It’s time: the summer holidays are officially upon us! With temperatures set to soar this summer thanks to the impending impact of global warming, there couldn’t be a better time to start introducing your children to some more eco-friendly, sustainable activities for them to enjoy with their time off. We’ve decided to share five of our favourite ideas to keep your little ones entertained this summer break – and, as always, we’ve done our best to include something for everyone!
Plan a staycation!
This might seem obvious, but there’s nothing like a more sustainable option for the summer holidays than simply choosing not to opt for a holiday abroad! Not only are temperatures set to be an all-time high over the UK summer, but it’s also a great learning moment for older children – you can choose to discuss why you’re not travelling abroad this year, as well as mentioning why the weather’s so warm, which could open up a great conversation about our ecological responsibility to the planet.
There are, of course, lots of things that you can do to make this kind of stay more eco-friendly, like travelling by train to your destination rather than driving, walking to local hotspots rather than taking a cab, and shopping locally where possible!
Embrace your green thumb
The great thing about such promising weather during the summer? You’ll be able to make the most of it by popping out to your garden, if you’re lucky enough to have one, or just enjoying local fauna if not! There are lots of things you can get your children interested in when it comes to plants, from making a little window box full of herbs or flowers, to helping you water the plants in your garden, there’s something for children of all ages to enjoy, and it’s a great learning experience, too!
Get crafty!
We all know that there are set to be record amounts of sun, at least in the UK, this summer, but there are bound to be some typical British rainy afternoons too! That’s why finding some eco-friendly arts and crafts projects that you can do with the kids, indoors, is always a good shout! We’d recommend keeping some old packaging – cereal boxes, old egg cartons, or even used milk bottles (washed out, of course!) can all be upcycled for fun crafting projects, and make for both a sustainable and budget-friendly way to keep your children entertained for an afternoon!
Support local wildlife
There are lots of incredible ways you can support local wildlife and insects in your area – from donating food to planting more insect-friendly plants, but when you’re wanting an activity that’s child-friendly, too, we have a couple of great ideas that you can do to make your children feel more involved! Like we mentioned in our World Honey Bee Day blog, creating a bee hotel or leaving sugar-water mixtures out for bees are both great options, but you can also do more complex projects like building a birdhouse, too!
Get walking!
We touched on this in our earlier point, but if you can, choosing to walk instead of drive is a great way to have a more eco-friendly summer with your kids! It’s a great excuse for you to share why choosing to walk is sometimes a better option, too, so it’s a real win/win! Just remember, there are other more sustainable and accessible ways to travel, like choosing a train or coach service instead of taking a car!
We really hope you’ve found our list of eco-friendly things your youngsters might enjoy over the summer holidays interesting, and that we’ve given you a little inspiration as to what you can use to fill up some of that break!
We’d love to hear if you choose to try out some of our suggestions in the comments below, and if you have any more ideas, please do feel free to share them, too!
