The holidays are nearly here and Collect-a-Can, an SA-based can recovery and recycling organisation, has got some nice ideas about how to have fun, protect the environment and keep kids amused this festive season.
The holidays are nearly here and Collect-a-Can, an SA-based can recovery and recycling organisation, has got some nice ideas about how to have fun, protect the environment and keep kids amused this festive season.
“It is important that parents teach their children the importance of preserving the environment for future generations from a young age," says Collect-a-can's Zimasa Velaphi. "What better way to do that than to encourage them to upcycle and make their own DIY projects out of waste material?”
Here are some suggestions:
1. A string-can telephone is a fun way for youngsters to step back in time and use old fashioned technology. Not only is this enjoyable, they will also be learning about sound waves and how they work.
2. Help your children build their own "can" bowling game. Kids can paint and decorate the cans and the game will keep them active.
3. Coffee-can stilts will help them practise balance and teach them how to handle a new physical activity. Plus it's tricky to walk on your stilts to begin with so they can learn that some things need working at.
4. Another way to get kids enthusiastic about the environment is to give them a can to decorate and make their own flower pot. Then put a plant in it for them to look after and have the satisfaction of watching it grow (or the chance to learn that things don't always turn out as you intended, if it doesn't!).
“Education is key in conserving our environment," says Velaphi. "This is best done by exposing children to fun green projects as early as possible. It will not only help create better awareness amongst your own children, but this valuable message of environmental conservation will even spread to their friends at school,” she adds.
For 22 years, Collect-a-Can has been working closely with various communities to teach young and old the importance of can recovery and that waste has a value. Since the organisation started, southern Africa’s used-can recovery rate has improved from 18% to 72%. Currently, metal cans form less than 1% of the total rubbish that ends up in landfills due to their value and recyclability.
For other interesting DIY can projects follow Collect-a-Can on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/CollectaCan).
