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!
The Great EcoKids Challenge is a nationwide contest, providing schools, extra-curricular clubs, and youth groups with an opportunity to participate in a large-scale group activity that will enrich their lives, develop their leadership and teamwork skills, stimulate their creativity, increase their awareness and improve the state of their schools and communities, and ultimately, the health of the environment. Register today at http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/challenge/
The Global Warming is a very big problem to deal with now-a-days because it is going to change our life and the Earth’s environment for ever. Carbon Dioxide causes the Global Warming which increases day after day by factories and cars and the burning of fuel. One of the ways to stop Global Warming is using CFL bulbs which use 60% less energy than regular bulbs. That saves about 300 pounds of Carbon Dioxide a year. Amazing!!. Cleaning a dirty filter of an air conditioner will save about 350 pounds of Carbon Dioxide a year. You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates.
Hi kids:
My name is Kathleen Crawley and I would like to introduce you to Colonel Trash Truck. He is a friend of mine who I met a few years ago in my imagination. I have always noticed how much kids like trash trucks and thought it would be cool if there was a book about them and how they pick up trash and recycled items. Then one day, I woke up and there he was…in my mind…smiling at me with a determined but friendly expression. He looked just the way he is on the cover of the my book ” Colonel Trash Truck” but he had a few things to say.
The Colonel told me that he is very sad that kids don’t always pick up trash and recycle and asked me to write a book to tell kids about him and his mission. You see, the Colonel thinks kids are never too young to understand how important it is to respect and protect our beautiful world. He is on a mission to win the garbage war and wants everyone to join him in his quest to keep our planet clean.
I hope you enjoy reading Colonel Trash Truck. Now’s the time to become a member of his clean and green team…KARUNCH!
Diwali, the festival of Lights, is a popular South East Asian holiday.
Darkness is ‘chased’ away by lightening candles and lamps made of clay.
To prepare for Diwali kids help their parents organize and clean,
But don’t throw out your unwanted clothes and toys, instead donate them.
Remind your parents about the importance of giving and being green.
Cleaning up should go beyond your house and classroom.
Lets clean up our environment, pick up some litter,
Or plant a tree or flower seeds and wait for spring to see’em bloom.
The Festival of Lights is a good time to think about all the energy we consume.
Encourage your parents not to turn on all the lights at home,
And instead use candles and clay lamps to brighten up the room.
Lighting fireworks on Diwali is popular and can be fun,
But the toxins used in them are not good for the environment or a human.
Instead of fireworks, there are other ways to light up your outdoor space,
Put up LED holiday lights, they use less energy and will brighten up any place.
Diwali is also a celebration of giving, so many people thinks it’s a good time to buy.
Instead of buying, be creative, make gifts at home- paint a picture or bake a pie.
This Diwali take the time to reflect on the things that you and your family can do to be green,
Take the lead and share these ideas with your parents, show them you’re keen to be green!
Are you ready for Halloween? Candy, costumes, pumpkins, it’s such a fun celebration! Did you know that consumers are expected to spend $3.12 billion on candy, costumes and other Halloween goodies this year? That’s a big pile of candy. It’s also a lot of crumpled candy wrappers, paper party props, plastic masks and pumpkins in the trash the very next day. So this Halloween, why not think green? Here are some tips that can help you in greening your Halloween.
Costume: Make your own costume with materials you already have at home, buy one at a second-hand store or trade costumes with your friends!
Pumpkin: Make use of all pumpkin parts. You can ask your parents to bake the seeds and eat them or give them to the birds. You can also use the pumpkin’s fruit to cook a great pumpkin soup or pumpkin bread with your parents!
Bag: Instead of using paper or plastic disposable bags to collect treats, use a recyclable bag or anything else that you have at home. A pillow case will hold lots of yummy treats and won’t break when it gets heavy!
Candy: Instead of dishing out plastic wrapped candies, look for alternatives such as crafts you made with friends, acorns, seashells, buttons that you painted, popcorn bags that you made or other fun things you can think of. If you really want candies, ask your parents to look for organic or eco-friendly candy.
Decoration: Make your own decorations by recycling materials you have at home.
While your plan is to be gruesome and ghastly, remember, there is nothing more ghoulish than piles of litter after a night of Halloween haunting. Happy Hallow-green!
Photo credit: Courtesy flickr user Nancy Chow
Do you have something to say and would like to share it with others? Be a guest blogger and email us your blog at ecokids@earthday.ca
I love the environment and try my best to preserve it here in Cambodia.
Me and my good friends have started a club sort of thing called FFN – it stands for Friends For Nature. We go to the local flea market the last Sunday of every month and set up a stall and make money.
After we make the money we donate it to the local zoo to feed the animals. We used to give it to our friend whose dad works for WWF.
We hope that the animals in the local zoo are fed and healthy, there is a tiger there. I have heard the story of her many times. The tiger was pregnant and injured. So they bought her to the zoo – where she is still injured. We want to give the money to the zoo keepers and have a meeting about that tiger. To protect her.
There are some Asian Sun Bears there too. They have been rescued from being sold for pets or delicacies in some Asian restaurants.
Thank you for listening to my story.
Emma
Photo credit: Courtesy flickr user Martien Uiterweerd
Do you have something to say and would like to share it with others? Be a guest blogger and email us your blog at ecokids@earthday.ca
Yesterday I toured the Tundra Trek exhibit at the Toronto Zoo. The new exhibit helps visitors understand the impacts of climate change and global warming. It is also the new home of three polar bears; all rescued by the Zoo when they were orphaned in the wild.
We learned that the polar bears develop a special relationship with their caretakers and can even smell a caretaker the moment they step out of their car all the way from the parking lot. The bears will go right to the door and wait for the caretaker to arrive. We were also informed that it is impossible to release orphaned polar bears into the wild once they are rescued, as it is impossible to teach a polar bear cub how to hunt seals on the ice from a human perspective. Polar bears eat fish, meat, melon, apples and lots of other fruits and vegetables. They are also very intelligent and need stimulation, so the zoo has created an enriched program to keep the polar bears entertained. They have games, toys, and sometimes have to search for hidden food!
The polar bear species is one most threatened by global warming. They depend entirely on sea ice as a platform to hunt seals. The rising temperatures caused by global warming cause the ice to melt before the polar bears have been able to hunt and build the fat reserves they need to survive the long lean months of the late summer and early fall.
It’s not too late; you can still help the polar bears by reducing your footprint and learning more about polar bears and global warming/climate change. For more cool information visit the Toronto Zoo website at www.torontozoo.com or Polar Bears International at www.polarbearsinternational.org . You will find lots of facts about polar bears and you can also follow the movements of satellite-collared polar bears on the Beaufort Sea!
Photo credit: Courtesy flickr user Francis Lai
Do you have something to say and would like to share it with others? Be a guest blogger and email us your blog at ecokids@earthday.ca
Have you ever wondered what happens to frogs in the winter? I have.
They can’t just move to someplace warm like birds, bats or even some insects. They have to stay fairly close to the same place year round.
Frogs are amphibians; and amphibians are extotherms, this means that they don’t maintain their own body temperature the way mammals (and birds) do but are the same temperature as their surroundings.
Burr! Imagine being -25°C, you’d freeze solid and die.
Well that is exactly what happens to the Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica), except it doesn’t die. In the fall the Wood Frog buries itself under leaves and a shallow layer of soil; it then releases a chemical, similar to antifreeze, into its body. This chemical prevents it from bursting when it freezes solid. In the spring when the weather warms up it thaws out and is still alive. Other frogs, like the Northern Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens), hibernate in the mud at the bottom of ponds where it remains 4°C all year long.
For more information on protecting frogs, toads and salamanders in your community check out the Adopt-a-pond program. And to learn more about amphibians visit the EcoKids Field Guide.
For the upcoming school year we would like to give YOU a voice! How? Become a guest blogger. The EcoKids blog will be a place for students to share their opinions, discoveries and stories on environmental issues. Write a blog post, send it to us and let the discussion begin!
For those of you unfamiliar with a blog, it is a short form of the word web log. Blogs are websites that allow people to publish their thoughts and ideas on the internet. They also allow readers to submit their own comments and thoughts. Blogs are a great place to post ideas, photos, videos and more to start online discussions and get feedback from people just like you!
We know you have lots of ideas and opinions on environmental issues, this is your chance to be heard. Don’t be shy, send your posts to ecokids@earthday.ca. We want to hear from you!
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.
The Global Warming is a very big problem to deal with now-a-days because it is going to change our life and the Earth’s environment for ever. Carbon Dioxide causes the Global Warming which increases day after day by factories and cars and the burning of fuel. One of the ways to stop Global Warming is using CFL bulbs which use 60% less energy than regular bulbs. That saves about 300 pounds of Carbon Dioxide a year. Amazing!!. Cleaning a dirty filter of an air conditioner will save about 350 pounds of Carbon Dioxide a year. You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates.
Hi kids:
Are you ready for Halloween? Candy, costumes, pumpkins, it’s such a fun celebration! Did you know that consumers are expected to spend $3.12 billion on candy, costumes and other Halloween goodies this year? That’s a big pile of candy. It’s also a lot of crumpled candy wrappers, paper party props, plastic masks and pumpkins in the trash the very next day. So this Halloween, why not think green? Here are some tips that can help you in greening your Halloween.
Hi! 
Yesterday I toured the Tundra Trek exhibit at the Toronto Zoo. The new exhibit helps visitors understand the impacts of climate change and global warming. It is also the new home of three polar bears; all rescued by the Zoo when they were orphaned in the wild.
Have you ever wondered what happens to frogs in the winter? I have.
For the upcoming school year we would like to give YOU a voice! How? Become a guest blogger. The EcoKids blog will be a place for students to share their opinions, discoveries and stories on environmental issues. Write a blog post, send it to us and let the discussion begin!
