7 Family-Friendly Ways to Help the Planet

By Russell Scott Smith, Weston, Connecticut

WEB EXCLUSIVE

Lynn Colwell has always been a saver and re-user, someone who repurposes empty containers and turns out the lights when leaving a room. When her kids were small, she would explain that doing these things helped the family save money. But these days, with her grandkids, she also talks about being good to the earth.

"They used to call me cheap," she says, with a laugh. "But now they call me green."

Lynn got into environmentalism through her daughter, Corey Colwell-Lipson, who became an eco-conscious vegetarian at age 15. Now 36 and a mother of two girls, Corey is even more passionate about saving the planet. "I want to give my children the healthiest world possible," she says.

With that shared goal in mind, Corey and Lynn—who live about 15 minutes from each other in the Seattle suburbs—collaborated on the book Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family.

We asked this mother-daughter green team for some kid- and planet-friendly ways that families can make their lifestyle more environmentally friendly.

1. Start a garden.
Ideally, "every child should have a garden," says Lynn, who regularly conscripts the grandkids to weed and pick veggies from her own backyard patch.

"Kids should learn that food doesn't only come from a grocery store."

Even if you can't plant your own, you can show your children how food grows by getting involved in a Community Sponsored Agriculture (CSA) program. As a CSA member, you'll get a box of freshly picked seasonal veggies once a week during the summer. Many CSA farmers will invite members for tours and to help out during harvest. Some will even trade work for free produce.

2. Shop locally.
"I grew up in a greener time, a simpler time," Lynn writes in the book, "when we certainly never topped off a Thanksgiving dinner with grapes from South Africa or pears from Chile."

These days, of course, we can get all sorts of fruits and vegetables all year round. But the environmental costs of transporting them are high. Instead, enjoy an abundance local fruits and veggies in the summer and preserve them the old-fashioned way. At the height of peach season, throw a neighborhood canning party.

3. Play with worms!
"Kids love worms," Lynn says. And the little squirmers (by which we mean the worms) also happen to be really great at turning kitchen garbage into rich, dark soil for your lawn and garden.

A worm composting system is easy to set up. All you need is a wood or plastic box, some shredded newspaper and a bunch of red-wiggler worms, which are available from various sites, including PlanetNatural.com. (For more on the process, check out SavvyGardener.com or CityFarmer.org.)

"You can do it in the house, and it doesn't take a lot of space," Lynn says. "The kids will totally get into it."