Student Tribune
Green Tip: Sustainability Fun with the Family
Stuck at home? What a great opportunity for some educational fun
centered on sustainability. Remember to focus on the 3 Rs: Reduce –
Reuse – Recycle.
Reduce
- Let your children choose the snacks for the week and only buy what
you need, reducing food waste.
- Emphasize cleaning and properly storing tools and toys to protect
them from damage, reducing what goes into landfills.
- Use sunlight not lights during the day, reducing energy used.
Reuse
- Have worn-out clothes and fabric pieces laying
around? Transform them into a patchwork throw. Let your kids cut
out the squares and stitch them together. Let them cut and sew smaller designs
on larger squares. Then you can assemble with quilt batting and a backing
piece.
- What
to do with broken crayons? Melt them into a
brand-new set. Allow your children to pull off any wrappers, sort the colors
and fill silicone molds. You cut them into pieces to go in the molds and bake
them.
- Have
partially burned candles? A little work with some
old teacups and new wicking, you have some cute gifts.
- H
ow about all those popsicle sticks? They make a
great soap dish!
- Create your own birdfeeder! Use ice cream cones or just have the kids collect
some pinecon
es! Use yarn scraps instead of twine and substitute cooled bacon fat
instead of peanut butter or vegetable shortening; all you need to buy is some
birdseed.
- Can’t stand just recycling your holiday
cards? They make great little gift boxes!
Recycle
Everyone can help recycle. The EPA estimates that 75% of garbage in
the United States is recyclable, but we only recycle about 30% of it.
Penwarden, Ann
Sustainability Steering Committee’s Recycling Committee
01/12/2021