Visit LCFF Earth Day Pinterest Board for fun crafts & activity ideas!

Earth Day Pinterest Board Here

1. Play Outside

State parks and Waukesha County Parks are great places to get the family outside and enjoy the outdoors. For my family, there is a field that we ride our bikes to by our house.  On our bike ride there, we pass a pond and observe nature and ducks.  At the field, we play catch with the balls we’ve brought in the bike trailer.  So, celebrate outside and be thankful for Earth! Earth is a beautiful place and it is a gift.  We can also celebrate earth day by picking up trash or liter. Tip: Bring used grocery bags to protect your hands from touching it and another bag to put the trash in.

2. Help Minimize Textile Waste 

• Have Family Conversations around Recycling and Minimizing Waste.
• Watch a video on Reducing, Reusing, Recycling:
  • Here is a great video for little kids on recycling. 
  • Here is a great video for K-5th graders on recycling.
  • Here is a great video for 5th grade and up on recycling.
  • Here is a visual reminder for parents about what can be recycled.
• Make changes to live more sustainably. Here are some great places to start:
  
  • Make some of the simple switches listed here to reduce household waste.
  • See what cloth diapering is all about here.
  • Reduce consumption and avoid fast fashion by shopping second hand. Check out our rummage sale guide here.

4. Grow a Garden and Patron Local Farmers

• Make Seed Bombs. Find instructions and inspiration here.
• Grow Your Own Food. Check out our contributor, Martha’s experiences here.
• Support local farms and eat local food by joining a CSA (community supported agriculture). Find more information here and about local CSA’s in your area here.
• Support local farmers markets (most are starting up again soon!). Here’s information about farmers markets in our area.  

5. Research and support sustainability organizations in our community

• Waukesha County Recycles Page
• Greener Oconomowoc
• Waukesha County Green Team
• Ice Age Trail Alliance, Waukesha/Milwaukee Chapter
• Pewaukee River Partnership
• Tall Pines Conservancy
• FLOW l For Love of Water
• Lake Effect Co. – a 1% for the Planet Partner

8.  Attend some or all of these local Earth Day Events:

• Nugget Nation in Brookfield is hosting an Earth Day themed storytime on Monday, April 22 during their morning session. INFO HERE
• Earth Day Yoga Celebration with 8th State Hot Yoga + Fitness at the Corners of Brookfield April 21, 2024 INFO HERE
• April 24, 2024- Earth Day Class at Stone Bank Farm Market $35/class
  • Go on a hike along the river in search of natural treasures on the farm to build your own nature wand + leaf wall print.
• Earth Day Week at Retzer Nature Center has fun events April 20-26, 2024. INFO HERE
• Earth Day-A-Z Astronomy by Horwitz-DeRemer Planetarium INFO HERE
• Earth Day Free tree GIVEAWAY by Village of Lisbon   INFO HERE
• Annual Earth Day event April 21 at Good Harvest in Pewaukee
  
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• Spring River Clean Up with Friends of Hoyt Park & Pool April 20 from 9 am to noon. INFO HERE

• Tall Pines Conservancy will be distributing FREE native tree saplings at their office in Nashotah on Friday, April 28 as a combined celebration of Earth and Arbor Day. Trees will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis from 10 am to 6 pm, while supplies last. 

• Join Greener Oconomowoc on Friday, April 26th at 1:30 PM at the Waukesha State Bank Oconomowoc branch for a presentation on land conservation by Paul Meuer of Tall Pines Conservancy! No RSVP required.

  • Explore Tall Pines Conservancy’s mission to preserve our rural heritage and open spaces by protecting farmland, water resources and natural areas.
  • Learn what it means to put rural land into a conservancy and how it impacts the environment.
  • Find out about local projects and get connected to upcoming events and volunteer opportunities.

• Tall Pines Conservancy will be preparing raised garden beds for the Ravensholme Victory Gardens, funded in part through the Food, Faith and Farming Network.

  Volunteers will help build the raised garden beds using kits. No cutting required, but assembly includes nails/screws, so please bring a wireless drill if you have one. They will then use collected organic/compostable materials to fill the bases and add a layer of topsoil.

  Volunteers at the event will have the opportunity to claim some of the available garden beds with the agreement to donate portions of their produce to a local food pantry! And, they will get the chance to take home trees to plant at home! On May 4th from 9 am to noon.