Family Sustainability Activities

In my book Growing Sustainable Together: Practical Resources for Raising Kind, Engaged, and Resilient Children, I talk about how you can use various environmental activities to pass on essential values for your kids. At the end of each chapter, there’s a step-by-step activity for families to do together. Here are some of the activities you can do right now!

In addition to these activities right from the book, I adapted a number of the activities for the Climate Justice Family Toolkit that I developed with Raising Luminaries.

 

Family Activity: Starting Seeds, from Chapter 1: Connecting with the Food System

Family Activity: Starting Seeds

Choose Your Seeds: Our family has had the most success starting tomatoes, basil, and peppers. When picking seeds, consider what vegetables you want to grow and what varieties. Some varieties may be bred for your region or to be resistant to certain problems like fungus.

Figure out your timing. If you plan to transplant your seedlings outside, you need to consider timing. (If you plan to grow them on a windowsill, timing is less of a concern.) The timing of seed starting depends on both your area’s last average frost date and what types of seeds you’re planting. Cold-tolerant plants like broccoli can go in early while more sensitive plants like tomatoes will die if there’s a frost.

Prepare your containers. Terra cotta or plastic containers from the garden store will work just fine. If you want to use recycled containers, quart-sized yogurt containers with holes punched in the bottom are perfect. Before planting, clean dirt or other contaminants out of the containers. Spraying them with vinegar, letting them dry, and rinsing them in water is a natural and effective way to sanitize them.

Prepare your soil. If possible, don’t use garden dirt for your seeds. Instead, buy seed starting mix, which has the right mix of nutrients and water-absorbing materials. Before planting the seeds, combine the water and seed starting mix in a large bowl. Allow your kids to mix it together to the texture of thick mud.

Plant your seeds. Have your kids scoop up handfuls of mud and move it into the flowerpots. Then, have each child stick their finger in and brush a little bit of mud to the side. Give each child a few seeds and direct them to put them in the tiny hole. Then have them brush a very small amount of dirt back on top of the seeds.

Sprout your seeds. If you have a very sunny windowsill, place your seeds there to get light. If it is warm enough during the day, put the plants outside on a deck, balcony, or patio. Once you get serious, you may want to consider purchasing a cold frame (which acts like a mini-greenhouse) or using a grow light. Have your children water the plants whenever they are dry, usually once a day. You may want to use a tiny watering can or spray bottle to prevent overwatering. Children can also gently “pet” the seedlings, which makes them stronger.Transplant your seeds. At some point the seedlings will get too big for their original pot. If you’re growing your plants inside or on a porch, just transplant them to a larger pot. If you’re transplanting them to an outdoor garden, you’ll need to get them ready for being outside. Over the course of a week, bring them outside for a few hours a day. Transplant them when you expect to have warm, mild weather. Water them immediately after transplanting.

 

Family Activity: Make Your Own Toys from Discarded Goods, from Chapter 5: Breaking Free from Stuff – Rejecting Materialism

Breaking Free of Stuff