Green Kids Online

Recently, a mum in my practice asked me how to help her children "Go Green." There are many excellent books on green-living. Ms. Gregory wrote an article on Suite 101 in 2006 with links for Kids who want to Go Green. It's a great start!

Let me know what Green resources you love.

Lynne

Green Kids Online
Resources for Teaching Children Green Habits
© Shirley Siluk Gregory

Dec 18, 2006

A guide to Websites designed to teach children about green and healthy living, biodiversity and protecting natural resource.

If you’re looking for ways to help your child understand the importance of green living habits, consider bookmarking some of these instructive Websites designed especially for kids:

A Walk in the Woods, created by the University of Illinois Extension Service, aims to help third- through fifth-graders students “gain an appreciation of nature.”

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/woods/

Adventures with Bobbie Bigfoot provides an interactive quiz to help kids understand how food choices, transportation choices and more affect a person's ecological footprint.

http://www.kidsfootprint.org/index.html

AIRNow for Kids is part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality Index pages. It features two sections to help kindergarteners and first-graders, as well as 7- to 10-year-olds, learn more about pollution and their local air quality.

http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=aqikids_new.main

Be Different, Live Different, Buy Different, Make a Difference is a youth-targeted site created by the World Wildlife Fund and the Center for a New American Dream. Its aim is to “to help young people learn how they can make a difference by buying differently.”

http://www.ibuydifferent.org/about_us.asp

Biodiversity: Everything Counts!, part of the American Museum of Natural History's Website, offers a guide to close-to-home biodiversity, even for kids who live in cities.

http://ology.amnh.org/biodiversity/index.html

EcoKids is Earth Day Canada's environmental Website for kids. It features online games, links for homework help and contests, as well as printable resources for parents and teachers.

http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/index.cfm

EEK!, created by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, offers information to help youngsters recycle, conserve water, plant trees and learn about nature.

http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/index.htm

EERE Kids, part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Web pages, links kids to information about solar energy, alternative fuels, energy efficiency tips and more.

http://www.eere.energy.gov/kids

The EPA's Environmental Kids Club, while not the most appealing or user-friendly site, includes lots of features: games about recycling, information about endangered species, a guide to reducing greenhouse gases, an Earth Day activity book and more.

http://www.epa.gov/kids/

Green Teacher, though not specifically directed at children, offers resources for teachers who want to improve their students' environmental awareness.

http://www.greenteacher.com

KidsHealth, a site run by the The Nemours Foundation's Center for Children's Health Media, provides extensive information for kids on eating well, staying healthy, exercise, illnesses and the challenges of growing up.

http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Kids' Pages offers a wide selection of nature- and science-oriented games, brainteasers, stories and downloadable coloring books about the environment, jokes and more.

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/home.htm

The National Resources Defense Council's Make Waves! section features information on how to protect oceans and wildlife, a guide for eliminating environment and health problems in schools, and links to other green-oriented Websites for kids

http://www.nrdc.org/makewaves/

The National Wildlife Federation's Kids and Families site includes ideas from kids and adults about how to enjoy the outdoors, a Green Hour blog on the importance of letting kids play outside, a guide to gardening for wildlife, and information on subscriptions to the National Wildlife Federation's children's magazines.

http://www.nwf.org/kids/

The San Diego Natural History Museum's Kids' Habitat site includes illustrated guides to California's reptiles and amphibians, arthropods and marine life.

http://www.sdnhm.org/kids/index.html

The U.S. EPA's Website also features a section designed to help kids learn about chemical they might find in their homes.

http://www.epa.gov/kidshometour/