Saving the planet is an important topic of discussion these days with more and more things that we have come to rely on every day managing to damage the environment in their own ways. Everything from the central heating in our homes to the mobile phones that we can’t be away from more than a few minutes without going into withdrawal and cold sweats can harm the environment and it’s down to us to educate the next generation into how to reduce their carbon footprint and to protect our planet.

 

Schools are doing their best to provide education on how to look after the world, but many of us never got the chance to have such lessons because it wasn’t deemed to be such a serious issue “back in our day.” Hairspray, for example, was never viewed as anything more than, well, hairspray; but it has been discovered that the chemicals can damage the environment. The issue we all have, however, is how to encourage children to do their bit without necessarily turning them into dedicated ‘eco-warriors.’

 

One such example is to get them to come out in the garden with you and plant some trees. We all know that trees are an important part of the world we live in, and not just aesthetically. Trees take in carbon dioxide and emit oxygen which means there is plenty of fresh, clean air for us all to breathe. The more we cut down, the more damage we’re doing to our environment because there is nothing to eradicate the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere so planting a new tree to replace those felled for paper and toilet roll among other household and office essentials is key.

 

The kind of trees we plant could be important and a major factor behind how we can get kids involved, especially if they’re the kind of trees that can produce fruit that we can eat as snacks so they can see the fruits of their labours – literally!

 

Recycling unused or unwanted gadgets is another great way of saving the planet. Rather than throwing them away and into landfill, encouraging children to recycle old mobile phones and gadgets for cash will not only earn them some money to put in their bank accounts and invest in a new phone, but to get into recycling everything they possibly can. Plus, if they make a little bit of cash from doing it, they can tell their friends to do the same and before you know it they’ve encouraged others to recycle and look after the environment.

 

By opting to leave the car at home and walk or cycle to our destinations, we can teach our children that cars are harmful to the environment and should only be used when travelling significant distances. For example, if we’re going from our homes to the shop half a mile away, walking or cycling there and back would not only be helpful for the environment, but it would also help their overall fitness.