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We are not even halfway through the school year and already I have been inundated with forms and catalogs from my daughter’s school for fundraisers that almost always include low-quality foods, junk, or paper products that I neither need nor want. Stuff that is designed to clog up my closets while depleting resources and inevitably filling up landfills. Isn’t there are greener way for kids to help raise money for their school without trashing the planet? Here are some great ideas for greening your child’s next school fundraiser:
Sell Green Stuff: A number of upcoming organizations, such as Greenraising (www.greenraising.com) and Lets Go Green (www.letsgogreen.biz) now offer eco-friendly fundraising opportunities. Both offer a range of products to choose from such as SIGG water bottles, eco-friendly cleaning products, and recycled office supplies that can support and protect the eco-friendly cause while also raising some much needed green for your child’s school. Another great green option is to sell reusable grocery bags through companies such as Chico Bag (www.chicobag.com) or ReuseThisBag.com (www.reusethisbag.com). Imprint your school or club’s logo on these eco-friendly bags to show-off your school spirit.
Host A Green Event: You can raise a pot of cash for your school with a green, waste-free event such as a spaghetti dinner or pancake breakfast. Hold the event in your school’s cafeteria or your local fire hall and hit up local businesses to donate food, reusable napkins, and compostable dishes.
Pledge To Be Green: Kids can raise money and get a little exercise with a green fundraiser such as a walk-a-thon or obstacle course. Pledgers can donate cash for every lap walked or obstacle achieved. The only resource your kids will use is their own boundless energy!
Photo credit: André Menegatti
What's your Trash Can I.Q? Do you know how long it takes each of these items to break down in the waste stream? Take this quiz to test your knowledge and find out why recycling is so important!
http://quibblo.com/trackback/iA-3K4
I recently heard from one of my subscribers who was thrilled with the info she found in The Green Parent but felt overwhelmed with guilt because she simply could not do all of the things she thought she should be doing to help protect the planet. So I thought it was high time for a few Green Parent "eco-confessions." Here goes:
1. We live 3 blocks away from a perfectly fine public school. However, I drive my daughter 35 minutes (each way) to a private school in another town because I feel it is a better fit for her.
2. I eat meat and lots of it. I used to be a vegetarian (no meat, poultry, or fish) for twelve years and although I would like to someday get back to a veggie diet, I currently eat any and all kinds of meat. In fact, about the same time that I wrote Hold The Beef! I was literally filling my freezer with a large shipment of beef that my husband and I had ordered. Granted, the cow was raised as organically as possible on a small farm, and I do try to limit the amount of beef I consume each week, but the fact remains that I am not even close to vegetarian.
3. I use disposable diapers. My eldest child was raised almost exclusively on cotton diapers. However, when my second child came along, I became a little more lax. I now use a pretty even mixture of cotton diapers, disposables, and gdiapers.
4. I do not collect my kitchen scraps for the compost pile, despite my almost daily pledge to do so. I'm working on it...who knows, maybe today will be the day that I finally organize a system to do it!
And these are just my "eco-confessions" for today! Got an eco-confession you'd like to share? Post it here. And please, please, please remember that nobody is perfect....every little bit you do each day makes a HUGE difference...so don't even worry about doing it all. Find the little eco-friendly things that work for you and your family and make them a part of your daily routine. And like everything else you do as a parent...if you flub up, just make sure your kids aren't watching!
How much does your car weigh? Personally, I can't answer this question except to say that my car is pretty darned heavy. That's why I find it so disturbing with the findings from FuelEconomy.gov that "most vehicles produce several times their weight in greenhouse gases each year." The amount of time we spend behind the wheel has a significant impact on the planet. So if you are ready to make a change that will really make a difference, consider organizing an office carpool. Carpooling is a fantastic way to save money, reduce congestion and save the planet.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, each person that carpools saves 77 lbs of hydrocarbons (the nasty stuff that makes smog); 550 carbon monoxide; 33 lbs of nitrogen oxides; 9,900 lbs of carbon dioxide; as well as 500 gallons of gasoline every year.
Here's how to get your carpool up and running:
- Find out what kinds of transportation benefits are offered by your employer. If they don't have a policy established, talk to them about the government sponsored Commuter Choice program that works with employers to design commuting choices. Commuter Choice can work out a custom plan that takes into account tax incentives for any commuting benefits offered to employees as well as solutions involving flex-time, route planning, and van-pools.
- Seek out co-workers and friends who might be interested in sharing a ride. Don't know anyone interested in carpooling? Find fellow commuters in your area at eRideShare or Carpool Connect.
- Once you've established your carpool, go over some Carpool Etiquette to make sure that everyone stays happy.
- Kick back, relax, and enjoy the guilt-free ride!
I spend a lot of time "eco-nagging" my daughters. Whether it's "please turn off the light," or "DO NOT stand there with the refrigerator door open," I am constantly pestering them use less energy...a concept that I'll admit can be somewhat abstract to children. A great way to teach kids about energy consumption is to turn the tables and let them teach you. Help your child give your house an "Energy Report Card". Here's how...
Energy Report Cards
For Toddlers and Preschoolers: At this age, the idea is to keep it simple. Download the free Home Energy Audit Kit from EarthCare and help your child identify the items in the pictures (of common household scenes) that use energy. Color the pictures and introduce the basic concepts. "When we turn the light on, we use energy." Show your child how you turn off the light whenever you leave a room so that you don't waste energy.
For Elementary School-Aged Kids: Using the same kit mentioned above, take the concepts one step further. Look through the house together to identify the items that use energy (lights, TV, computer, cell phone charger, etc.) Now, see if you can find ways together to use a little less energy. Adjust the thermostat by a few degrees, unplug appliances that you don't use regularly, replace burned out light bulbs with compact fluorescents. Check out HogBusters an online game where kids can learn more about the energy savers and wasters throughout the house.
Next, make sure your kids know just where all of that energy is coming from. The diagram posted below gives a good general overview of how this energy gets to your house. You can explore this site further to learn about the different kinds of energy and how they are produced.
For Tweens and Teens: Teenagers should already know what items use energy, but they may not be aware of how much that energy costs in resources and dollars. Surf with your teen over to Saving Electricity 101and scroll down the page to the Electricity Calculator. There you can look up the energy cost in dollars of most common household items (everything from coffee machines to X-boxes.) The idea is not to make kids feel guilty about using energy, just aware that the energy they use does cost money. Talk about the resources (fossil fuels or renewables) that are needed to create energy. You can also check out Home Energy Savers for a web-based home energy auditing tool that calculates your homes energy costs based on the averages in your local area.
Now that your kids know all about saving energy, turn them loose on their schools. A school "Energy Report Card" makes a great science project and can help schools save a bundle of money on energy costs. Oh, and don't be surprised to hear a little "eco-nagging" as well. "Don't put so much hot water in that bath, Mom!"
I find it incredible that in this day and age when we are battling with issues like childhood obesity, ADHD, and environmental degradation, the majority of schools across the nation still support the use of vending machines loaded with sugary-sweet and nutrionally-voided foods. Sodas and vending machine fare are not only terrible for our children’s health; they also create waste and use ingredients that can be harmful to the environment. What good does it do to pack your child a healthy "no-waste" lunch everyday when she will toss it aside in favor of Twinkies® and Pepsi®?
Of course, as parents we need to talk to our children about good nutrtion. But we also need the schools to be on our side. So talk to your school officials and other parents about banning soda, candy, junk food, and fast food from school grounds. I know that these machines benefit our schools financially, but are you really willing to pay that price?
A recent Yale University study found that children who ride a school bus are exposed to up to 15 times more particulate pollution than average. That’s bad news for the 24 million American children who ride a school bus each day. Researchers estimate that this increased exposure is due to the idling and queuing of school buses. In other words, as school buses line up and wait in front of our kids’ schools, they are filling up harmful particulate pollution that will stay with our children throughout their ride.
What can you do abou it? Talk to your school administrators about the health and environmental implications of bus idling and propose a measure to ban it. Seventh grader Adam Martin from Jericho, VT , appeared earlier this year before Vermont’s House Natural Resources Committee to urge lawmakers to ban bus idling. If he can do it, so can you!
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sponsors the "Clean School Bus" program in an effort to inform parents and school board officials about the need to ban bus idling. Check out http://www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus/ for more info.
The next time you're headed to the grocery store or the soccer field, make an effort to park in the shade. It will keep your car cooler in the summer and minimize the evaporization of fuel.
 driving green
Whether you’re at home or at work, get in the habit of using both sides of a piece of paper. Kids’ art projects, grocery lists, and messages can give paper a second life. Check with your kids’ school to see if any of your waste (such as jars, magazines, paper towel rolls, newspapers, or plastic bottles) could be used for art projects. At the store, bring along your own shopping bags; either the plastic bags from your last trip, or better yet, a reusable tote bag.
Many parents rely heavily on pre-packaged and disposable goods when packing lunches. Sure, they’re convenient, but what is the cost of this convenience? Much of the trash generated in the American home comes from the packaging on the food we buy. According to Wastefreelunches.org, each school-age child who packs a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year. That works out to 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one average-size elementary school. Ditch those pre-packaged goods and make your kids a waste-free lunch. How do you make a waste-free lunch? Instead of wrapping sandwiches in aluminum foil or plastic bags, use a reusable container that can hold the sandwich as well as fresh veggies and other treats. Substitute cloth napkins and reusable silverware for disposables. Replace juice boxes and water bottles with reusable drink containers. And use a lunchbox or cooler instead of paper lunch bags.
Start a toy exchange with friends. As every parent knows, today’s favorite toy is tomorrow’s closet clutter. Instead of buying new toys every week, bring a box of your old toys to a friend’s house and bring a box of their old toys home. Swap them back after a few weeks. Instead of buying books, movies, and magazines, utilize your local library or movie rental store.
Think twice before you hit that PRINT button. Read documents, news, and magazines online. Pay bills over the web to save paper from bills and checks. Send out e-cards to save both paper and cash. At work, distribute memos and circulate documents by email.
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