Sometimes we find it hard to figure out ways to save the earth's
resources and the environment for the future generations. The task
just seems to big. However, we can accomplish great things by taking
care of small things. Many small things can help to create an impact
that is really big. Often times it is the small things we change about
ourselves and our actions that can create big changes for everything
around us. Other people see what we do and how we feel and maybe they
too can begin to act differently. Our example can have a big effect on
others if we help show the way for others
by starting with our own actions.
The list below was made by 5th Grade students from a New York City
school. It is a list of things we can do to help the environment and
our communities be healthier. Maybe, you could get your class to
develop a list of similar ideas. This will help your fellow students
think about the environment and what small things they can do to help.
You could post your list in the hall so other students in your school
could get some great ideas too.
1. When you're not using computers turn them off. To help save
electricity.
2. Don't waste food and only take what you can eat.
3. Xerox on both sides of paper. To save trees.
4. Turn lights off overnight. To save electricity.
5. Use mechanical pencils that are refillable. Saves wood and trees.
6. Use re-usable lunch boxes not paper bags. To help cut down on
waste.
7. Turn of water while brushing teeth to save water.
8.Get reusable things instead of things that you can only use once.
This
cuts down on waste.
9. Buy things in bulk. Cuts down on packaging and saves
resources
10. Use filters instead of bottled water. This cuts down on the
use of
plastic bottles.
11. Send letters and party invitations via email to save paper.
12. Re use scrap paper to save trees.
13. Buy used furniture, thist cuts down on waste and saves trees.
14. Turn off all electric devices if not in use to save electricity
15. Draw and write small to save room on paper.
16. Use reusable chopsticks to save trees.
17. Dry your hands on cloth towels to save paper towels.
18. Use a handkerchief instead of tissues to save paper.
19. Keep sharpening your pencils until they are really small to
save wood.
20. Don't use more paper than you need.
21. Take short showers to save water.
22. Re use soda and water bottles to recycle.
23. Re use folders until they are dead this saves paper.
24. Wear your clothes for more than I day (not in a row) to save the
washing machine.
25. Fix things instead of buying new things to save the
materials.
26. Wash clothes by hand to save electricity.
27. When you spill something use a cloth or sponge instead of
paper towels.
28. Re-use plastic bags.
29. Start riding electrical buses and using electrical cars.
This helps
conserve out natural resources.
30. Try to take a train instead of a car. This saves natural
resources.
31. Make sure that you only use what we need. Live Simply.
32. Use both sides of paper or erase instead of throwing paper
out.
33. If you order too much food, get a doggy bag, and eat it the
next day,
so that you don't waste any food.
34. Eat pumpkinseeds after making a jack-o-lantern so that you do not
waste
anything.
35. Use hand pencil sharpeners instead of electric ones. This
helps save
electricity.
36. Share books instead of buying a class set so that you do not
wastepaper and you learn to share.
37. Eat all your lunch so it doesn't go to waste.
38. Try not to use too much air conditioning to save electricity.
39. Use rechargeable batteries instead of disposable ones so
that you
don't have to throw them away as much. They end up in a
landfill.
40. Don't turn up the heat too much; wear a sweater to save energy.
41. Use one TV/VCR for the whole school try to only buy
what we need.
42. Don't buy new clothing unless you really need it this helps
use stuff
that we already have instead of making a market for more stuff.
43. Order 16oz. water bottles for class trips so that we can refill it
and
reuse it throughout the year.
44. Use paper towel tubes for pet toys or projects, conservation
45. Save milk cartons for school projects.
46. Before you go to the store, check what you have and need so
that you
don't buy things you don't need
47. Use both sides of a Kleenex when you sneeze twice. Helps
conserve
resources.
48. Don't throw books away. Donate them to a library or school.
49. Make sure you really want something before you get it so
that you
don't just throw it away.
50. Buy second hand things because that way you don't have to
buy or make
new ones.
51. Close marker tops to save ink because that way you can use the
marker
for a longer time.
52. Save clothes and shoes that are too small for younger siblings
instead
of buying new things.
53. Don't break pencils or chew on them so they last longer.
54. Keep using a pencil even though the eraser is gone. Helps save
resources.
55. Only take as many napkins as you need at a restaurant. This helps
conserve resources.
56. Keep leftovers from dinner and bring them for lunch the next
day.
This does not waste food.
57. Don't use too much toilet paper. This creates more waste.
58. Don't spit out gum on the street.
59. Buy refills for things like liquid soap dispensers instead of a
whole
new dispenser . This helps reduce waste.
60. Use a cloth bag when you go shopping instead of getting more
plastic or
paper bags this helps save resources.
61. When you are finished with a Mad-Lib book re-use or trade with a
friend. This helps control waste of supplies and money.
62. Use old newspapers to help clean up messy projects. This re-uses
what we
could throw out.
63. Buy at outlet stores for factory rejects. This ensures that all
things
that are made are used and not wasted for silly problems.
64. Don't smoke. To help keep our air clean.
65. Plant plants. To clean the air and make the world a
better place.
66. Don't create unnecessary air pollution.
67. Pick trash off the floor, parks, and schools. To help
clean-up our
environment.
68. Clean up after your pets. To help keep our environment
clean.
70. Clean up after yourself to make cleaning up easier for everyone.
71. Don't make graffiti
72. Make sure that your garbage goes in the garbage can this helps
reduce
litter.
73. When you don't need it, turn off the fish tank light this
saves
electricity.
74. Try not to turn on lights during the day if you don1t need
them.
75. Donate your old clothing to poorer countries or to the homeless to
help
re-use old clothes and to help others in need.
76. Don't kill animals for no reason.
77. Join or make your own penny harvest. Collecting pennies to
give to
environmental groups. Every penny helps.
78. Give up seats for the elderly or disabled. To create peace
in our
community.
79. Help kids learn to read. This helps educate our community.
80. Make sure there are no fights, it helps with stress and noise
pollution.
81. Be a good example to others. This helps our community and
ourselves.
82. Save endangered animals so the world is a better place.
83. Treat others the way you want to be treated to make the world
happy.
84. Write letters to people in war torn countries to make them feel
better
this helps build our world community.
85. Collect money for the needy.
86. Make a blanket out of old clothes. This helps re-cycle things
instead
of throwing them out.
87. Don't rip pages out of books, so that others can use it too.
88. Take books out of library instead of buying new books to save
paper.
89. Give old books to younger kids. This helps with waste as well as
helping others to read.
90. Donate money to save animals to help take care of them.
91. When you buy new shoes, donate old ones to charity this helps the
community as well as conservation.
92. Don't use stuff that is tested on animals.
93. Eat vegetables, not meat, to save animals.
94. Be nice to the homeless to help the community.
95. If you have extra food give to the homeless, so they won't be
hungry.
96. Help the elderly cross the street. This helps our community
environment.
97. If you cut your hair off and it was very long you can save it and
help
people with who are going through chemotherapy get a wig.
98. Buy things that give money to charities. This helps our
community and
keeps money going to important causes that try and help the
environment
and people.
99. Cut the plastic six-pack holders so that birds and fish don1t get
caught in them.
100. Use only dead wood for firewood. Instead of killing trees.
102. Do not carve something into trees, it will start to kill them.
This
saves trees, which we need to
103. Make a flower or vegetable garden in your backyard.
To help reduce
food production and to eat food that you grow.
104. For every plant you forget to water, plant two more. This
helps the
environment survive.
105. Use the paved paths in the park. Don't make your own path.
It may
help stop erosion.
106. Do something to help the environment everyday. To
remind yourself to
be a lifelong environmentalist.
107. Use one vacuum cleaner for each floor in school instead of one
for
each class to save money and energy.
108. Collect money to save the rainforest so that we do not have to
destroy
anymore.
109. Make stuff to raise money for the school don't buy new
stuff. You
shouldn1t need to spend
money to make money.
110. Make your own toys. (Sock dolls) This helps use things that we
already
have.
111. Buy at small stores instead of big chains to support local
businesses.
112. When you buy clothes, buy them a little bigger because then
you have
room to grow and they last longer.
113. Plant a tree or flowers in your park. Helps with park
beautification
as well as erosion.
114. Write to city, state, and government, officials to let them
know how
you feel about the environment this might help affect public policy.
115. Don't buy disposable cameras they are a waste of packaging
and cause
more waste and garbage.
116. Use stairs instead of using the elevator. This helps keep
us in shape
and helps save electricity.
117. Make a recycling bin in class because our school does not
re-cycle.
Bring the re-cycling home every week.
118. Make a compost bucket for extra food to help make good soil and
less
garbage.
119. Do the one 'garbage can' challenge in class. This
forces us to
re-cycle what we can.
120. Make signs that say, "Don1t Litter" in the
stairway and halls. This
helps remind people to not litter and helps make our school a better,
cleaner, environment.
121. Don't stick bubblegum to chairs or throw it on the floor.
This helps
create peace in the classroom and helps keep our environment clean and
hazard free.
122. Don't make flipbooks out of post-it note pads. This
helps with waste.
123. Blow out candles when you leave the house. This helps
prevent fires,
which could really hurt the environment.
124. Do not carve something into school property this ruins it
for the
next class.
125. Recycle at home.
126. Re-use plastic cups and paper. To help conserve resources.
127. Re-use plastic utensils. To help save resources and to keep
things
out of landfills.
128. Use cloth diapers instead of plastic ones to help save room in
landfills.
129. Recycle paper bags to save trees.
130. Make class projects out of trash this helps recycle
131. Try to keep peace in the classroom. This helps reduce noise
pollution
and creates a better community.
132. Don't throw used metro cards on the floor, reuse them,
conservation.
133. Use shoeboxes to put books in, recycle.
134. Use old milk cartons for bird feeders. This recycles things
and helps
feed birds and bring them close enough that we can see them.
135. Use magazines, newspapers, and cloth scraps for wrapping
paper.
This helps conserve and re-use what we already have instead of
throwing it
out.
136. Re-use garbage bags if they are only used for dry waste.
137. Make pillows out of old clothes. This helps re-cycle things
instead of
throwing them out.
138. Re-use paper streamers from parties. This helps with waste.
139. Teach the rest of the school how to re-cycle and bring stuff
home.
140. Use old newspapers to pack stuff if you move.
141. When you re-cycle look at the bottom of the bottles for numbers
so
that you know what you can and
can not re-cycle. This helps with re-cycling and also helps
those who have
to separate the re-cycling at the plant.
142. Buy things in recyclable containers. So that we can
re-cycle and not
create as much waste.
143. Instead of throwing away soda cans give them to the
homeless to
recycle. This helps both the environment and helps people
in our
community.
144. Join the Sierra Club so you can learn more about nature and
how to
protect it.
145. Fix a dripping faucet quickly so that you do not waste
water.
146. Try to take showers instead of baths.
147. Support public radio. This helps get wonderful
programs like Living
on Earth which help us us think about cool things like the
environment.
148. Ask kids in your neighborhood to help save the environment.
You can
help others learn to take care of the environment.