Today was Earth Day. It’s a day when we are supposed to remember all of the wonderful things that this beautiful planet provides for us and make a conscientious effort to do more to protect it.
Earth Day started in 1970 following calls for change after the Santa Barbara oil spill. Fun fact: Did you know that there is a tree planted by President Nixon on the White House lawn in honor of the first Earth Day? I’ve gone to the White House many times and never realized that. And if you really want some entertainment, go look up some Earth Day songs. Some will give you quite the chuckle.
I’ve been really bad about recognizing Earth Day in the past. It always just kind of crept up on me and I didn’t ever have anything planned or thought out.
I remember watching Captain Planet when I was in elementary school, but even that was relatively minor with regards to actually doing something to promote a lifestyle that helps reduce, reuse, and recycle.
Nowadays, I do more to reduce my waste on the planet…
We use cloth diapers. We usually use reusable bags for snacks and such. We try to conserve water where we can. We only use one car. We use reusable grocery bags when we go to the store. Essentially, we do what we can when we can, but I’m always trying to demonstrate a better way for my kids. I want them to respect the Earth, have a healthy understanding on how our world thrives on each other, and how what we do may have a greater influence on other things.
So when we go to the park, we pick up trash that we may see. When we have bottles, the kids help to carry them to the recycling. When we have items that we might be able to reuse, we store them for later.
Such a “later” happened today with our craft activity. We used paper towel rolls that I’ve been saving to create bird feeders!
It was such an easy activity and went quite a bit faster than I had predicted! We did use peanut butter in the activity. Full disclosure: I’m allergic to peanuts, so I had to keep washing my hands (or I could’ve used the gloves my husband recommended, but I’m stubborn and didn’t). If you or your little has an allergy to peanuts, I recommend using either an almond butter or sunflower butter. These are both easy to find, available at Target, and would be good alternatives for the birds as well.
One of the best parts about this craft was that we now get to watch for birds to come to our porch. A warning though – my husband was smart enough to realize he needed to move the kids’ picnic table that was below the feeders. Make sure that when you hang the feeders, there is nothing you mind getting a little bird poop on and that it is easily cleaned.
Supplies:
- Peanut butter
- Bird seed
- Toilet paper rolls or Paper towel rolls
- Craft/Popsicle sticks or Knife
- Twine/String
- Scissors
- Baking dish/Tub
Directions:
1. You can use toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls, whichever you have handy. We used paper towel rolls and then cut them in half so that we would have double the feeders.
2. Pour the bird seed into a shallow dish, like the baking dish or a small tub.
3. Using a craft stick or knife, spread a thin layer of peanut butter on the outside surface of the paper roll. It is easiest if you use two fingers inside the roll to hold the roll and keeps your fingers from getting too messy.
4. Set the roll in the bird seed and roll. I had Little Mister help me with this part. He used a craft stick to roll the paper roll around, which kept his hands from getting too messy as well. Make sure the entire roll is covered in bird seed.
5. Once coated, cut a string twice the length at which you would like it to hang. For example, if you’d like it to hang a foot down, cut a string 2 feet long. Loop the string through the paper roll and tie a knot with the two ends.
6. Hang the feeder from a location where you would like birds to come, perhaps from a tree or in a garden. We hung ours from the eaves of our porch so the kids could see the birds come to enjoy their snack. Hopefully the squirrels won’t get to it first.
One of the nice things about this activity is that it used relatively little bird seed and we had plenty left over. I just poured the remainder into a baggie to store. When these feeders are empty, we can use new paper rolls and make new ones.
The other thing I really liked about this activity was that there is potential for the birds to use all of the pieces if they are able. They can use the paper and the string for their nests after they’ve eaten all of the bird seed. That was an important factor for me.
I hope you have success with your bird feeders and are able to see all of the pretty birds!