50 Enjoyable Earth Day Crafts and Actions Utilizing Upcycled Supplies
Earth Day is quick approaching (April 22), although there actually is rarely a nasty time to rejoice Mom Earth. It’s necessary to show college students the environmental advantages of recycling, like conserving vitality and pure sources and lowering air and water air pollution, all yr lengthy. Whereas recycling breaks down previous objects so as to create one thing new, upcyling makes one thing new from an present object in its present state. Problem your college students to create one thing distinctive and fantastic from preexisting objects like magazines, plastic water bottles, tin cans, egg cartons, and extra. Take a look at our listing of the very best crafts for Earth Day or any day, and provides a few of them a attempt!

FREE PRINTABLE
Earth Day Worksheet Bundle
Use the Earth Day–themed worksheets included on this bundle to get college students speaking about our planet. With these worksheets, college students will find out about single-use plastic bottles, clear up math issues, discover ways to type objects, and write about the way forward for Earth.

1. Combine up some wildflower seed bombs
Give again to Mom Earth with these easy-to-make seed bombs. Mix collectively used scraps of development paper, water, and wildflower seeds in a meals processor, then type them into tiny muffins. Allow them to dry, then toss them within the floor. Because the seed bombs obtain solar and rain, the paper will ultimately compost and the seeds will germinate.
Be taught extra: Be taught How To Make Seed Bombs
2. Make nature bracelets
Utilizing a roll of large masking tape, type a bracelet on every pupil’s wrist, sticky aspect out. Then, take your children on a nature stroll to seek for fascinating leaves, flowers, berries, and such. After they discover issues they like, have them stick them to their bracelet.
3. Assemble a bug resort
Create a comfy place for all of the creepy-crawlies to hang around. Acquire 2-liter plastic bottles. Lower the ends off of every bottle and provides one to every pupil. Now, go exterior and collect sticks, pine cones, bark, and different pure supplies. Stuff the natural supplies tightly into the plastic cylinder. Then loop a chunk of twine or yarn round every cylinder and cling your bug motels from a tree department or fence.
4. Make a quilt
Textiles make up an enormous portion of municipal stable waste—over 16 million tons per yr! Train your children to repurpose previous materials that might in any other case find yourself within the landfill. Merely reduce materials into uniform squares and stitch them collectively to create a comfy quilt.
5. Plant a tree
Train your college students about how necessary bushes are for our ecosystem. Learn books, watch a brief movie, do a mini analysis undertaking. Then, to encourage college students to take motion, have a planting day within the classroom. Select a seedling that does nicely in your surroundings and ship every pupil residence with their very own mini tree to look after and hopefully plant within the floor as soon as it grows.
6. Piece collectively journal collages
Generations of children have beloved creating free-form collages from magazines. Ask households to donate used magazines. Then, encourage college students to chop out pictures that attraction to them. Subsequent, glue the items onto a sheet of card inventory, ensuring they overlap in order that no white exhibits.
7. Plant a dangling backyard
Massive plastic bottles develop into stunning hanging planters on this green-living, green-thumb undertaking. An effective way to make a beautiful hanging backyard.

8. Upcycle trash into flower artwork
Scraps of paper are the one provides you want for this recycled-flower-garden exercise and lesson. The measurement and math component is an added bonus.
Be taught extra: Enjoyable Earth Day Recycled Backyard Exercise
9. “Develop” an egg carton tree
Save these egg cartons and create lovable recycled bushes. Start by portray grass and a tree trunk on the underside 2/3 of an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. Paint the underside of an egg carton inexperienced. Then, separate out the cups with a pair of scissors. As soon as the sections are dry, have college students glue the sections above the trunk to type the leaves of the tree.
10. Repurpose bathroom paper rolls into binoculars
Save these paper rolls so your class can customise their very own binoculars. Merely glue two bathroom paper rolls collectively, aspect by aspect. Embellish utilizing paints, stickers, markers, or crayons. Lastly, connect a string so children can put on them round their neck.
11. Make this Earth Day shaving cream undertaking
Your younger learners will love this enjoyable artwork undertaking! To start, reduce out massive circles from card inventory to symbolize planet Earth. Then, in two separate containers, mix shaving cream and inexperienced craft paint in a single and shaving cream and blue craft paint within the different. Show an image of Earth, then give every pupil a circle, a paintbrush, and the blue and inexperienced paints, and watch them create.
12. Feed the birds
This one is an oldie however a goodie! Take your children exterior and gather pine cones. Connect a string to the highest of the pine cone. Then roll the pine cone in peanut butter, then sesame or sunflower seeds. Take your hen feeders exterior and cling them in a close-by tree. Take pleasure in watching the birds collect.
13. Create colourful suncatcher wind chimes
Tape sheets of clear contact paper onto desks, sticky aspect up. Then, have college students press discovered sticks, flowers, feathers, and many others., onto the paper. As soon as the treasures are safe, place one other sheet of contact paper on prime, sticky aspect down. Use a mason jar lid to hint a circle over the sheets. Lower out the circle, then pop it into the lid. Tie string to the lids and dangle from a stick.
14. Make Earth Day crafts from paper luggage
Brown paper luggage develop into eco-canvases for art work made out of paint, crayons, and chalk. Bonus factors if you happen to can supply dealt with luggage as a result of the handles function built-in art work hangers.
15. Construct a tiny metropolis from recycled supplies
Have your college students create an lovable village utilizing little greater than paper rolls, development paper, scissors, paint, glue, tape, and their creativeness!
16. Create pebble artwork
Take college students exterior to gather small rocks and pebbles. Have them organize the rocks right into a sample of their selection. Get inventive, and take a look at for as many alternative designs as you possibly can! Glue the weather onto a chunk of cardboard if you wish to preserve the designs.

17. Use previous crayons to make Earth Day crayons
This isn’t simply any recycled crayon—it’s a beautiful Earth crayon! You can also make these together with your children utilizing a muffin tin. You simply must type out the correct colours.
Be taught extra: Earth Crayons
18. Use upcycled objects to make mazes
STEM and recycling go collectively splendidly! Have college students glue/tape straws, stones, wooden beads, or blocks right down to create a maze within the backside of a shallow cardboard field. Then see if they’ll “run” the maze utilizing a marble.
19. Make a rope snake
Recycling tasks that use objects you could have mendacity round your storage or shed are a few of our favorites. Seize that previous rope you’ve been saving and create lovable rope snakes together with your college students. Merely use tape to create stripes and connect a picket spoon to at least one finish as the pinnacle. Add eyes with a Sharpie and a forked tongue made out of coloured paper.
20. Create a plastic bottle hen feeder
Herald spring with this straightforward crowd-pleaser: the massive plastic bottle hen feeder. This quick video will educate children easy methods to get began establishing their feeders.
21. Manage classroom provides utilizing previous cans
Tin cans are straightforward to get your arms on, and they’re nice for organizing provides. Merely paint a number of cans with colourful acrylic paint, then glue them right down to a cardboard or plywood base. Excellent as a provide station for every desk group.
22. Create papier-mâché pots
Lower off the bottoms of beverage bottles or reuse meals containers and jazz them up with bright-colored paper scraps connected with Mod Podge or glue. Apart from the glue, these papier-mâché planters are composed solely of recycled supplies.
Be taught extra: Papier-Mâché Pots
23. Make a necklace out of discovered objects
Earth Day artwork that’s wearable is a bonus. Use discovered objects and coloured string to create distinctive necklaces. Supplies to make use of: nature objects, embellished cardboard squares, pom-poms, beads, or anything your college students can consider!
24. Make chair fidgets out of previous tees
Give previous T-shirts new life with this chair fidget craft. This makes use of a easy braiding method, and your children will love serving to out.
25. Collaborate on an aluminum can recycling bin
Children can work collectively to create an aluminum-can recycling heart. Watch the video to get the easy directions and learn the way your faculty could make recycling enjoyable and rewarding.
26. Construct tin can robots
Recycling tasks like these are the very best. The supplies are straightforward to supply and most children are fascinated by robots. Have a provide of fresh, used tin cans and recycled supplies reminiscent of bottle caps, corks, plastic lids, paper, materials, and many others. Then let your children, and their imaginations, free.
27. Make cupcake paper flowers
This undertaking is so enjoyable and straightforward. All you want is cupcake liner papers, mini-cupcake liner papers, buttons, paper straws, and glue. To assemble, glue a button to the middle of the small cupcake liner. Then, glue the smaller liner to the middle of the bigger one. Lastly, connect a straw to the again to function a stem and add paper leaves.
28. Create an enormous upcycled artwork wall
Problem your college students to create an incredible recycled wall masterpiece. Tape a big sq. of cardboard to a wall, then let college students add recycled supplies to it, paint it, and create with it every time they’ve free time all through the day. Supplies to contemplate: egg cartons, Popsicle sticks, paper rolls, and straw.
29. Make your individual video games
Use plastic bottle caps to create recreation items for a tic-tac-toe recreation. Or paint caps pink and black for use as checkers. Set it up as a makerspace problem. Lay out a provide of upcycled objects (paper, plastic, foil, cardboard, and many others.) and classroom provides and problem groups of scholars to create video games with them.
30. Make a treasure magnet
Treasure magnets make a wonderful present! Fill a recycled steel bottle cap with glue. Then stick quite a lot of craft gem stones and beads into the glue with a toothpick. Lastly, add a magnet to the again.
31. Craft stick flower pots
This undertaking is just not solely cute, it’s an important train to construct high-quality motor expertise. All you want is a small recycled plastic container, glue, and wooden craft sticks. Merely have college students glue the sticks vertically across the perimeter, tie a bow across the center with jute string, and voilà! To personalize your pots, adorn the sticks with paint or markers earlier than you glue them on.
32. Make a terrarium
Recycled plastic bottles can get a second life as museum-worthy terrariums in addition to a house for an environmental science undertaking. Lower the highest 1/3 and backside 1/3 of a 2-liter bottle off. Within the backside half, insert small crops or flowers into a mixture of soil, activated charcoal, and moss. Then pop the highest on to create a moist, protected rising surroundings.
33. Paint with corks
That is the right sort of Earth Day undertaking since you utilize recycled materials to create a pointillism-type portray. Put out an all-call to households for used corks or purchase an cheap set of corks on-line. Set out paper, bowls of paint, and corks for dipping, then let college students create to their hearts’ content material.
34. Earth Day paper plate craft
Assist your college students present their love for planet Earth with this enjoyable and straightforward craft. Merely adorn a paper plate with blue and inexperienced to symbolize the Earth. Then, have college students hint their arms and wrists onto plain paper. Lower them out and connect the wrist aspect to the again of the plate. Fold the arms to the entrance to create a “hug-like” impact, giving like to our planet.
35. Kind flowers from water bottles
Create these gorgeous flowers from plastic bottles and water-based paint markers. String them collectively for a colourful garland to your classroom.
36. Construct cardboard castles
Collect up a provide of recycled cardboard merchandise. Assume cereal packing containers, tissue packing containers, paper rolls, milk cartons, and extra. Add in a roll of masking tape and glue, then set your tiny groups of engineers to work. You’ll be amazed by what they create!
37. Make newspaper owls
Previous newspapers discover their spirit animal once they develop into recycled newspaper owls. Merely provide a template of the define of an owl’s physique and one other for the wings. Then have college students hint and reduce the items from recycled newspaper and glue the items collectively. Lastly, adorn with crayons and watercolors and add massive googly eyes and a beak made out of orange development paper.
38. Assemble a plastic bottle recycling bin
Water bottles come collectively, as do your children, to make this water bottle recycling heart. This undertaking combines teamwork with respect for our surroundings, a double win.
39. Combine up a batch of Earth Day slime
Slime is an thrilling exercise regardless of the vacation. Examine our video for the very best glitter slime recipe round!
40. Make balloon bongos
These enjoyable musical devices are a lot enjoyable and straightforward to make! Merely take recycled tin cans of assorted sizes and stretch a balloon throughout the highest. Safe the balloon onto the can with a rubber band or piece of jute string. Then get drumming!
41. Create a spinning prime
Do you will have a bunch of CDs mendacity round that by no means get performed anymore? How a couple of field or drawer of markers that hardly write? In case you do, that is the right undertaking for you! Merely have children adorn a CD with a painted design, then insert and glue a lifeless marker within the center. And voilà! A customized spinning prime!
42. Style ladybugs from bottle caps
Ladybugs are so cute—most children can’t resist them! To make your individual variations, paint plastic bottle caps pink (or no matter coloration college students like finest). Then, add black polka dots and a black semicircle on one edge for the face. Glue googly eyes on and there you will have it: your individual little pocket ladybugs.
43. Create a espresso filter Earth
One of many basic Earth Day artwork tasks! Easy to make and delightful to show, these espresso filter Earths are a cinch. Merely coloration paper espresso filters with blue and inexperienced markers, then squirt with a water bottle.
44. Create Earth Day agamographs
An agamograph is a chunk of artwork created from strips of paper strung collectively that seems to alter or transfer when considered from completely different angles. Select an Earth Day theme, such because the recycling image, bushes, or clear water, and take a look at your individual!
Be taught extra: Earth Day Agamographs
45. Make DIY recycled plantable seed paper
Tear newspaper into small items and soak in a bowl of water in a single day. The following day, mix the paper and water right into a pulp with a blender. Pressure the pulp, then add seeds and mix completely. Unfold the pulp in a skinny layer on prime of paper towels and permit to dry utterly. As soon as it’s dry, reduce into sq. or shapes.
46. Craft a pair of egg carton glasses
How inventive is that this egg carton craft for Earth Day? All you want is a two-egg part of an egg carton for the goggles. Lower the small ends out so college students can see by way of them. Add pipe cleaners on both aspect for the strap. Then personalize them with craft paint. Superhero goggles from an egg carton, who knew?
47. Put collectively an Earth Day mosaic puzzle
First, reduce out a circle of skinny cardboard to function the Earth. Subsequent, have college students glue small scraps of blue and inexperienced to symbolize the continents and the oceans. When the glue dries, prime with clear contact paper. Flip the “Earth” over and have college students draw the items of the puzzle. It could be best to discover a puzzle template to hint. Lastly, reduce out the items and also you’ve acquired a snazzy Earth Day puzzle.
48. Assemble a papier-mâché globe
Most youngsters love the sloppy means of papier-mâché. To start, reduce newspapers into strips. Dip the strips into a combination of 1 half flour and two components water. Drape over a type. To create an Earth form, use a balloon. As soon as the “Earth” dries, paint it inexperienced and blue.
49. Make Earth Day salt dough crafts
Salt dough crafts are a lot enjoyable to rejoice Earth Day! Make these colourful Earth Day medallions, then connect string. Your children will put on their Earth Day delight for all to see. To make the salt dough, mix one half salt, one half water, and two components flour, and knead for 7 to 10 minutes.
50. Mesmerize with DIY Earth Day sensory bottles
It’s superb what a relaxing impact these dreamy bottles can have. Merely fill a small, clear plastic bottle or jar with half water and half child oil. Then add a number of Planet Earth marbles and perhaps just a little glitter.
Get my printable Earth Day bundle!

Seize our Earth Day worksheet bundle with all of the printables described above.
What are your favourite issues to do for Earth Day? Come share in our We Are Academics HELPLINE group on Fb!
Plus, take a look at these Stunning Earth Day Poems for inspiration.
