Start A Green Living Now!
Green at School
How To Teach Your Children to Have an Eco-Friendly Christmas
It is great that you have decided to go green this year for Christmas. However, are you also teaching your kids how to be green for the holiday too? This is the way to make a lasting impression on the earth. Teach the whole family how to be eco-friendly for Christmas and all year through. For this article though we will give you some ideas for Christmas that you and the kids can do to have it green. Baking Using Organic Ingredients Baking is a great family activity to do with the kids. It is even better when you use only organic ingredients in your baked goods. Give the local farmers your business and buy their fresh produce, even the eggs can be organic remember. Teach your kids the reasoning behind organic foods such as no pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Also the kids can learn how to measure the various ingredients into the dishes you are cooking which can help them with their math. Ornaments from Recycled Paper You and your kids will enjoy making paper snowflakes; you know the kind you used to cut out as a child. Instead of regular paper made from wood pulp though, use paper made from plant fibers ...- Bookmark :
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“Green” Back to School
Going back to school means hitting the retail stores and stocking up on all kinds of stuff, right? Well, maybe it means that for some, but the eco-conscious are looking for ways to go green when they get ready to go back to school. 1. The Lunchbox Remember your lunchbox as a kid? Was it festooned with Star Wars characters, Rainbow Brite, Smurfs, or Superman? Well, times have changed but the principle has not - lunchboxes reduce waste. Go for a used one at an antique store for a retro look, or invest in a reusable cooler bag. Thermoses are still great for transporting drinks and soup. Don't forget the cloth napkin and reusable flatware. 2. Pencils and Pens Americans throw away a lot of pens - six billion annually, in fact - and disposable, mechanical pencils are tossed when the graphite stick or eraser runs out. Take an inventory of your existing pencils and pens before back-to-school shopping. You may find you have enough of these writing implements to share! 3. Creative Supplies Do you really need the new, plastic pencil carrier, or the sparkly backpack, or the holographic binder? After making your list of school supplies, raid your home and see what's available that ...- Bookmark :
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How to Choose a Green College
Now high school students bound for college can add "green" to their list of criteria in choosing which institution they attend. If you'd like to know how to choose a green college, here are some tips. What To Look For 1. Community Service Colleges like Warren Wilson regularly engage in community clean-up programs. A green college will have programs of this nature for its students to participate in. 2. Green Buildings More colleges are erecting buildings that are energy efficient, or modifying existing ones. When you visit the college's website or campus, ask about the construction of the buildings. See if they are LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified. 3. Reuse Does the college have a "swap shop" or sell used books? Some green colleges have shops where students can trade gently used items like electronics to encourage reuse of these items. Used books are also important to save paper and money. 4. Recycle Check to see that the college has a prominent recycling program that is easy to make use of and find. 5. Green Jobs A green college should offer students courses and majors that involve green jobs and emphasize sustainable living. 6. Dorms Find out if the dorms are equipped with energy-efficient lighting and water-saving bathroom fixtures. -America's Top ...- Bookmark :
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Teaching Young Children about Pond Life
Ponds are fascinating places. They can be small ecosystems, with all life forms supporting and dependent on each other. Young children enjoy discovering interesting things in nature, and finding a pond to explore can be the first step in developing a love for nature. Ponds are more accessible than you may think. Hiking in the woods will often reveal puddles or other areas of still water that can certainly be classified as ponds. You may have a neighbor with a pond on his or her property, or you may have one available in your own yard. Even urban dwellers can create a pond by putting a container out to catch rain water and leaving it undisturbed for a week or more. Wind, rain, and visiting creatures will deposit some sort of life form (eggs, spores, etc.) as the water sits undisturbed. Before beginning to teach young children about pond life, check out some good books at your local library that are appropriate for your age group. Depending on the age of your kids, notebooks and other means of recording observations are helpful. Regularly visit the pond and record what you and the children see, keeping an eye out for those creatures you ...- Bookmark :
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The Future of Green Toys
For any business savvy person that is looking for a good green investment, look no further than green children's toys. There are a lot of possibilities in this market field with many signs that are showing future expansion. Green toys are becoming steadily popular with children all over the place. These types of toys offer much more in the way of safety than other toys that comes in from other countries containing led paint. Green toys also do not have small parts that may become choking hazards as other toys do. As the sales for green toys keeps increasing, the future continues to look brighter and brighter. There are many companies now investing in green toys and the future market for these things should be booming. Wal-Mart is among these companies that are investing in green toys, which is another good sign that there is a future in this. There have been news estimates predicting that the market will be a $1 billion dollar market this year coming up. Green toys are also made from recycled materials and pose no threat to the environment. All materials that are used in green toys are natural, like bamboo. These toys are hardy, very ...- Bookmark :
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