Tree planting and light bulb replacement drives are great activities for Earth Day, but how can younger volunteers get more involved in service on Earth Day? How about trying some of these ideas:

• Start the project off easy. Try to set up the project in a way that’s easy to understand for your younger volunteers. Take some time to bring them all together to talk about what you’re going to do that day and why you’re planning on doing it. If there’s enough time built into your project, try taking the time to read The Lorax with your volunteers.
• Small tasks for small hands. Youth volunteers probably aren’t going to be able to help plant a six foot tall tree, but there is a lot that young volunteers can do! Try to think of things that are part of a project that you have planned that can be broken into small tasks that younger volunteers can do. If you’re planting flowers, younger volunteers can plant flowers into holes that other volunteers have dug, or holes that someone has helped them to dig.
• Be a teacher for a day. Stop to think about the type of task you have planned for younger volunteers. What parts of the task might you know well, but your volunteers might not know? If you’re planting seeds, take the time to explain what a seed is and how they “work.” Teaching your younger volunteers about what they’ll be doing in a way that is fun will help to get them engaged in the task!
• Honor the work that volunteers do. This is important no matter how old your volunteers are. It’s especially important for younger volunteers – it helps to enforce that they can make a difference in the world. At the end of the project, take the time to point out the work that volunteers have done and explain how it’s helped to improve the environment. Be sure to emphasize the impact that the volunteers made today!

Do you plan a lot of service projects with younger volunteers? What have you found that helps to keep them engaged with the service they’re doing? Let us know in the comments! Happy Earth Day!