Educating our children about the importance of taking care of the environment begins at our home and continues in the classroom. Such an education is vital for the future of our planet since today’s younger generation will become tomorrow’s decision makers. Our schools play a fundamental role in the creation of a sustainable future for our world and both parents and teachers should capitalize on this function. Here’s how:

Green up your transportation. Parents should encourage their children to take mass transportation systems like carpools, the school bus, the public bus and the subway. If the school is just nearby, students can ride in bicycles or walk when going to school.

Require green projects. Teachers can create opportunities for students to learn environmental principles through special projects. These may include recycling competitions, environmental debates and speech contests, eco-friendly excursions, creating class gardens and “carbon sinks,” joining tree planting activities or starting a compost heap project. Educators could also encourage students to join organizations or networks that advance environmental causes.

Go green on school supplies. Parents and teachers can work together when choosing healthy and environment-friendly classroom supplies for children. Such supplies can take many forms including water-based paints, recycled pencils and art supplies, post-consumer recycled papers, acid-free glue, non-toxic crayons and so on.

Appoint energy marshals. Students can take turns in keeping watch on appliances or lights that are not being used but are switched on. They can also be asked to close windows and doors to make the school’s heating and cooling systems more efficient.

Encourage children to clean up. Teachers should teach kids the importance of proper hygiene and cleanliness. Encourage them to wash or clean their hands using organic and natural hand soaps and hand sanitizers. Students could take part in classroom cleaning activities but make sure they are using only safe and natural cleaning solutions so as to prevent them from being exposed to harmful toxic chemicals. For more information about such products, please visit the BabyGanics site.

Involve the school board and the community. During PTA meetings, parents and teachers could explore opportunities to make bigger goals possible. They could even try to encourage the school board or school district authorities, as well as community leaders to participate in such environmental goals. For example, the school can invest in projects like green building technologies, energy-efficient electrical appliances or gadgets and organic food for the cafeteria.

There are gazillion opportunities to go green in the classroom. Parents, students and teachers need only work together to be able to achieve many different goals that aim to help save our environment.