Nature Crafts

Looking for a memorable way to celebrate Earth Day with your kids? Here are some fun and easy nature crafts that are guaranteed to be a hit with the entire family. And—best of all—most of the materials required are free or almost free.

Rock Painting

Whether you go for a walk in the woods or a stroll along the beach, you’re bound to stumble across all kinds of interesting rocks. Why not plan to pick up a few and take them home to paint? Simply decorate the rocks using acrylic paints (or, if you prefer, non-toxic permanent markers) and then use spray varnish to seal the resulting creations.

Beach Wreath

Collect seashells, pebbles, driftwood, and other treasures you find on the beach and turn them into a beach wreath. Simply tie or glue these objects onto a standard grapevine wreath or glue them to a cardboard wreath that you’ve coated with glue and sprinkled with sand and—voila!—you’ll have a permanent souvenir of your Earth Day beach adventure.

Seashell Picture Frame

Seashells and sand can be used to give a picture frame a really summery feel. Here’s what to do. Coat a wooden picture frame with glue and then stick on a few seashells. Sprinkle sand on the remaining glue and you’ll end up with an eye-catching picture frame for showcasing some of the photos from your last summer vacation.

Indoor Sandcastle

Here’s an activity that will score big points with any kid whose sandcastle has been wiped out by an unexpected wave! Simply combine 1 cup of sand, 1/2 cup of cornstarch, and 3/4 cup of liquid starch in an old pot. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens into dough. Then remove the pot from the stove and allow the clay to cool to room temperature. Once it’s cool enough to handle, knead it and use the clay to make your own permanent indoor sandcastle.

Pebble Bookends

Looking for a fun way to store your family’s collection of field guides and nature books? Here’s an easy craft that produces rather spectacular results. Cover the outside surface of a set of wooden or metal bookends with glue. Then stick pebbles or other small natural objects on the bookends. Give everything a nice, shiny finish with a squirt or two of spray-on varnish. You’ll be amazed by the results.

Flower Power T-Shirt

Here’s a way to get some additional mileage out of a t-shirt with a small spot or stain. Encourage your child to paint some spring flowers on the t-shirt using fabric paints. Suddenly, this castaway t-shirt will become one of her favourites again.

Wildflower Placemats

You can use pressed wildflowers to make bookmarks, greeting cards, and placemats. The secret is to select flowers that will press well (e.g. ones that aren’t too thick). Here’s what to do: Place the wildflowers you’ve collected inside a paper towel and tuck the paper towel inside a heavy book. Then pile a stack of books on top of that book to create a homemade flower press. The flowers will be ready to use for crafts in a couple of days once they’ve had a chance to dry out. Then, simply glue them on to cardboard or construction paper and either cover them with a layer of clear contact paper (available in most hardware and craft stores) or have them laminated at your local photocopying store.