorate it with stamps, paint, markers or crayons. If you write the person’s name on the paper, you don’t even need a tag!

- Wrap presents with old newspaper or calendars and recycle them afterwards.

- Use fabric to wrap your presents, or use re-usable gift bags.

- Make sure to collect all of your ribbons and bows to use again next year!

 - Make sure that you buy cards made from recycled paper, or make your own!

- Or ask your parents to save paper this year and send their holiday cards by email.

 - Cut up last years cards and use them as name tags on presents, or as place cards for a holiday party.

 - Ask your parents to bring your tree to a recycling centre, or your town’s collection site after the holidays.

-  Ask them to try getting a potted tree that can be used every year, or planted outside in the spring.

 - Get LED lights to decorate your house – they use much less energy.

- If you get electronic gifts, ask for rechargeable batteries instead of the disposable kind.

 Eco-friendly gift giving:

 - Give a plant; it lasts a long time, is beautiful, and is good for the environment.

- Another great idea is to make your loved ones gifts from recycled materials.

- Try making a personal coupon book with coupons for tasks like a hug, doing the dishes or shovelling the driveway.

- Activities that you can do with your family and friends are a great way to spend more time with the people you care about.

- Give green items, such as can crushers, cloth shopping bags, or a reusable water bottle.

- Try to buy gifts that have less packaging, so there’s less to recycle or throw away.

 Do you have any more ideas about ways to be eco-friendly over the holidays? Share them with us by writing a blog and post it on the Be a Guest blogger section.

Happy Holidays!

By Lauren Crickmore, EcoKids Intern

Photo credit: Courtesy flickr user Michelle G.

We all know that cell phones, batteries, computers, paper, plastic and metal can be recycled right? What about the stuff we don’t think about? What about dentures? Running shoes? Your mattress? Your hair? Well, oddly enough, you can recycle them all.

• Dentures: Every year, there are roughly 3.6 million sets of dentures manufactured in the world, and each set contains about $25 worth of precious metals, including gold and silver. Who knew?

• Running Shoes: What about your old running shoes that have holes in them? Even if they are almost destroyed, they can be recycled into reusable building materials.

• Hair: Thinking about getting your hair cut? You can donate your hair and they will recycle it to create hairpieces for financially disadvantaged children suffering from medical hair loss. Brushing your dog? Some people also collect dog hair to make clothing, by knitting it!

• Mattress: Outgrowing your bed? Mattress recycling centers are springing up around the country, where they recycle about 90% of the mattress into fibre for clothing, wood chips, foam products, and scrap metal.

Make a list of things around your house and see if they are reusable or recyclable. You will be surprised at all the ways you can reuse things, and amazed at all the things that can be recycled!

Photo credit: Courtesy flickr user Leeana