Virtual Climate Camp for Parents and Kids at Home
Activities, Videos, and Online Books You Can Deploy as We Shelter in Place
As we all try to adjust to our current reality of sheltering in place amidst the COVID19 pandemic, we wanted to offer a way to help you—working parents, single parents, caregivers, business owners, and kids of all ages—stave off boredom and remain engaged on helping the climate.
So the team at C3 created these weekly virtual and interactive activities throughout Earth Month for the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day (April 22nd). We did some of the projects with our kids at home and shot videos (that was a first for us). The activities are inspired by our new Classroom Climate Challenge for Teachers. We hope you enjoy them and share your photos or videos with us on C3’s Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag #virtualclimatecamp. When you do, you’ll have a chance to win a C3 hat, t-shirt, or bamboo utensil set!
Week 1 (April 1): Garden and Compost
April is the perfect time of year to explore gardening in your backyard, patio, or windowsill. Did you know gardening is also good for the climate? A tomato grown on your back porch requires a lot less energy than one you might find in the grocery store. Additionally, eating a more plant-based diet reduces your carbon footprint.
Once you can harvest your home-grown veggies and prepared a meal, you can use your food scraps to make compost. The less waste we send to the landfill, the less methane gas is produced. Plus, compost is wonderfully nutritious food for your garden!
Listen to the Book!
From giant oaks to fluffy dandelions, they all start as a tiny seed. Join the kind and nature-loving Miss Maple as she celebrates the miracle in each seed! Miss Maple’s Seeds by Eliza Wheeler (K-6th grade).
Do the Activity!
Make a Homemade Composter with this easy-to-follow PBS Kids Video (3rd-6th grade).
Watch our Demo Video!
Andrea, our residential Program Manager, and her dog Daisy, introduce students to their home gardening projects in this 4-minute video (all ages).
Week 2 (April 8): Energy Matters
“Don’t be a Fossil Fool!” and learn how to reduce your energy use at home by turning our Home Energy Checklist into a Home Energy Scavenger Hunt! Also explore how energy can be captured from the sun by building your own Solar Oven. If you’re looking for something the kids can do independently, download and print some of the activity pages in the lessons from Virginia Energy Sense.
Listen to the Book!
Why Should I Save Energy? By Jen Green (K-3rd grade)
Do the Activity!
C3’s DIY Home Energy Checklist (all ages with adult support)
Make a Smore Solar Oven with Maya from PBS Kids (3-6th grade)
Make Solar Oven Smores with the SciGuys (7-12th grade)
Energy Lessons and Activities from Virginia Energy Sense (1st-6th grade)
Make an artsy “Turn the Lights Off” placard for light switches at senior living facilities (all ages).
Watch Our Demo Videos!
C3’s staff members make a solar oven with their kids — Teri Kent with her 10th grade son, Ian and Susan Kruse, with her 1st and 4th graders Sebby and Evan!
Week 3 (April 15): Hug a Tree
Trees are a vital part of our global ecosystem. They provide a habitat for the world’s animals (as told in The Great Kapok Tree story), and also help sequester carbon to reduce our global carbon footprint. And last, but certainly not least, they provide beauty, shade, and comfort for all of us. Talk about giving! Learn more about trees and maybe even plant one this Spring.
Listen to the Book!
Learn about the importance of trees in our ecosystems, directly from the animal residents of the Amazon rainforest in the Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry (K-6th grade)
Do the Activity!
Plant a Tree (all ages with adult support)
Do the activity pages from the Arbor Day Foundation (3rd-5th grade)
Watch Our Demo Video!
Andrea and her kids tell you how to plant a tree in this 4-minute video.
Find Out More
Reforestation: Impact on Climate (5th- 8th grade): Forests are an invisible force for a cooler climate. In this Nature Conservancy video, learn how they take carbon out of the atmosphere in this informative video.
China’s Great Forests (all ages): Explore another ecosystem, courtesy of The Nature Conservancy, made of trees - the great forests of China! See how giant pandas live in their natural habitat.
Week 4 (April 22): Celebrate the 50th Earth Day and Learn the 3R’s
This year Earth Day turns 50 and climate action has never been more important! After watching Bill Nye’s video on the science of change, learn the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling when it comes to saving natural resources and protecting the planet from these activities and videos.
Listen to the Book!
What do you do in a town that doesn’t recycle and doesn’t have a place to put their garbage? Listen to Justin Theroux read Here Comes the Garbage Barge by Jonah Winter below. (K-6th grade)
Do the Activity!
Complete these activity pages to become a “pro” at reducing waste and conserving resources! Case of the Broken Loop from the EPA’s Planet Protectors (3rd - 6th grade)
Upcycle Art Project: Create something beautiful out of throw-away packaging! (all ages)
Make a reusable grocery bag out of an old T-shirt! (all ages) - see our Demo Video
Watch Bill Nye’s Video!
Bill Nye the Science Guy explains the science of climate change in this cool video. (5th-10th grade)
Watch Our Demo Video!
Teri Kent, aka Better World Betty, shows you how to make a no-sew reusable grocery bag out of an old T-shirt. It’s super easy, super useful, and fun!
Week 5 (April 29): Take the C3 Kids’ Climate Pledge
Have a say about climate change and make a pledge to take on carbon footprint-reducing actions in your own lives. Use some of the tools C3 has provided and find some of your own. Share your story with our community to provide inspiration for all of us. We’re in this together and every action counts!
Read the Book!
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer (Available as a YA novel, picture book, and Netflix documentary) is a true story of a young boy in Malawi who saves his village from famine by accessing renewable energy.
Do the Activity!
Sign the C3 Climate Pledge. Read the pledge, identify some climate actions, and make a plan. (all ages)
Participate in C3’s virtual JOT (just one thing) photo bulletin board: Take a picture with your personalized pledge, tell us just one thing that you will do, and send it to andrea@theclimatecollaborative.org and we’ll post it on our Instagram and Facebook page! (all ages)
Choose an environmental issue (plastic pollution, solar energy, transportation, etc.) and write your elected official sharing your thoughts and offering a solution. (all ages)
Watch Our Demo Video!
Find Out More
Let kids around the country and globe inspire you with their climate actions!
Back for More! May Climate Camp Activities
Due to popular demand, we’ve extended our activities to run for three additional weeks. Have fun with these, Campers! And don’t forget to send us your photos for a chance to win a C3 hat, t-shirt, or reusable bamboo utensil set.
Week 6 (May 6): Soil Science
Let’s celebrate International Compost Awareness Week (May 3rd - 9th) by taking a closer look at the importance of composting and the science of soil. Take a virtual tour of Black Bear Composting. Discover the incredible power of the soil to alleviate climate change and help our environment with some of the featured books and videos.
Read the Book!
Muddy Max: The Mystery of Marsh Creek (3rd - 8th grade): Enjoy this graphic novel as our protagonist Max discovers the superpowers of the soil. Check out the great science experiments at the back of the book!
Do the Activity!
Painting with Soil: Explore different colors and textures of our soil layers while creating a masterpiece! (all ages)
Watch the Soil Story and Others!
The Soil Story and The Compost Story by Kiss the Ground (5th - 10th grade): Learn how soil, and our management of this precious resource, can help reduce carbon emissions.
The Dirt on Dirt with Sid the Science Guy (1st - 5th grade): Learn how dirt is really important to the Earth!
Take a Virtual Tour of Black Bear Composting!
Turning food waste into compost is beneficial for reducing climate emissions, growing gardens, and revitalizing soil into carbon-sequestering super powers! Join Teri Kent to find out how Cville’s food scraps are converted to rich compost.
Week 7 (May 13): The Food We Eat
The way we consume our food has an impact on our carbon footprint. Explore food waste and plant-based cooking in this week’s virtual climate camp. Tie your apron and plan to prepare a delicious, healthy meal for your family. Learn about the impact of meat consumption on our Earth’s forests and greenhouse gas emissions.
Read or Listen to the Book!
100 Facts about Rainforests: (3rd - 6th grade) Did you know that rainforests are often deforested to raise beef? Learn more about this precious resource and find exciting activities in this book.
Settle in for the audio of Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma (young adult version). Each chapter has its own video so you can listen in more than one sitting.
Do the Activity!
Cook a meal for your family (all ages)! The 2016 Let’s Move cookbook highlights a kid chef and their recipe from each state. Meal planning and cooking at home is a great way to reduce food waste!
Watch C3’s Video: Make Vegetarian Peanut Sauce!
Join Susan Kruse and her kids make a plant-based meal. The recipe for the Kruse Family Vegetarian Peanut Sauce is in the description section of the video.
Kruse Family Peanut Sauce
1 Can of Reduced Fat Coconut Milk
1 Cup of Peanut Butter
3 Tablespoons of Sugar
2 Tablespoons of Red Curry Paste
1 Tablespoon of Soy Sauce
Cook all over medium heat until well incorporated. Serve over rice, noodles, tofu, or vegetables. Enjoy!
Week 7 (May 20): The Stuff We Buy
The things we consume make a significant contribution to our carbon footprint. Some of these things, like visits to the doctor, are out of our control. But, we can find the unnecessary waste in our life and find a sustainable option or simply, purchase less stuff!
Read the Book!
Away With Wastefulness (1st - 4th grade): Read a story about making the best use of all of your resources: material, financial, and time!
Do the Activity!
Host a virtual clothing swap with friends. Email pics of your clothes and arrange for a no-contact drop-off! (all ages)
Choose your favorite clothing brand and send them a postcard from Fashion Revolution requesting how they are helping the planet in their manufacturing process, throughout their supply chain. (7th-12th grade)
Look for alternatives to single-use packaging at the grocery store. (all ages)
Use this personal waste Eco-audit from US Green Building Council’s learning lab! (7th-12th grade)
Watch the Video!
Learn how an everyday t-shirt builds a carbon footprint before you even purchase it in this great video from TedEd.
Other Helpful At-Home Learning Resources
Albemarle County At-Home Learning Resources (all ages)
Nature Conservancy Nature Lab (9-12th grade)
PBS Kids Daily (pre-K - 3rd grade)
Compost Buddies a 6-minute video hosted by George the Woodlouse (that’s another name for a rolly polly bug) for 3rd-6th graders
Scholastic Kids Learning at Home Website pre-K through 9th grade activities
Coursera Free Online Courses (10th grader and up)