Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

Here is a great round up of ways to celebrate earth day tomorrow. From making your community better to things you can do with your kids everyone is making Earth Day big this year. This is just a small listing of things that I have found here and there that might make your Earth Day Special.

Better Your Community

Be Big! The Clifford BE BIG in Your Community project with Scholastic began quite a while back. For Earth Day on April 22 and next week is also National Volunteer Week, you can enter a contest to win a piece of the $75,000 in community grants that will be given out this fall. Enter at http://www.scholastic.com/cliffordbebig/contest/.

Neosporin is reinforcing the importance of recycling, whether it’s a can, a bottle, a used drink box or an empty tube of Neosporin. This is also an opportunity to remind families during their spring cleaning ritual to check the expiration date of items in their medicine cabinets, such as Neosporin. Join a TerraCycle brigade as a commitment to helping collect expired or empty Neosporin tubes in your community. Sign up at http://www.terracycle.net/brigades/43-NEOSPORIN-Tube-Brigade (Note: Once registered, your account is activated and a Brigade Profile page is created for your own brigade on the web site. On that page, you can find everything needed to participate in the program – from postage-paid shipping labels to informational letters and posters you can print and distribute to ensure their brigade’s success.)

Hanes has partnered with The Arbor Day Foundation to encourage the planting of trees. For every qualifying purchase of three Hanes products with mail-in redemption and proof of purchase from April 1 through May 15, Hanes will send out a free Hanes Earth Day T-shirt and will donate a dollar to The Arbor Day Foundation. Also, for every virtual tree you send, up to 3 per facebook user,  the Arbor Day Foundation will plant a real tree, up to 50,000, on Hanes behalf. Become a fan of Hanes on Facebook and go send a virtual tree.

On Earth Day, youth around the country will be doing their part to save the planet by watching and spreading green tips shared in an hour-long webinar hosted by GreenMyParents (GMP), a national campaign that fosters peer-to-peer leadership and collaboration to enact environmental change. 

Broadcast live on Thursday, April 22 at 10am PST, the free presentation and chat session will inspire kids and people of all ages to actively become green leaders in their own homes and communities by doing simple tasks that yield big results.  Twelve-year-old green guru and published author Adora Svitak will show kids and teens how to adopt a green lifestyle and save money through the GreenMyParents platform, which will focus on three important areas: energy efficiency, water conservation and planting a garden.

I want to let you know about an online program at Walmart.com that rewards you for recycling your old electronics. Walmart’s Electronics Trade-in Program allows customers to trade in unwanted electronics and earn Walmart prepaid Visa cards that can be used at Walmart stores and online at Walmart.com. Don’t let an old digital camera or cell phone end up in the landfill–recycle those products responsibly and earn a Walmart prepaid Visa card in return! The electronics trade-in program, powered by Gazelle, accepts thousands of used consumer electronics, and new categories are added regularly.  More information is available at http://walmart.gazelle.com.

To celebrate thredUP’s first Earth Day, we are rewarding green behavior!  Members can earn a $5 credit by simply listing a box of kids clothing on thredUP.  The $5 credit can be used towards cost of shipping for your next swap or a PRO membership.  Note: Promo is not valid prior to Earth Day and expires on the 23rd. Why is thredUP Green? At our core thredUP is green because we let you swap out the old for the new, cutting down on waste and consumption.

To build awareness around Earth Day, iVillage and CafePress have partnered to offer consumers a trendy and fashionable way to support the environment.  Deemed the “Picture Your World” photo contest, participants can log on at http://ivillage.cafepress.com/earthday/ to answer the question “Why on earth are you saving the planet?” and submit a photo of their choice.

Shepard Fairey, the designer made famous by President Obama’s “HOPE” posters (and Haiti relief bags) has jumped in, designing a limited edition reusable tote bag, a great, eco-friendly bag for moms on-the-go.

TV and DVD’s

Lionsgate Home Entertainment DVD released Jim Henson’s The Song of the Cloud Forest and Other Earth Stories for Earth Day.  The DVD contains four stories featuring some of Jim Henson’s most beloved characters that take viewers of all ages on explorations of our extraordinary world and its most fascinating wildlife.  Jim Henson’s The Song of the Cloud Forest and Other Earth Stories

In celebration of Earth Day’s 40th anniversary, the beloved and award-winning BBC Earth series Planet Earth is now available on iTunes with a special, one-time free episode download (“Pole to Pole”) from April 12 – 26, 2010.

For every “Wubbzy Goes Green” DVD sold, Anchor Bay will donate $1 to ACT to help support the planting of trees in playgrounds and schoolyards across the country!  I’ve attached the newsletter below – chock-full of tips, facts and details on “Wubbzy Goes Green” and ACT. Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!: Wubbzy Goes Green

AVATAR will be available on Blu-ray Disc and DVD everywhere in the United States and Canada on Earth Day, April 22.

Avatar (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray]

 

Playhouse Disney will encore green-themed episodes of "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," "Handy Manny," "Special Agent Oso," "Imagination Movers" and "Jungle Junction" (8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., ET/PT). 

Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato star in two new Disney’s Friends for Change: Project Green spots stressing the importance of protecting the planet’s oceans and waterways (6:25 p.m. and 6:55 p.m., ET/PT).    Throughout the evening Disney Channel will encore Disney’s Friends for Change: Project Green anthem "Make A Wave," performed by Jonas and Lovato, which will also be featured in the upcoming Disneynature film "OCEANS," opening in theaters Earth Day 2010.

Disney Channel continues its Earth Day celebration with encore presentations of environmentally-themed episodes of hit series "Phineas and Ferb," Hannah Montana," "The Suite Life On Deck" and "Wizards of Waverly Place," followed by an encore presentation of Disney Channel Original Movie "Minutemen" (6:00-10:00 p.m., ET/PT).

 

Scholastic’s WordGirl! An eco-themed episode, “Earth Day Girl,” will air on Thursday, April 22 (check local listings on PBS KIDS GO). Check out the language-loving superhero as she saves the planet. Preview it:

Activities with the Kids:

The following list was provided by Toys R Us:

Jump! Whether you call it skipping rope or jump roping, it’s a great activity to improve strength and fitness and can be performed on grass or pavement.

Retreat to the Beach. Instead of driving to the beach, recreate a piece of the coast’s serene atmosphere with a sandbox in the yard. Sandboxes provide a peaceful place where creativity and play come to life.

Be Farm and Garden Fresh. Get to know your local farmer and enlist the kids to join you at the local farmers’ markets. Better yet, plant your own garden that everyone can care for and enjoy all season long.

Let’s Go Fly a Kite! Show the kids how to soar into a colorful sky with only the force of nature to power your kite. A centuries-old activity, kite flying can be enjoyed at any age—with a little wind, of course!

Give Back. Gather the family for a volunteer day dedicated to beautifying the earth. Many communities have organizations that champion environmental protection and regularly organize events like stream and trail clean-ups.

Be Bubbly! Invite the neighbors to create bubble wands out of objects found around the house like straws, pipe cleaners, strawberry baskets and coat hangers. Take the kids outside and have your own bubble party!

Take a Hike. Locate a nature trail near you and take the kids on a woodsy adventure. Hiking is a group activity that provides great exercise and hands-on experiences with the natural world.

Start a Kickball Game. All it takes is a rubber playground ball, make-shift bases and some friends to start a kickball game. Create a neighborhood tournament and coach the kids though innings of bouncing fun.

Catch and Release. Butterflies are some of nature’s most beautiful creatures, although they aren’t easy to observe when they flutter in the sky. Using an insect or butterfly net, capture them and show the kids how to appreciate their beauty up close.  Then let them loose.

As families strive to make lifestyle changes that incorporate outdoor and eco-friendly activities, “R”Us stores nationwide continue to offer differentiated environmentally friendly items and a vast selection of toys and playthings suited for outdoor activity—all at affordable prices.

To learn more about the Jane Goodall Institute and Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, please visit www.janegoodall.org and www.rootsandshoots.org.

 

Local Earth Day Events:

Seattle has a lot planned to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Associated Content has a listing of 5 events for Earth Day in Seattle you’ll want to consider. Ranging from The Pacific Science Center to Children’s PlayGarden Earth Day event.

Terra Roots is proud to be partnering with the Earth Day Network to produce Seattle’s 40th Anniversary Earth Day Celebration Event as part of a Billion Acts of Green. We’ll have a green village (info and sign-ups), family activities and a full schedule of music and speakers

City of Woodinville will be hosting a tree planting ceremony on Saturday April 24th in honor of Earth Day. It will be at the Sammamish River Trail.

This is a list of things I have compiled from various e-mails that have been sent to me. I was not compensated in any way, it was my choice to post what I did. I thank all the companies that work with me and provided me with a great Earth Day Post.