Tag: earth day

Celebrate Earth Day with Radical Recycling for Minecraft: Education Edition

by , posted in Visionaires

Earth Day is almost here, and students around the world are busy devising ways to create a greener, cleaner, more sustainable planet. One of the most important lessons that educators can teach learners is that their choices matter, whether those are individual decisions or the solutions they support in their communities. To help students understand these crucial concepts, Minecraft: Education Edition has released the all-new Radical Recycling lesson!

This activity takes place in Sustainability City, a virtual world that gives students the chance to make their way through an epic Minecraft map as they explore recycling in a bustling urban setting. Learners start by researching and sharing background knowledge about recycling through introductory games and discussions to build connections with their own surroundings. They’ll also learn about a real-world recycling center that will help inform their actions in the game.

Once students have built up their knowledge of recycling, they enter Sustainability City and begin their quest. They’ll comb the city for recyclable materials, taking notes to determine what can be found at various locations. This journey will take them throughout the entire urban environment, including a house, school, office building, and grocery store. They’ll learn that different locations have different recycling needs and discover the kinds of materials that tend to accumulate at particular sites.

vehicle in minecraft

Once students have assessed the situation and shared their findings, they’ll visit the city’s recycling center to compare the in-game facility with its counterparts in the real world. They can consolidate their learning by writing a summary of which items can be recycled and how it’s done.

Now it’s time for students to get creative! Once they’ve assessed Sustainability City’s situation, they use the recyclable materials they’ve found to create a solution to a common household or classroom problem. It could be a lampshade made from recycled paper or a vehicle crafted from recycled cans—even a trampoline stitched together from repurposed clothing! You’ll be amazed at what your students create.

Educators can find supporting materials, guiding questions, curriculum connections, extension activities, and the Sustainability City world file on the Radical Recycling lesson page.

Earth Day learning isn’t just for the classroom. If you know a Minecraft player who uses a different version of the game, the Sustainability City world is also available as a free download in the Education Collection in the Minecraft Marketplace. By using the materials included on the lesson page, Minecraft players and their families can take part in sustainability learning at home.

A factory in minecraft

Looking for extra support? The Minecraft: Education Edition team is offering special sessions for educators and students. Join a virtual lesson jam on April 15 at 4:00 PM PT and get prepared to lead the Radical Recycling lesson with your students. On Earth Day itself, the team will be hosting a student-friendly live lesson experience featuring a brand-new Minecraft world, so register now and bring your learners on April 22 at 9:00 AM PT to get the first look at this new content.

The EdTech experts at Cobblestone Collective are also helping out with a full week of sessions designed to engage students using Sustainability City. Every day from April 19 to 23, they’ll be hosting live sessions to co-teach the lesson. After each session, students will show off their learning in a build challenge and can enter to win awesome Minecraft prizes. Can’t make the lesson? No worries! They’ll also be posting the challenges online. Learn all the details about these interactive virtual events.

Recycling in minecraft

We hope these Earth Day activities will inspire a new generation of innovative and ingenious sustainability superheroes among your students. Take a look at the Radical Recycling lesson plan and join the Minecraft: Education Edition team for their exciting events as you get ready for Earth Day. Together, we’ll empower students to build a better, greener world!

If you haven’t tried Minecraft: Education Edition in your classroom, get started at education.minecraft.net.

The post Celebrate Earth Day with Radical Recycling for Minecraft: Education Edition first appeared on Microsoft EDU.

Source

Make Every Day Earth Day: 10 Eco-Friendly Products for Parents and Kids

by , posted in Processors, Trending

These products replace those you typically use with eco-friendly options. Also check out these posts: Best Ways to Celebrate Earth Day and 15 Ways to Use Less Plastic. 

Organic Play Dough

Green Toys Dough is much like Play-Doh, but it’s made from organic flour and food-safe ingredients and packaged in recycled and recyclable materials printed with soy ink. The Dough Four-Pack contains four resealable tubs, red, yellow, green and blue; look for more sets with tools and accessories. Ages 2-8. $9.99 at greentoys.com

Dona Bela SHREDS

Dona Bela takes textile remnants and designs them into one-of-a-kind fashion neckwear, keeping the clothing manufacturing scraps out of landfills and employing folks in Des Moines, Iowa. As a plus, the company donates a portion of its proceeds to charity. Shreds start at $22, at donabelashreds.com

EcoSaucer Flying Disc

Launch those plastic grocery bags across the lawn with this disc made from 100 percent plastic grocery bags. Not only is it environmentally friendly, it’s dishwasher safe and packaged with recycled and recyclable materials. Ages 5 and older. $5.49 at greentoys.com

Reusable Snack Bags

How many plastic bags do you go through when making lunch for the kids? The answer is probably a ton–some for crackers, one for a sandwich, fruit, chips…the list goes on. Think about choosing reusable options that can be washed and used multiple times. Reusable sandwich bags from LunchSkins ($6.99 and up) are a great pick, or try a Bento Box Set ($12.99) from Bentology.

Sustainable Toys

Toys made from wood, recycled materials or natural rubbers are much better for the environment than plastic toys. Plan Toys has a line of Earth-friendly toys categorized by age. In addition to organic dough, Green Toys offers cars, planes and other play sets are made of 100 percent recycled material.

Kafe in the Box

This reusable coffee mug/travel mug from Precidio Design keeps coffee hot, stops spills, fits a vehicle’s cup holder – and prevents all those disposable cups from ending up in a landfill. Available in 12-ounce and 16-ounce sizes, in white, black, bronze and silver, $10.50-$17.99 at amazon.com

Tapp Collections Shopping Tote Bag

Make grocery shopping eco-friendly by bringing along a tote instead of using plastic bags. This shopping bag can be folded up and easily taken out when at the store. Available at amazon.com for $6.99-$8.99.

Eco-Friendly Cleaning

Most household cleaners you find at the store use chemicals to clean instead of natural ingredients. Try using green products such as Mrs. Meyer’s cleaners and dish soaps or Green Works cleaners and laundry detergents.

Green Experiments

Kids might think twice about that disposable foam cup once they experiment with Nancy B’s Science Club Garbage to Gardens Compost Kit and Decomposition Book. The kit is an introduction to composting and environmental science and includes a clear compost bucket, write-on/wipe-off boards and an activity journal. Ages 8-12. $24.99 at educationalinsights.com

Reusable Baby Food Pouches

Several companies make pouches you can use time and time again for baby food. Try Baby Brezza Reusable Food Pouches ($9.99 for 10) or Kiinde Foodii Pouches ($9.99 and up). Both of the systems offer wide openings for easy filling.

The post Make Every Day Earth Day: 10 Eco-Friendly Products for Parents and Kids appeared first on Atlanta Parent.

Source

50 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

by , posted in Processors, Trending

Earth Day was first celebrated April 22, 1970. Here are 50 ideas to help you go green and protect the earth 365 days a year.

House Hacks

Non-toxic cleaning supplies are widely available but can be costly. Instead, do it yourself. You can make your own products with essential oils, baking soda, castile soap, vinegar and more. Find instructions online.

Try a shampoo bar instead of a liquid shampoo for less plastic packaging.

Check the personal and environmental safety of items you use every day from skincare to cleaning products at ewg.org.

In your bathroom, put a can next to your trash can for recyclable materials – like toilet paper rolls – so you’ll recycle them instead of throwing them away.

Plant a tree in your backyard. See instructions at treesaregood.org. Donate or
volunteer with Trees Atlanta, which is committed to replacing trees lost to development and protecting green space areas in metro Atlanta. They also offer Family Fun activities. See more at treesatlanta.org.

Buy large-sized products or in bulk to reduce plastic packaging.

Beware of greenwashing, when a product is marketed as environmentally friendly but actually isn’t. Look for products with established, third-party emblems like Fair Trade Certified, Ecocert, Energy Star and others. Learn more with Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides.

Listen to these podcasts for inspiration on green living: The Minimalists, Conscious Chatter, Low Tox Life and The Green Divas.

Too much mail? Stop receiving junk mail with Eco-Cycle. Also, opt for online paperless billing.

Houseplants that are easy to take care of, like English ivy, mother-in-law’s tongue, mums and other plants, can naturally help remove indoor air pollutants such as formaldehyde and benzene.

Calculate the carbon footprint of your household at nature.org.

Check out The Good Trade for sustainable ideas on fashion, beauty, home and more.

Food

Start composting your food scraps, coffee grounds, leaves, paper towels, newspapers and other materials to turn them into soil for your yard. Learn how to compost with Georgia Recycling Coalition.

Stop preheating your oven, unless you’re baking bread or pastries.

Shop local farmers markets for fresh produce or join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Find one at localharvest.org/csa.

Match your pots and pans to the burner. A six-inch pan on an eight-inch electric burner will waste more than 40% of the heat produced, and food will take longer to cook.

Cooking your own meals cuts back on the waste produced by takeout bags, containers and plastic cutlery when you order from a restaurant.

Americans waste 422 grams of food per person daily, which is almost a pound of food. Reduce waste by planning your meals, buying what you realistically need and taking leftovers for lunch.

Water

Turn off the water when brushing your teeth.

Collect rainwater for watering plants.

Recycle.

Take hard to recycle items to CHaRM’s permanent or pop-up locations. The group will take electronics, glass, home goods, light bulbs and more. For a full list of items
as well as material processing fees, go to livethrive.org/charm. Find recycling solutions near you at earth911.com.

Properly dispose of batteries. Most single-use batteries can be recycled, although a fee may apply. Where you can, switch to rechargeable batteries, which can also be recycled.

Do not put your recyclables in a plastic bag. Put them loose into the recycling bin.

Don’t forget to recycle paper. Paper makes up about 28% of solid trash in landfills. By recycling one ton, it saves about 7,000 gallons of water during manufacturing.

Buy more products made from recycled materials. Look for these labels: recycled content, post-consumer and pre-consumer. Find a directory at recyclemoreplastic.org, and the EPA has a Buy-Recycled Series by products.

Reuse

Bring your own reusable bags and leave a few in your car, so they’re easy to grab when you need them.

Switch to microfiber cloths or reusable towels to clean up messes instead of paper towels.

Stop using single-use water bottles. Buy a reusable water bottle, and it’ll keep your water cold longer, too!

Buy pre-owned clothing. Shop local thrift stores or check out online sites like Depop and ThredUP to find items that are new to you.

Add reusable wool dryer balls to your laundry instead of single-use dryer sheets.

Use reusable silicone bags when packing lunch instead of plastic bags.

Store food with reusable beeswax wrap instead of cling wrap.

Take your make-up off with a cleanser and a reusable cloth instead of a single-use wipe.

Appreciate Nature

Participate in the City Nature Challenge, as cities around the world engage in nature to make observations and find species. Visit iNaturalist.org to download the app and share your observations.

Spend time in nature. Head to a wide, open green space to explore.

Enjoy guided nature hikes, programs about geology, hydrology and biology and earth-based recreation programs with the state parks’ D.I.R.T. See a full list of events at gastateparks.org/DIRT. Please note that while DNR-managed sites are open at this time, programs may not be running.

Visit the Phinizy Center for Water Sciences to learn more about sustainable watersheds. The Center has trails, wetlands, rivers, ponds, woods and an outdoor classroom. While they are still open, they are also posting live educational videos and storytimes on their Facebook.

Go on a stewardship trip with the Georgia Conservancy. Go hiking, paddling, camping or on a service trip to celebrate conservation and the diversity of Georgia – from our riverbanks to our mountains to our saltwater-marsh and barrier islands. Find out more at georgiaconservancy.org/trips.

Join Atlanta Audubon Society for education and to support conservation and advocacy efforts protecting Georgia’s birds and their habitats. Start bird-watching in your own backyard by visiting audubon.org/birding/backyard for activities.

Appliances

Lower your home’s energy use. You can purchase a home energy monitor to find which appliances are using the most electricity.

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) use 25%-80% less energy and can last 3-25 times longer than compact fluorescent lamps.

Turn off the lights when you leave a room.

Use the dishwasher or washing machine only for full loads.

In the summer, use fans instead of turning up the air conditioning unit. Turn off fans when you leave the room. The Department of Energy recommends setting the thermostat to 78 degrees when you’re home and need cooling.

In the winter, wear layers instead of turning up the heat. The Department of Energy recommends setting the thermostat to 68 degrees while you’re awake and setting it lower when you’re asleep or away from home.

Electronics

Turn off your monitor if you aren’t going to use your computer for more than 20
minutes, and turn off both the CPU and monitor if you’re not going to use your computer for more than two hours.

When you upgrade to the latest cell phone, recycle your old one. To be safe, factory reset the device so all your data is removed, and if you can, remove the battery before recycling the phone.

Unplug electronics and chargers when not in use.

Buying a new computer? Laptops are often more energy-efficient, as they can run off battery power, unlike desktop computers which are always plugged in.

Plug your devices into a UL-certified power strip and switch it off for the night to prevent phantom electrical draw.

The post 50 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day appeared first on Atlanta Parent.

Source

Love and Learn About Atlanta Nature Like These Locals

by , posted in Processors, Trending

Atlanta families have a multitude of green spaces and opportunities to explore the outdoors right out our back door. Atlanta Parent spoke to three different nature professionals about how to enjoy the great outdoors and cultivate a love of nature in yourself and your family.

Juliet Cohen

Executive Director at Chattahoochee Riverkeeper

From a young age, Cohen enjoyed spending time outdoors. She was born and raised in Puerto Rico, surrounded by tropical waters and rainforests, which she loved exploring. “I definitely have always been an outdoorsy person. I grew up in a very outdoor-friendly place, where year-round you could spend time outside,” she says.

She knew she wanted to work in water preservation, which made Chattahoochee Riverkeeper an excellent fit. CRK works to ensure there’s enough clean water in the Chattahoochee River. “We protect the Chattahoochee River as a resource. We want to make sure water quality is protected for drinking, irrigation and the processes we need, along with making sure there is enough water for everyone,” she says.

You don’t have to work for an organization to make a difference, Cohen says. “There are a lot of things that the everyday person can do that will have a big impact. You don’t have to wait for Earth Day, and you don’t have to worry that you as an individual or family won’t have an impact,” she says. “Things that we do every day – our transportation, our food, our property – can have a pretty big footprint. We have to train ourselves to have green habits.”

But volunteering with an organization is a wonderful way to reconnect as a family and with nature. Volunteering helps the earth, but it also shapes your children. “As parents, we have a responsibility to raise well-rounded children and to expose them to all aspects of civic life, including being a community servant. Initially, there might be some hesitancy to do something for the first time, but it’s a great experience that builds community and kindness,” Cohen says. “In today’s world, we’re constantly fighting against negativity from so many angles, whether that’s political, criminal, the pandemic. Doing something as a community builds a lot of goodwill. It doesn’t cost anything except your time, and it has a lasting impact. If you want to raise well-rounded humans, volunteering is one way to do it.”

James Moy

NeighborWoods Project Coordinator at Trees Atlanta

Moy grew up in Candler Park, a neighborhood with an impressive tree canopy. After graduating, returning to Atlanta to work for Trees Atlanta seemed like the right move. As the NeighborWoods Project Coordinator, many of his responsibilities occur during the October to March planting season. Each Saturday is a volunteer tree planting project, so he coordinates supplies, people and community outreach.

“A lot of people know we’re a city in the forest, but a lot of that forest is on private land, so we need the help of business owners and home owners who understand the importance of the tree canopy for the greater community,” Moy says. According to a study, 77% of Atlanta’s canopy is on single-family residential land and 8% is on multi-family residential land. “People need to understand that trees on private property affect more than just them. We can’t put a dollar value on how important that tree is.”

Moy’s parents made spending time outdoors an integral part of his life by spending a lot of their free time outside. “The biggest things growing up that made me love the outdoors was feeling safe and cared for,” he says. “The outdoors felt like a safe space to me and made me feel like it’s a place everyone is welcome. We were always enjoying any chance we could to get outside, which made me more comfortable traveling and with some of the things that gross people out about being outside, like dirt or bugs,” he adds. As a student at the University of Georgia, this made him confident about studying abroad at UGA’s satellite campus in Costa Rica, where he studied the rainforest and cemented his love for reforestation.

David Guzman

Interpretive Ranger at Hard Labor Creek State Park with Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites

As an interpretive ranger, Guzman creates, organizes and promotes the programs and events at Hard Labor Creek State Park. He also helps with the management of natural resources, such as controlled eradication of invasive species and establishing park boundaries.

Originally from Ecuador, he enrolled in UGA to work on a management of natural resources degree when he moved to Georgia. He began working with Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites after graduating. “I enjoy every minute of it. Georgia is beautiful with the Piedmont, coasts, mountains, different types of forest,” he says. “There’s a lot to learn about all the ecosystems, animals and plants we have here. Each park has new things to offer and different history. When visitors come to a park, they feel like they have done something more than just vacation. They feel like they’ve been part of the history of the park.”

If you haven’t prioritized time in nature, it’s not too late to start now, no matter how old your kids are. Unlike Cohen and Moy, Guzman does not consider his upbringing outdoorsy. He grew up in a city with three million people and being in nature was uncommon, and he learned to love the outdoors as a teenager. Every weekend, he’d do nature activities with his friends, such as camping or hiking. “My group of friends instilled in me a love for nature. I learned how to be in nature, how to survive in it and how nature works,” he says. “It was a life-changing experience.”

A love of nature can encourage your child’s sense of adventure and independence. Guzman’s first degree was in tourism, so he often traveled, and he even backpacked for two years throughout South America. “I love new challenges and new things to do. Life is about the experiences you have, the things that you can remember in the future,” he says. “I still think I’m on an adventure, moving here and living in Georgia. Everything is new – it’s a new life, a new beginning.”

To promote a love of the outdoors in your kids, you have to expose them, he says. He recommends Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites’ eRanger videos, which show easy activities you can do in a green space. “Take the kids to do different activities, and take them out of their comfort zone,” he says. “Expose them to something they’ve never done to see how they respond. Anything that sparks some interest in the kids, and then, those kids get to enjoy it so much they want to keep doing it. They can grow that interest themselves.”

– Emily Webb

The post Love and Learn About Atlanta Nature Like These Locals appeared first on Atlanta Parent.

Source