Children love outdoor activities — nature hikes, planting seeds, sifting sand — and adults love quality time, which makes Earth Day the perfect opportunity for family togetherness and fun.
Below are 10 simple green things you and the keiki can do on any day, plus some Earth Month events to enjoy.
1. Plant a tree
The Polynesian Voyaging Society invites everyone to plant a tree in the name of the Hokule‘a’s Malama Honua worldwide voyage, aiming for at least a million, “a number we might need to offset any carbon our voyage might create,” said PVS learning center director Miki Tomita.
>> Need a tree to plant? Get one for free at the 1,000 Tree Giveaway by Malama Manoa and the Outdoor Circle, 8 a.m.-noon Sunday in the Manoa Valley District Park Pavilion. Call 222-5235.
>> Tiny children can nurture tiny trees, as the Honolulu Theatre for Youth shows in “The Tiny Tree,” by Annie Cusick Wood, playing May 17 at 10 a.m. at Kalihi-Palama Public Library, 1325 Kalihi St., and May 27 at 10:30 a.m. at Salt Lake-Moanalua Public Library, 3225 Salt Lake Blvd. Free. Go to htyweb.org/plays/tiny-tree-free- library-performances.
>> On April 30 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., help restore a native forest in Waimea Valley with the Polynesian Voyaging Society and the U.S. Forest Service. Free. Go to hokulea.com/event/waimea-valley or contact hyejung@pvshawaii.org.
2. Reuse creatively
In a dedicated space at Spalding House during the Honolulu Museum of Art’s Plastic Fantastic? show, sponsored by Kokua Hawai‘i Foundation, keiki can make sculpture, lei, wind chimes and more with plastic debris collected from Oahu beaches. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Sundays, 1-5 p.m. Admission $10, free to those age 17 and younger; 2411 Makiki Heights Drive; honolulumuseum.org, 532-8700.
3. Avoid disposable, single-use plastics
About 8 million metric tons of plastic waste enters the world’s oceans every year.
>> Take children shopping for their own reusable drink bottles, which they can personalize with stickers and paint.
>> In your child’s backpack, tuck a lightweight tote for reusable materials found, say, while helping clean a park or beach. Pack lunches and snacks in lightweight stainless-steel or reusable plastic containers.
>> Bring reusable plates, cups and utensils, and a dish to share to the Earth Day potluck and talk on ocean plastic at Calvary by the Sea Lutheran Church, Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. 372-1280.
4. Clean a beach
>> On Friday the North Shore Community Land Trust leads a coastal hike to the nature preserve at Kahuku Point, where families can help clean the beach and then enjoy a light lunch. Free. Check in at 8:45 a.m. at the Guidepost center at Turtle Bay Resort, 57-091 Kamehameha Highway, Kahuku. Hike from 9 to 11 a.m., cleanup until 1 p.m.
>> Volunteers bearing buckets can park for free at Sea Life Park, then cross the street to clean the shoreline Saturday from 8 to 11 a.m. The first 50 arrivals get free admission to the park afterward; others can enter for a $9 reduced fee. 259-2500, sealifepark-hawaii.com.
>> Malama Magic Island at a Plastic Fantastic? beach cleanup Sunday from 9:30 a.m. until noon, when refreshments will be served. Free. Meet at Picnic Site 30; register with wpaikai@honolulumuseum.org.
>> Sift sand in the big beach cleanup of Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii, the Hawaii Army National Guard and Kokua Hawaii Foundation, April 30 from 9:30-11:30 a.m., followed by a concert, children’s games and waste-free lunch till 2 p.m. Free. Meet at Waimanalo Beach Park; sustainablecoastlineshawaii.org.
5. Save paper and trees
>> When buying school and art supplies, ask kids to find green paper labels, such as 100 percent recycled, post-consumer-recycled (PCR), tree-free and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. New Leaf notebooks, made with 100 percent recycled paper, are sold at Office Depot; Environotes, made with sugar cane fiber, are at Fisher Hawaii.
>> Children age 7 and up can cut up old magazines to make pictures in Art Explorium’s design workshop, May 1 from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Cost: $15. 1142 Koko Head Ave.; register at artexplorium.org/event/the-art-of-paper-cutting.
>> Parents who frequent coffee shops can bring their commuter mugs to be filled at any Starbucks and at Artizen in the Hawai‘i State Art Museum, which serves 100 percent locally grown coffee.
6. Recycle beyond the bin
>> On Saturday at Nuuanu Congregational Church’s Green Day, learn to compost food waste in worm bins and bokashi buckets. Bring papers to shred and electronics to recycle, and explore “freecycling” and a rummage, craft and cookbook sale. All proceeds go to help the needy. From 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. at 2651 Pali Highway; 595-3135 or kimoment2@hawaiiantel.net.
7. Conserve energy and reduce carbon emissions
>> Play the energy-saving games on the keiki menu this month at Zippy’s, and enter to win a solar charger and battery set from Hawaii Energy and Kanu Hawaii. Hawaiienergy.com, 537-5577.
8. Plant ’em
>> Receive free drought-tolerant plant seeds from the Wahiawa Botanical Gardens in a free Hug Your Mother celebration, April 30 at Wahiawa Shopping Center and Wahiawa Town Center, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Keiki activities include leaf imprinting and seedling projects.
>> Native Hawaiian plants will be given away at Waikiki Aquarium’s Mauka to Makai Expo on Saturday, with interactive exhibits showing how land-based behaviors affect the ocean. Free. From 9 a.m.-2 p.m.; waikikiaquarium.org, 923-9741.
>> On Saturday at Manoa Public Library, native plants will be given to the first 50 visitors to an event featuring composting, crafting and sustainable backyard pets. Bring a recyclable HI-5 container for a chance to win a prize. Free. 10 a.m.-noon, 2716 Woodlawn Drive, 988-0459.
9. Cook with kids
“Cooking from scratch together is fun and healthier because it’s fresher and you know what’s going into your food,” said Debbie Millikan, sustainability specialist at ‘Iolani School, who cooks the family’s meals with her children.
>> Earth Day activities take place Friday, and an okonomiyaki cooking workshop for children 7 and older will be held Saturday, at Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center. Admission: $10. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, 111 Ohe St., 524-5437, discoverycenterhawaii.org/events.
10. Swap ’em
>> If they’re yearning to trade up, take your groms to Patagonia Honolulu’s surfboard swap and sale Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; 940 Auahi St., 593-7502.
>> Bring a book and swap it for another at the Hawaii Book and Music Festival on the Civic Grounds by Honolulu Hale, April 30 and May 1 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Let the kids choose. Whether your green thing is cleaning a beach or that furry air-conditioning filter at home, Mother Earth feels the love.
