Outdoor Eco-Friendly Family Activities

Summertime is the perfect time of year to enjoy the sunlight and fresh air with your family. It’s also the perfect opportunity to educate your loved ones on the importance of doing things that are good for the environment.

Contrary to some people’s popular assumptions, you don’t have to be earth-conscious and boring. There are actually a lot of outdoor eco-friendly family activities that you can do that are fun, rewarding and quite possibly even things that your kids will ask to do over and over again.

Spend your weekend outdoors. Walking, hiking, jogging, bicycling, playing games like freeze tag and Hide-n-Seek—if there are two things that they all have in common is that they’re a great source of exercise and also a wonderful way to entertain the family without using any kind of electricity. If you want to get the children extra excited, make a competition day out of it where there are eco-friendly prizes given to the winners of each activity. You can do the prize portion by giving vouchers (with a limited amount) to a local thrift store or going to shops like HappyHippie.com for a list of stores with a “go green” theme.

Host a yard sale. As you’re looking around the house (and garage), there’s a good chance that there are some things that you need to get rid of. You know the old saying, right? One man’s junk, more times than not, is definitely another man’s treasure. So, why not have a yard sale, invite a couple of other families to join in and let your kids pocket (or save) the money that they earn from their own things that they decided to donate.

Build a garden. One of the best things that you can do for your health is to use the earth for the purpose of growing your own fruits and vegetables. Sure, it’s kind of a lot of work (at least initially), but it’s also something that the entire family can enjoy doing. Have everyone pick a particular fruit or vegetable that they’d like to grow, do research online on how to cultivate them and then get going. If you don’t know a thing about how to start a garden, there are a lot of videos on YouTube that can take you through the steps or you can connect with a local community garden for tips or even to use their grounds (if you don’t want to start a garden in your own backyard).

Go to a botanical garden or the zoo. Spending time observing nature is definitely a great way to teach your kids about the environment around them while keeping them entertained. Whether it’s a botanical garden or the zoo, admission tickets are cost-effective and it’s a wonderful way to let a few hours pass without the need for any kind of technology.

Eat outside (vegetarian style). There are many studies that support the fact that it’s better for both the environment and your body if you limit the amount of meat that you consume. In keeping with this theme, designate a day a week where you will have a meal that’s completely vegetarian. Serve it outside in picnic baskets with candles and recyclable dishware to add to the “go green” flair.