April 22 is one of the most important days in the calendar year, Earth Day. Celebrated every year in Canada since 1990, it is the largest environmental event in the world. Did you know that according to Earth Day Canada more than six million Canadians participate in Earth Day activities in their communities each year? This includes nearly every school-aged child throughout the country.
Toronto is a great city for getting involved with Earth Day events, and each year the council organizes “the city’s annual spring clean-up.” Friends, families, co-workers and classmates are encouraged to clean a park, lane way or any space that needs a bit of TLC. The ultimate goal of the clean up is to eliminate litter, stop graffiti vandalism and just to, in general, keep Toronto clean and green. Events are scheduled from April 22 – 27, but the community clean up days are scheduled on the 26 and 27. Thousands of families throughout Toronto will do their part to keep their neighbourhoods clean and green, including Light in the Attic Learning. You can register an area near you here, it’s a great opportunity to teach your children about the importance of looking after one’s environment.
Discussing and showing your children ways they can help the environment from a young age will hopefully impact their behaviour as adults for the better. If you find that your children get bored easily and you’re struggling to educate them about Earth Day, there’s a super fun website called ecokids.ca where your children can play informative games. These educational activities delve into topics such as wildlife, energy, climate change and waste.
Last year NASA released a video for Earth Month in an effort to raise awareness of the agency’s Earth observation programs. As most children love space related shows and activities, it may be a fun to research NASA’s programs over the last few years. This video for example, features a variety of big-picture imagery, including true-colour satellite photos, data visualizations, computer models and time-lapse footage from the International Space Station.
There are many events happening around the city next week from clothing swaps to discovery walks. It promises to be a jam packed informative week for the whole family, something which will hopefully continue indefinitely.
Light in the Attic Learning 