15 Earth Day 2026 Outdoor Activities + 1 Easy, Impactful Change

The first Earth Day was in 1970 during the dawn of the environmental movement. Earth Day is now a global event, celebrated on April 22nd in the United States. In honor of the day, here are 15 Earth Day outdoor activities for families to help you celebrate!

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1. Park, trail, or beach clean-up

One of the best ways to celebrate Earth Day is to help make the Earth cleaner immediately! Get your whole family involved and head out to a local park, your favorite hiking trail, a beach, or even just down your neighborhood street. Bring a trash bag and gloves (or hand sanitizer) and pick up all the trash you can see.

My kids and I have done this as an Earth Day outdoor activity several times, and we always get nice comments from people around us. It’s pretty disturbing how much trash is in almost every one of our local playgrounds every time we visit – and now my kids take notice.

2. Nature walk

One of the best Earth Day activities for kids is to simply take a nature walk, whether it’s down a trail or just around your neighborhood. If you want, make it into a scavenger hunt or nature bingo game!

3. Plant a tree

Make sure to do your research on what type of tree will be best for your region, as well as how big it will get (don’t plant a tree that will eventually grow to 50 feet tall right next to your house!)

You can get more info and easy-to-follow steps for planting trees at treesaregood.org.

4. Build a stick fort

We built this stick fort out of sticks we had just lying around in our yard. It was easy to make by first making a tripod out of the larger sticks and then filling in around them with smaller sticks. Our kids played in this fort for weeks until it finally fell down.

5. Catch and release tadpoles or crawdads

One of my son’s favorite activities! Give him a net and a body of water, and he’ll be happy for hours!

6. Shop at a farmer’s market

After shopping, make your dinner out of the local produce you purchased!

7. Visit a nature center

Many cities have nature or conservation centers that will have activities and nature walks to celebrate Earth Day. Look into the nature centers in your area to see what events and activities they have planned!

A field trip to a nature center would be a great Earth Day preschool activity!

8. Star-gazing

Lay out a blanket in your yard and look up at the stars! If you live in an area where there is just too much air pollution or light, find a place outside of town to stargaze.

There are several apps that allow you to point your phone camera up to the sky to see what constellations are visible. Some popular stargazing apps are Sky Guide, Night Sky, and SkyView.

9. Plant native wildflowers

Planting native wildflowers will provide food for native insects, butterflies, and birds. Because native flowers are adapted to the local soil and climate, they generally require less watering and less fertilizer. Sometimes you can even get free wildflower seeds from places like your local conservation center!

10. Go on a new-to-you hike

Find a local hike you haven’t been on and go! The AllTrails app can help you find trails nearby and show you trail information, difficulty level, reviews, and photos.

11. Hang bird feeders

Hang bird feeders around your yard and watch the birds come to enjoy! If you don’t have a yard, there are some fun birdfeeders that stick to your window, like this one.

12. Have a picnic

One of the easiest Earth Day outdoor activities is to pack a picnic or simply take your meal outdoors! Make sure to use reusable tableware!

13. Start composting

Instead of throwing everything into the garbage, reduce trash by composting. The EPA has a great guide to composting at home if you don’t know where to start!

14. Go outside and read books about conservation & taking care of Earth

Some of our favorite Earth Day children’s books are The Earth Gives More, Tree Full of Wonder and Ocean Full of Wonder (both are free on Kindle Unlimited!)

If Sharks Disappeared is a good one to teach kids about the chain of effects of a single animal species going extinct. We also have If Polar Bears Disappeared, and there are 4 more books in the series too. You can choose your child’s favorite, but they are all the same concept!

Some other good ones are The Oak Tree, Old Enough to Save the Planet, and What a Waste.

15. Do an Earth Day craft

You can do a quick Pinterest search and find literally hundreds of Earth Day and nature crafts. But here are just a few ideas that we like:

Make a magic nature wand.

Make and hang a pinecone bird feeder.

Create art out of found objects in nature.

BONUS: Choose something from this list and make a family pact to make it a new habit!

You don’t have to make a promise to go full-on eco-friendly, green-living, vegan, and plastic-free to make an impact. Start with just one simple change and make a habit out of it. Then make another change and make a habit of that too! If millions of families made just one change, it would make a world of difference!

1. Buy clothing from thrift or second-hand stores whenever possible.
2. Buy a water filter pitcher (like Brita) and reusable water bottles. Stop buying cases of bottled water.
3. Turn off the lights when you leave a room.
4. Turn off the water while you brush your teeth.
5. Switch to reusable shopping bags.
6. Switch to LED lights.
7. Carpool whenever possible, or ride bikes to destinations if you live close enough.
8. Start recycling.
9. Start composting.
10. Hang laundry to dry.
11. Stop using plastic straws at home and in restaurants.
12. Unplug items you aren’t currently using (ex: the toaster, chargers, laptop, microwave, etc.)
13. Have a meatless meal once a week.
14. Start switching household products to more eco-friendly versions (laundry strips, refillable hand soap, eco-friendly cleaning products, etc.)

You can learn more about Earth Day on earthday.org. For more ideas to get your family outdoors during spring, check out our Family-Fun Spring Bucket List with a free printable!

This Earth Day, even if you don’t plan to do any of these Earth Day outdoor activities, just get out and enjoy the outdoors! Kids who play in and interact with nature grow up with a respect and appreciation for the planet that they live on!

What to read next:

• Spring Bucket List: 50 Family-Fun Things to Do This Spring
• 6 Tips for Hiking with Kids: Make Hiking More Fun
• 25 Simple Spring Outdoor Activities for Preschoolers

Pin these Earth Day ideas for later!