Paper, Plastic & More: A Kid's Guide to Recycling & Environmental Conservation

Helping kids understand conservation, climate change, emergency preparedness, and the importance of recycling is essential for the well-being of the planet and its inhabitants. Environmental conservation deals with being practical and not wasting our natural resources. It’s the protection and preservation of air, water, soil, and other natural elements that will be needed for the health of future generations. Nature is all around us – including the flowers, plants, animals, lands, and seas - and should be enjoyed and appreciated.

Although it’s nice to watch and enjoy nature, we must all do our part to preserve it. There are many ways that children can help. Taking shorter showers, turning off the faucet when brushing your teeth, and making sure the dishwasher is full before starting it can save many gallons of water over time. Turning off a light switch or the television when leaving a room can save electricity. Switching to CFL light bulbs and using reusable grocery bags instead of paper or plastic can also help. The resources below will provide educational web sites, games, activities, and work pages to teach children about the importance of recycling and environmental conservation.

Kid’s Sites

EekoWorld: PBS websites that teaches children ways to care for the planet through interesting facts about pollution and the ecosystem, and related games and activities.
Kids’ Planet: Kids can learn how to protect the environment through games, facts, and other kid-friendly resources.
The Green Squad: NRDC helps children identify environmental problems and potential hazards in the classroom and provide solutions.
Recycling and Paper Arts and Crafts for Kids: Teaches students the importance of recycling and provides ideas on how to make recycling fun with art projects that utilize recycled paper and plactics.
EPA Climate Change: The United States Environmental Protection Agency provides climate and weather information, animations, games, and links to educational resources.
Roofus’ Home: Roofus the dog teaches children how to conserve energy in their own home by becoming efficient.
Welcome to Recycle City: Take a virtual tour of Recycle City to learn the basics of recycling and explore various ways to recycle.
Environmental Education for Kids: Electronic magazine for kids grades 4 through 8 that teach about important environmental issues.
Kids Saving Energy: Tips, games, activities, and facts for kids who want to learn how they can help conserve energy.
Field Trip Earth: Global resources for teachers and their students that provides a multi-media presentation for locations all over the world and teaches about wildlife conservation.
Children of the Earth: Information on various environmental topics for kids, such as the conservation of animals and plants.
Flying Wild: Flying Wild is a program that is dedicated to the conservation of wild birds and encourages schools to get involved.
Treeture Treasure: Fun information, activities, and games that teach kids about the importance of saving our trees.
WebRangers: Online Junior Ranger program from the National Park Service for kids of all ages that teaches kids about our National Parks.
Earth Matters for Kids: Collection of games, curricula for educators, and information for kids about becoming environmentally-friendly.
Kids Do Ecology: Learn about ecology, world biomes, and marine mammals while participating in fun classroom ecology projects.
Smokey the Bear – Smokey Kids: Smokey the Bear teaches kids how they can prevent wild fires by learning how fire works.

Educational Materials

Climate Kids: Collection of educator resources related to climate change, the ozone, weather, and global warming.
School Outreach: Water quality website dedicated to teachers and students with games, activities, and educational printables.
Conservation Central: Habitat education program that features classroom curriculum with web interactive pages, themes, activities, and projects.
Earth Day Lesson Plan: Background information and lesson plan for 2^nd and 3^rd graders with a subtopic of Earth Day.
Forestry/Natural Resources: Lesson plans for 6^th through 8^th grade students that concentrates on forestry and natural resources.
The Ocean’s in Trouble: Web quest that helps to evaluate hazards in the ocean, created for grades 4 through 6.
NCEH Kids’ Page – Fun Activities: The National Center for Environmental Health provides several printable games, including a word search and crossword puzzle.
Environmental/Recycling Quiz: Suitable for any age!
Games and Activities: Fun stuff for kids that teach environmental education, such as coloring and activity books and PowerPoint’s.
Activities for Kids: Kids can test their knowledge of the water and the environment, as well as explore water with the Water Saver’s Workbook.
Creative Recycling: Discover over 54 ways to recycle creatively by using materials to make crafts at home or school.
Muck in 4 Life: Healthy, fun, and environmentally free volunteering activities for children and adults.
Energy Web Quest Student Process: Researching project for student groups in which each student is assigned specific roles.
Intermediate Activity: This energy source web quest allows students to identify ten major energy sources used in the United States.
Conservation Information for Kids: List of educational conservation activities for kids intended for elementary aged children.
Activities for Kids and Families: Collection of fun hands-on learning activities about conservation for kids and their parents.