Litter Picking Scavenger Hunt Printable #31daysofactivities

Litter is a big problem and it is still baffling that many people don’t pick up after themselves. The good thing is that we can raise our kids to be more mindful of the earth and do so in a fun way. Today for our #31daysofactivities post we have Charlotte, from Mummy Fever who has a litter picking scavenger hunt printable activity for us to do with our kids. Let’s take a look!

I don’t know about you, but I despair at the amount of litter around some days. I know all the storms we’ve had recently haven’t helped (we’ve had all sorts blown into our trees) but the storms aren’t the only reason! Why people drop litter in the first place is beyond me, but they do.

We are very fortunate to live in a beautiful part of North Wales where many people come to have a picnic or eat their takeaway whilst they watch the sun set over the mountains. The problem with this is that many of them don’t take their rubbish home.

Fortunately, all my children are as appalled as me by the litter everywhere, so a couple of years ago, we committed to doing a day litter picking during each school holiday. Not only does this help the environment, wildlife, and improve our local area – it’s also a great activity to do with children.

Our litter-picking strategy

To make litter picking easier I bought a pack of four litter pickers from Amazon. At the time I paid £15 for a pack of four. You can buy single litter pickers from places like The Range, Wilko, and a selection of other online stores, with prices starting from around £2.50. You obviously don’t have to use a litter picker, but with children I do recommend it. It’s both easier and safer for everyone.

The only other thing you need is a few black bin sacks. I recommend taking a spare in case of rips and splits, and if you aren’t using a litter picker remember to wear gloves!

Turn it into a scavenger hunt

To make it more interesting for my younger children, I do sometimes turn it into a scavenger hunt with this scavenger hunt printable activity. They often then turn it into a competition to see how many of each item they can collect.

This is great if your children love exploring the outdoors, but it’s also great if you struggle to get them outside for walks, as they won’t realise how far they are walking!

Litter picking is also a super activity to do with children who love a challenge. Why not select an area, for example, your local park, or your street, or outside your children’s school and take a before and after photo? Children find this so satisfying as you have the evidence of the difference you’ve made.

Litter picking is a cheap and hugely worthwhile activity to do with children, why not have a go and help to inspire a generation of environmentally conscious children and young people to take greater care of our planet.

You can even make this work as an alternative play date – rather than heading to a crowded soft play to meet the kids’ friends, get them all outside making a positive contribution and inspire others to do the same!

Caution: Please supervise children at all times and if you find discarded needles you must report this to your local authority so they can be disposed of safely

Here are some more great scavenger hunt ideas from our site.

And here are even more from around the web.

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Thank you for stopping by and see you for the next post.

Helen

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