Cape Town - April 22 is annually marked as World Earth Day, where millions of people across the globe stand together to celebrate Mother Earth and raise awareness about preserving it for generations to come.
As the future citizens and leaders of tomorrow, it is important that children learn to appreciate our planet in order to protect it from things like pollution and deforestation.
Abongile Kwaza, founder of the Help a Girl Child Campaign, Earth Day is important as it raises awareness about the need to protect our planet.
"It is also a reminder for us all to continue to take responsibility to care for our homes. I think it is also important that we educate kids about Earth Day so that they are able to understand the importance of loving and taking care of the earth.
She said kids should love the earth because it provides everything we need to survive, for example, clean air, water, and food.
"When kids love and appreciate the earth, they are more likely to take care of it and live in a sustainable way. We must teach kids to love the earth. By teaching kids about environmental issues and encouraging them to take small actions, we can help them develop habits that will benefit the earth and society as a whole," said Kwaza.
The following are tips that your kids can do to celebrate Earth Day:
Plant a Seed: Try planting a sprout, flowering plant or tree in your garden, on your kitchen window, or in your backyard.
Create recycling habits: Refrain from using single-use plastics, use reusable bags, and practice sorting wet (organic) from dry (plastic, paper, and cans).
Source local produce: Fruit and vegetables travel far and wide to get into supermarkets, causing large amounts of air pollution.
Clean up your neighbourhood, local parks.
Use refillable water bottles: Over 1.5 million barrels of oil are used to manufacture plastic bottles each year and practically all of these plastic bottles end up in landfills or simply as litter.