The impacts of climate change and sustainability has never been so important than it is now. Bringing children into this world during this ‘do-or-die’ situation can seem daunting, but teaching children from a young age about the way and the ways to combat climate change and sutainability can make a huge impact into their own personal habits leading into the future, but also leave a positive impact on the planet’s health in the long term.

Here are a handful of ways and habits to encourage sustainability for your children.

SETTING UP RECYCLING PRACTICES AT HOME:

Setting up good sustainable practices can start at home and encourage long-term habits.

The majority of councils (in Australia, at least) already have basic recycling bins available for all households where you can separate your general waste and some recyclable materials such as (some) plastics and cardboard.

This is a great way to encourage and teach your children about what materials are recyclable and which ones aren’t.

You can level this up by setting up additional bins at home for other recyclable items - your local council website will have more information on where other items can be recycled. Soft plastics can be recycled at the majority of Woolworths and Coles supermarkets, as well as Officeworks also offering bins for recycling old phones, ink cartridges and more!

Just by recycling at home you can:

• Reduce landfill waste

• Conserve energy (recycling plants save more energy than landfill waste centres)

• Reduces plastic products reaching the ocean
  

GARDENING & COMPOSTING:

Teaching children about gardening and composting can be an incredibly fun activity where they can easily participate - from choosing suitable plants and even planting them! This practice can encourage sustainable long-term habits in growing some of your own produce.

Unfortunately most mass agriculture practices utilise a lot of harmful chemicals that can pollute our environment. While it is unattainable for the majority of the population to harvest an adequate amount to feed themselves or their family, starting a small at-home garden can help reduce these chemicals into the environment, as well as teaching children about where their produce comes from and healthy eating habits.

Meanwhile, composting is another fantastic way to reduce landfill waste and provide nutrient dense soil to use at home. Setting up a compost bin at home that your children can easily reach is another fun activity to teach them about sustainable practices at home.

If you don’t have a suitable space for your own garden or indoor plants, many local councils have community gardens or compost centres for people to utilise.

PLANT A TREE

Deforestation is an incredibly damaging industry that contributes roughly 10% of global warming according to recent studies. A lot of deforestation is the result of clearing way to accommodation more animal agriculture.

Teaching and encouraging your children to plant trees provides plenty of benefits for the environment, as well as great habits for your children.

Trees release oxygen naturally by pulling in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. More trees = more fresh air for us to breathe. High levels of pollution can be problematic for our environment, but can also cause an increase in heart attacks, coughing and breathing problems in people in highly polluted areas.

Thankfully, councils in Australia encourage planting of more trees and generally have programs available where you can join in planting practices. Landcare Australia also has junior programs available that you can join where they work with local councils and schools that encourage planting projects and implementing sustainable practices for the environment.

*Let me know some of the ways you teach your children about veganism. Always happy to learn more and teach others