Aside from making sure the grey bin with the recycling gets out to the curb each Wednesday morning, there’s not always a lot of positive environmental impacts we get to make in our little suburban nirvana. However, we’ve made two important decisions lately where we feel we’re taking steps in the right direction. The first is that, to encourage a sense of environmental awareness and a proactive recycling mentality, we’ve tied our boys’ allowance into what they can get by collecting bottles and cans and taking them to the center for redemption. This has had the delightful effect of causing them to try and pick up every plastic water bottle they see abandoned everywhere – especially theme parks, where inevitably mom or dad get asked to carry the rescued refuse while the kids get on line for the next roller-coaster.
The second is that we’ve taken a very environmentally-friendly bent in our choices for the kitchen remodel we’re planning next year. The three big choices are that we want to use bamboo for the cabinets, cork for the flooring, and countertops made with natural resins and recycled glass. There are some very stylish choices available in all these products, and the prices are quite competitive with other, less eco-friendly choices, to the point that we don’t really feel there is any reason NOT to use these materials. And because the kitchen is such a family-centric space, we’ve included the boys in all these choices, to make sure they understand the importance of what we’re doing, and build their awareness of these important issues.
So, is anyone else doing anything special to raise their kids with a heightened environmental awareness? Let us know in the comments!
About Blog Action Day:
On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind – the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.
