Kids aren’t simply born loving nature. You’ve got to help them to develop an appreciation for nature, so in turn they want to protect this planet. Good ways to do this include:

Hold a family hiking day once a month.
Encourage more outdoor minded field trips at your child’s school.
Plan games and activities that encourage outdoor time such as bird watching, rock collecting, plant identification, nature scavenger hunts, and more.
Get involved in your local community garden, or if you have the means, planting a garden at home.
Plan green travel – i.e. for family vacations, plan a camping trip vs. a trip to …read more

According to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) a green school is a “School building or facility that creates a healthy environment conducive to learning while saving energy, resources and money. Green schools are built and/or operate with the goals of sustainability in mind.”

There are many elements that make up the whole of a green school – energy efficiency, recycling, school gardening and composting, sustainable materials, transportation, and indoor air quality. All of these are important, but none are quite as important as actually teaching kids about the environment. You can have a super charged green school, but if you’re …read more

School is starting up soon and it’s time to start planning your green school efforts. Tree Hugging Family has covered a lot of school topics here already, but this year I’ll be bringing in some new cool ideas, green school gear, and tips. If you’ve got a specific question about greening your school experience (for you or the kids) this year, this would be a good time to ask. Leave a question in the comments and I’ll try to cover it soon.

That said, before we take off for the 2009-2010 school year, let’s look at some past resources plus a …read more

Not all schools still require pencil cases, but just in case….
Case made from recycled tires:

Doy Bags – Jungle Juice Mixed Fruits Pencil Case – made from recycled juice packs.

Cargo Eco-Friendly Pencil Box Storage Container

Artist Pencil Box

These are all nice choice – and all have green aspects.
Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in August 2008

If your school isn’t already LEED certified, you can stand up at the next PTA meeting and suggest it. Sometimes all it takes is one voice.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a green building rating system that uses a third-party to certify buildings as green. It’s a program of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
The benefits of having a green school are outstanding. Not only is energy saved, but students can learn in a healthier and more productive environment. Teacher retention is higher at LEED-certified schools. And the money saved via increased energy efficiency can go towards education, …read more

Before we get going on our green your back to school experience this August, I figured we’d look back at some of the green school issues we’ve already covered.
Greener school info:

School Sustainability
School Grounds
School Transportation
School Cafeteria
School Waste Reduction

Homeschool projects & other stuff: 

Got Extra 2-Liter Bottles?: Create An Eco-Bottle Treehouse
Creative Reuse Art Projects
One Planet Full of Cool Globes
Build A Solar Cooker
Journey North: One of the best earth-based youth activities available
How Kids Can Make A Difference: Saving the Planet from A to Z

Click here to learn about all the current themes and events going on at Tree Hugging Family in August …read more

This week’s green audit is going to be kid specific; although adults are certainly welcome to participate. We’re going to be looking at schools, or rather the greening of schools.
What we’ll be looking at this week will include:

How schools can protect resources such as paper, water, and electricity.
What’s scary and not so green about the school cafeteria.
Schools supplies and how they affect sustainability.
The school grounds; including cleaning and maintenance.
School-based traffic and transportation.

We’ll also take a look at some very green schools, and a few other random issues that affect school greenness. I’ll offer some easy checklist formats this week, so …read more