50 Things to do for Earth Day 2011: 1-10
Since Earth Day is coming up on Friday, April 22, we’ve rounded up 50 great ideas for ways you can celebrate (and many of them are free). Watch for our ten daily picks every day this week. To kick off the week, here are numbers one to ten.
1. Celebrate Earth Day at Everett Crowley Park.
Saturday, April 23, 2011. 11am – 3pm. Free.
Help plant 1000 native trees, listen to live music, visit exhibits by the Beaty Museum, Raptors Ridge Birds of Prey, and the Grayhaven Exotic Bird Sanctuary.
earthdayvancouver.org
2. Ride your bike along the Stanley Park seawall.
3. Visit the Beaty Biodiversity Museum
2212 Main Mall, University of British Columbia
Featuring a massive blue whale skeleton, The Beaty Biodiversity Museum is a great place to explore ecology with kids. Family programs run every Saturday and Sunday between 11:30am-12:30pm and story time is at 3pm. Check out their website for more programs for kids and adults.
beatymuseum.ubc.ca/events
4. Hike through the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve.
5. Swap seeds with a friend.
6. Set up a composter.
Vancouver South Transfer Station, 377 West Kent Avenue North
Proof of residency is required. Composters are $25 each, including taxes.
Composting your kitchen scraps is easy, and you can do it in your own backyard. When it’s ready, you can use the compost to feed your trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables.
vancouver.ca/engsvcs/solidwaste/grownatural/composters.htm
7. Dig in the earth. See who can find the most worms.
8. Go birdwatching.
9. Switch an incandescent bulb for a compact fluorescent or LED one.
10. Learn to sew your own clothes at Spool of Thread.
101-649 E. 15th Ave., Vancouver
There’s nothing more locally produced than homemade! If you really want to go green, try sewing from vintage linens or reconstructing new garments from secondhand clothes.
spoolofthread.com/classes/
Michelle Carchrae is a freelance writer and homeschooling mom to two girls. With a serious love for Vancouver and an equally serious need to get out of the house with two young kids, Michelle searches out the best kid and parent friendly places to go. Michelle also writes about parenting at her blog, The Parent Vortex.
