9. Recycle. Recycling is a great way for kids to get involved in taking care of the planet. Talk to your kids about the items that wind up in the recycling bin and how they can be recycled into new products. Or you can also check out some of the recycling opportunities available from groups like TerraCycle where you can earn money for your school or community organization by collecting items like candy wrappers or juice pouches so that they can be remade into cool new stuff.

Today, Sheetal is the Michigan Green Schools Committee Coordinator for EACA. With the steadfast support of Principal Leonard she continues to battle idling. She also established schoolwide in-classroom paper and plastic recycling. Every month she personally sorts hundreds of cheese wrappers and juice pouches for Terracycle, an upcycling service that pays for school’s trash, which they turn into new items like backpacks and birdfeeders. So far the school has earned about $200 that they plan to use for a wildlife garden.

The first Earth Day was celebrated April 22, 1970. For those who think this environmental awareness movement had little impact, here are some quick reminders: 20 million people participated in rallies across the U.S. at the first Earth Day. By the end of 1970, lawmakers in Congress had created the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Eating through a lot of Easter candy? Make all those candy wrappers earn money for Elmwood Park Zoo by dropping them off at the Admissions counter. The wrappers will be sent to Terracycle, which converts waste into a "wide variety of products and materials," according to their website. Waste is upcycled or recycled to create new products.