Building an environmental heritage for your family

Last week, TwoGirlsGoGreen did a posting on the importance of parents as educators.  This week I’d like to continue the theme with a bit of encouragement on how to build this education into a lifetime environmental heritage.

Did you know that it only takes between three – eight weeks for a habit to form (Families.com)? Just think, in approximately two months, you can help instill in your child an activity and behavior that can stick with them for the rest of their lives. (Which, if you really think about it, is a rather scary amount of power… but, I digress.)

Let’s look at a couple easy activities that will make great habits.

Composting – Composting is “nature's process of recycling decomposed organic materials into a rich soil… (RecycleWorks.org)” Now, tell me, what child doesn’t love getting dirty every once in a while? And it’s so simple! To start, either build your own bin or buy one online (just do a search on Google, there’s tons of info out there…). Once you have the bin, start throwing stuff in – grass, leaves, after-meal scraps, etc. Basically, if it was once alive, it’ll decompose. In a fairly short amount of time, you’ll have amazingly rich soil which you can use on your garden, flower bed, etc – and you’ll have a whole lot less trash that just gets thrown in a dumpster.


Recycling – Recycling is “the act of processing used or abandoned materials for use in creating new products (Princeton.edu).” Recycling is one of the easiest things to do with your children. Make sorting out your recyclable goods a game – if your children are young, count; if your children are older, share your ideas about what the item will turn into. Ensure that it’s fun and not a chore.

The thing I love about these two activities is that you can start them at any age, and it’s not hard to get your children to participate. As a daily activity, they will easily form life-long commitments that your children can teach to their children. How cool is that? Want to know something even cooler? These two simple activities can have a major impact on our environment. If your children are old enough to understand, you can share about the environmental impact too.

One day at a time, you are building a heritage – a heritage that focuses on education and learning; a heritage that protects and cherishes the world in which our children live. Take the responsibility seriously, because it’s a big one.

By Gingerly Green of Two Girls Go Green (@TwoGirlsGoGreen)