5 eco crafts to celebrate world environment day

World Environment Day on June 5 is the day that the United Nations encourages worldwide awareness and action to help protect our environment for the future.

World Ocean Day on June 8 is a connected occasion, used by the UN to bring attention to the importance of the world’s oceans and ways that we can help preserve them. 

These two days are ideal for celebrating the wonders of our world with our children and showing them how to mark the occasions with fun keepsakes that will also teach them about the environment, and help preserve our planet for their future.

Here are some fun craft ideas that you can do with the kids in your care to celebrate our planet and teach them about the importance of conservation. 

1. Orange shell bird feeder

This eco-friendly craft uses items you should already have lying around, is biodegradable, and can be used to teach children about zero-waste practices, and ways to help and protect local wildlife.

You will need:

• 1 large orange (will make 2 feeders)
• String
• Bird seed

How to:

• Cut the orange in half and either squeeze for fresh juice or scoop out the insides to make healthy muffins.
• Using a sharp pencil, poke two holes near the cut end of the orange, one on either side. 
• Cut a length of string long enough to loop over a tree branch with some extra hanging space, and thread the ends through the holes in each orange half, tying them off securely.
• Fill the orange shell with bird seed and hang it in a tree, low enough for the kids to see easily when feathered friends come in for a feed. 

 2. Paper cup wind turbine

Not only is this a fun way to reuse leftover cups and recycle paper, this activity can also be used to teach children about sustainable power.

You will need:

• 4 clean paper cups (ice cream cups work great)
• Paint in two colours
• Glue
• 1 square sheet of paper (recycled A4 is fine, just cut it into a square)
• Push pin

How to:

• Paint two of the cups one colour and two your second colour
• Once they’re dry, stack them together with the bottom cup lip-down for stability, gluing the rest bottom-to-bottom and top-to-top to build a small tower.
• Fold the paper square corner to corner to form a triangle, unfold and fold the opposite corners together. Flatten the paper and cut halfway down each diagonal folded line.
• Fold one side of each cut corner into the middle of the square to create the sails of the wind turbine. Secure each sail with a dab of glue, then attach to the top of the cup tower with a push pin, making sure the sails can still spin.

3. Bee hotel

A lovely way to introduce children to the importance of bees in our environment, this is also a fun activity using recycled materials, and a keepsake that can be taken home to enjoy.

You will need:

• A clean empty tin can or plastic cup 
• Paper straws or other narrow hollow tubes cut to fit inside the can
• Yellow and black paint
• Nails and a hammer (if using a can)
• String

How to:

• Make holes in the side of the can or cup with nails (and the hammer if necessary). Knot one end of the string, thread it through the holes to create a hanging loop and then tie the other end off inside the can.
• Paint the outside of the can or cup yellow, adding black bumblebee stripes around the middle once it’s dry.
• Fit the cut straws snugly inside, with the cut ends poking out the front. This will be where your bees can go inside and make their nests.
• Hang the bee hotel somewhere safe for the bees, where the children can see them coming and going.

4. Egg carton ocean

Use this activity to talk about the different plants and creatures that live in the ocean, and how important it is to keep our waters clean for them to live in.

You will need:

• A small egg carton
• Blue paint
• Glitter (optional)
• Glue
• Scissors
• Small shells and smooth stones
• Recycled paper and cardboard (some green and blue if available)
• Markers or crayons

How to:

• Paint the inside of the egg carton blue
• Add some glue and glitter if you’re using it.
• While this dries, help the children to draw and colour in some fish shapes and seaweed from the paper and cardboard. Cut them out if necessary or help the children to do so themselves.
• Help the children to put their ocean together, placing fish, seaweed, shells and stones where they want and gluing them in place once they’re happy with their designs.

5. Ocean waves bottle

A lovely visual activity, this is also a great way to teach children about waves in the ocean and how they move.

You will need:

• An empty plastic bottle and lid
• Water (enough to fill the bottle ⅓ of the way)
• Blue/green food colouring
• Clear oil (like baby oil or canola oil, enough to fill the bottle the rest of the way)

How to:

• Pour the water into the bottle and add a few drops of food colouring, swirling to disperse it through. 
• Fill the rest of the bottle almost full with the oil (leave a little bit of space at the top) and secure the lid. It may need to be glued in place for safety.
• Show the children how to shake the bottle to create ocean bubbles and tip it back and forth to create waves.