Poems, short stories, activities, festivals and customs
Earth Day Poem
I am the Earth
And the Earth is me.
Each blade of grass,
Each honey tree,
Each bit of mud,
And stick and stone
Is blood and muscle,
Skin and bone.
And just as I
Need every bit
Of me to make
My body fit,
So Earth needs
Grass and stone and tree
And things that grow here
Naturally.
That’s why we
Celebrate this day.
That’s why across
The world we say:
As long as life,
Is dear, is free,
I am the Earth
And the Earth is me.
By Jane Yolen
Earth Day – What is it all about?
Earth Day is on Sunday 22nd April. Earth Day is a Birthday! Just like a birthday is a special day to celebrate a person, Earth Day is a special day that celebrates the Earth. On this day people of all backgrounds, faiths and nationalities in 175 countries around the World campaign through events. Their aim being to raise consciousness about the way our modern lives are affecting the planet and celebrate the wonder of our Earth. It is a great way for children to think about the environment and conservation.
Pedro, the folks from Sussex Green Living, friends and family are meeting in Coneyhurst (it was going to be the Human Nature Garden in Horsham Park however due to the weather, a change of location) to have a picnic and play lots of outdoor games. Join us if you fancy!
Activities will include:
- Decorating nature masks made out of recycled materials.
- Bring along a yoghurt pot or two which you have already decorated, then plant it up with flowers which will attract wildlife into your garden or herbs to eat. Soil and seeds provided.
- Recycling race – where the children learn about recycling in a fun and competitive way.
- Football and games.
And any other ideas you want to throw in!
To get the address and directions email us on .
To learn more about Sussex Green Living and watch a video about 10 ways you can easily green up your lives why not take a look at our videos on this page https://www.sussexgreenliving.org.uk/videos/.
You might also like to download our Sussex Green Living guide to 25 Sustainable Living tips. All you need to do is register in the Members’ Zone here, you will be emailed a password, then you can access lots of free members downloads additional site pages, content and free resources only available to members. Go for it join this Green network now!
Easter Fun
Hot-cross buns, hot-cross buns, one a penny, two a penny, hot-cross buns!
Happy Easter everyone….. Get out into the garden and have a race around, here are a few fun and traditional free Easter games to play:
Egg rolling competition
Boil a few eggs, one per competitor, then have an egg decorating competition. Once dry the fun really begins… find yourself a stick (no golf clubs that’s cheating); mark out a start line and a finish line, then have an egg rolling competition in the garden or back yard. It makes a bit of a mess of the egg but it is very good fun!
Blowing Easter Eggs
Soak the eggs in a solution of water and vinegar overnight. This makes the eggs easier to paint the next day. They can be painted with water colours or felt tip pens. Make a little hole in both ends of the eggs, blow slowly until the yolk comes out (save it for cooking). Rinse the egg and then decorate with paint, glue and glitter, dried flowers or in fact whatever you want.
The decorated eggs can have a ribbon glued to them, then can be hung from a twig (miniature tree) secured in a vase or perhaps a clay stand. Happy blowing!
Oh and don’t forget the good old Easter Egg hunt!
New Uses for Old Maps
Don’t throw out old maps, give them new lease of life.
Colourful book covers
Placemats: Glue on to poster board or coloured cardboard a little larger than the map. This will leave a coloured border on the map side, and a plain reverse side. Cover the map side with clear contact paper.
Decoupage on trays, cans, wooden boxes, etc
Collage: Paste map on thin cardboard along with other objects from the map region. Personalise by circling meaningful areas with broad markers.
These activities and many more are taught and demonstrated by Jules Simmons is an environmental artist based in West Sussex. She designs and creates lots of environmental art and recycling displays using non-traditional art materials creatively. Find out more about her work.
Preparing for Earth Hour!
Preparing for Earth Hour!
Tonight hundreds of millions of people, businesses and governments around the world unite each year to support the largest environmental event in history – Earth Hour.
More than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide switched off their lights for Earth Hour 2011 alone, sending a powerful message for action on climate change. It also ushered in a new era with members going Beyond the Hour to commit to lasting action for the planet. Without a doubt, it’s shown how great things can be achieved when people come together for a common cause. You can learn more about Earth Hour here. There are loads of fun games for children here too.
Here at Sussex Green Living HQ we are having a candlelit fondue with friends to mark the occasion.
We are currently recycling old candles and making some Earth candles to mark the occasion. All you need to do is:
Find a container which some food came in from the supermarket or an old flower pot.
Fill it with soil and push a tennis ball into the soil to make a round indentation. Using a stick make 3 little channels in the bottom which will act as feet to your Earth candle.
Met down old candles and try to recover the old wicks or make or buy some new wick.
Then pour your liquid wax into the Earth indentation putting the wick in the middle. You might need to top up the wax as it seeps into the surrounding Earth.
Leave it to dry and firm up, then remove the new Earth candle from the soil, give it a little dust off but making sure some Earth is still left on. And hey presto you have yourself some lovely recycled Earth candles.
Turn off all your lights to mark Earth Hour and commit to lasting action for the planet to turn around climate change. Enjoy. Photos to follow tomorrow!
Hello it is Spring
Out of his shell into the light,
Bright yellow chicken chirps with delight.
‘Hello, it’s Spring, Life’s just begun,
Let’s all wake up, time to have fun!’
Get outdoors everyone
The natural world wakes up from a long sleep with buds bursting into leaf, flowers blooming and animals waking from hibernation.
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