Kids' Pages

Hey, kids, you can do it!

You are an important part of keeping our earth safe for the people and animals that live here. Besides recycling fishing line and picking up plastic, there are many things that you and your parents can do to make important contributions to saving our environment.

Since these are kids’ pages, let’s concentrate on ways that you can help the earth or you can help your parents “go green.” We will be updating this page regularly with your information and ideas. If you want to submit a tip or advice, ask a parent or teacher to help you email me at jcurtis@cablespeed.com.

1. Take a Trashless Lunch to School
   One way to reduce the amount of plastic bags in your area is to use a trashless lunchbox system.
   
   Laptop Lunches (www.laptoplunches.com) are fun, practical food containers that neatly fit into a laptop-shaped lunchbox.
   
   This cool product was started by California moms Tammy Pelstring and Amy Hemmert, who were looking for a way to help their own kids eat more nutritionally with less waste of food and of plastic bags and containers. They also donate a portion of profits to schools and environmental organizations. For more information and tips, visit www.wastefreelunches.org.



2. Take Your Own Bag to the Store
   Help your parents make a space in their cars for reusable bags (which are usually made of cloth or recycled plastic). Then, when you go to a store, remind your parents to grab the bags—or better yet, you grab those bags—and bring them into the store with you. That way, you can put what you buy in those bags and you won’t need to take any plastic bags home with you.



3. Make Your Own Bag from an Old Shirt
   Biologist S. Alexandra Siess likes to turn her old shirts into shopping bags through these easy steps:
   
   
   • Flip an old t-shirt inside out and lay it flat.
   • Sew the bottom edge together.
   • Cut an inch or two-larger circle around the neck.
   • Snip off the arms.
   • Turn it right-side out and voila, you've kept your favorite old t-shirt and you have a strong and comfy bag to tote about!
   She says a heavyweight t-shirt will last the longest and that you may reinforce the seams and wash it whenever it’s necessary.



4. Recycle Paper and Cardboard at School
   Litter and trash is a topic that my friend John Neville, the Supervisor of the Department of Environmental Education in Prince George's County Public Schools, is passionate about. He likes the ways Osprey Adventure successfully “tangles” litter, trash, the osprey life cycle and the bay together. He is helping schools in his county become “Litter Free” through the Keep Prince George’s County Beautiful (KPGCB), Inc. organization. Students are working with the Abitibi Paper Retriever to collect and recycle tons of paper each year. Abitibi provides colorful bins to schools and organizations to make collecting recyclable paper and cardboard easy. They pick up collected materials and weigh them, and then pay the school or organization for their collections. For more information, please visit www.paperretriever.com.



5. Plant a Tree
   For information on how to pick the right spot and the right tree, click here: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/backyard/treeptg.html