Celebrate Earth Day with 4-H activities
- Doug Foxx OSU Extension Wayne County
- April 18, 2022
- 796
Earth Day is Friday, April 22. To celebrate Earth Is Our Home, try these activities — on your own, in your club or even at school. The activities below are tried and true, guaranteed to spark interest and create exciting learning opportunities. We’re glad to be home.
These activities can be completed by individual learners or in groups. Each activity has identified learning outcomes that include the most applicable Next Generation Science Standard. For details, see each activity lesson plan on the Ohio 4-H website at www.ohio4h.org/earthday or read a summary of learning outcomes online at go.osu.edu/earthdaylearningoutcomes.
Here is a list of the lesson plan titles and subject matter they cover: Choose to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle — sustainability/recycling; Easy Bean Babies — germination and plant growth; Healthy Plants are our Bees-ness — pollination; Ice Cores: A Layer Cake of Snow — climate change; Soil-ology: Do You Dig It? — decomposition; and Start with Reduce and Reuse — sustainability.
Other Earth Day resources to keep your eyes peeled for are free programs presented by Ohio 4-H members at Ohio State Parks on Friday, April 22 and Sunday, April 24. Programs presented also will receive recognition at ODNR’s Natural Resources Park at the 2022 Ohio State Fair.
“Going Green: Learning to Live a Sustainable Life,” a 4-H idea starter, ischock full of great ideas for being a better friend to the Earth. Use it as a resource for club activities, family field trips and more. It is available on the Ohio 4-H website at www.ohio4h.org/earthday.
Ohio 4-H also has many project books related to science topics that include myriad activities that parents, educators and youth could do to help celebrate Earth Day.
A few of our most popular science-related project books include “Grow Your Own Vegetables,” “Insect Adventures Levels 1, 2 and 3,” “Exploring the Outdoors,” “Young Engineers in Solar Energy,” “Science, Get Started with Composting,” “Edible Landscapes,” “Exploring Polar Science,” “Growing with the Seasons,” “Outdoor Adventurer: Fishing,” “Geology: Can You Dig It?”, “Exploring Ponds,” “Ohio Birds” and “Why Trees Matter.” These books can be purchased at the Wayne County extension office or ordered online at www.extensionpubs.osu.edu.
Doug Foxx is an OSU Extension 4-H youth development educator and may be reached at 330-264-8722 or foxx.2@osu.edu.