Environmental Tips for Kids

Turn off that light!

Boy, parents are a pain, aren't they? Always nagging you to "Turn off the lights", "Make sure you turn off that tap", and a bunch of other stuff.

We hate to tell you this, but they are right! Wasting water and electricity not only wastes money, but it wastes our natural resources too. The more energy we use, the greater the demand on our power suppliers.

From the page on Water Facts, we have seen that only 1% of all the water in the world is available to be used as drinking water. Although this water keeps getting recycled through the Earth’s water cycle, once that water is polluted, it is hard to get it back to a useable state.

Stratford has a unique water system… We use water which comes from artesian wells, deep under the ground. Let’s help to protect our water so that there will be enough for everyone!

Here are a few things that you can do at home to help save water and electrical power, as well as helping to keep our water system pure for drinking:

	TURN OFF THE LIGHTS when there is no one in the room, even for a short time! Electricity is wasted when no one is around to get the benefit of it.
	When making cookies or other treats, wait until you are almost done making your mix before you pre-heat the oven. It only takes ten minutes to heat the average electric oven for baking. (Better still, try some no-bake treats!)
	Get your parents to try hanging out the laundry on a clothes line or inside on racks instead of using the dryer. Maybe you could help them out by offering to hang the laundry on the line!
	If you wash something in the washer, make sure you have a full load and not just one T-shirt or a pair of jeans. This would save both electricity AND water.
	If you are using your computer, turn off the monitor if you are going to be away from it for a while. Some computers have energy-saving features which will do this for you automatically when you leave it for a while. If your computer has this feature make sure you are taking advantage of it.
	If you have a portable radio, make sure it’s plugged in when you are indoors and not using batteries. While using batteries might save a little on your hydro bill, they are really not that good for the environment. Not only do they last for a VERY long time in a landfill, but they leak deadly mercury into the ground and pollute the water table.
	If you are using batteries in a toy or game, make sure they are the rechargeable kind, and make sure you don’t leave the toy on when you aren’t playing with it.

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