Green Play

Four ideas for engaging your kids in environmental activities.

Recycle - Start at home with the basics: labelling your bins and sorting through your refuse can actually become a fun game for children, then start tackling recycling on a bigger scale. Picking up litter on a dog walk for example, or even partaking on a community clean-up – an excellent way to meet other budding environmentalists.

Reuse - Naturally green-minded kids know better than anyone how useful discarded packaging can be: boxes become rocket ships, empty toilet rolls become pirate-seeking telescopes, and jars are transformed into dazzling tealight holders.

Yet beyond play, we can also teach our children how to minimise waste by choosing the eco-friendly option - refi lling bottles in-store, for instance.

Grow - If you have access to a garden, get planning, get planting! From easy-to-seed fl ower bulbs to vegetables such as tomatoes and runner beans, there are many plants which o er a quick seed-to-fruit yield – ideal for impatient children.

Many local councils are now investing in community gardens too, where children can plant, play and learn about all the wormy, muddy joys of composting.

Repurpose - Consider upcycling - perhaps you’ve an old chest of drawers that needs a new lick of paint, or a suitcase that’s begging to be transformed into a unique toybox. Even just turning a plastic bottle into a birdfeeder can be great fun for kids!