Climate change activity ideas

Reduce / Reuse / Recycle 

Junk to treasure challenge - what can they make from stuff that would go to landfill otherwise?

Have your school or community got a TerraCyle programme? - set challenges to fill the TerraCyle box.

Make 3 R's planet pledges! - What will you do to reduce, reuse and recycle this year?

Recycling races - Get children thinking about what can be recycled versus what can't. Have a selection of items/representative items ready for the bin (e.g. food scraps for composting, cardboard, food containers, clothes, yoghurt pots, glass etc.) and a selection of bins at the other end of the room. Have a race to see who can put the items in the right recycling places the quickest? Did they actually get them in the right places? Discuss what else you could have done with them. 

Food challenges

What's in the fridge? - Think about what you could create with what you have. What else could you do with leftovers?

Have an edible garden at home or school - grow fruit and vegetables.

How much waste is in lunch boxes? – Both food and plastic waste, weigh it and compete by class.

Make some plant-based snacks or meal tasters to introduce new foods and challenge taste buds.

Habitat and biodiversity restoration

Plant, plant and plant some more!

Make seed bombs of wild flowers to encourage pollinators.

Create a bug hotel to encourage eco-systems in your garden.

Make bird feeders or butterfly feeders.

Volunteering - is there a re-wilding project or litter pick near you that you could help?

Energy and CO2

Earn rewards - for every act that reduces the carbon footprint of the class/family a point is earned e.g. re-using something, not buying something that you don't really need, donating something rather than putting it in the bin etc. Points make prizes! Have a collective treat when you get to 10/20/100 points.

Get planting - plants and trees absorb CO2 and produce oxygen, win-win!

Climate change dodgeball! This fast-paced game from Learning Through Landscapes looks like a lot of fun and shows how increasing greenhouse gases causes global warming.

Play a game of "would you rather" to spark interesting conversation about climate change and environmental issues e.g. would you rather the weather be super hot or super cold? Here's a set of would you rather questions from The Kitchen Chronicles.