Environmental Day ideas for OSHC
29 DIY activities for a environmental day at before and after school care or vacation care, usually run around October or Spring. Pick and mix, or build a balanced day in one click.
Backyard Bird Count
Children sit quietly outdoors for a set time and count the birds they see and hear, contributing to citizen science.
Gardening Day · World Bee Day · Bug Day +3Bee and Butterfly Garden
Children plant pollinator-friendly flowers, then watch and record the bees and butterflies that visit over the term.
World Bee Day · Gardening Day · Bug Day +3Bee Hotel Build
Children fill a tin or bottle with bamboo pieces and hollow stems to create a home for native solitary bees.
Recycle Day · Sustainable Superstars · Earth Day +3Bottle Top Mosaic
Children sort collected bottle tops by colour and glue them onto a board to make bright mosaic pictures, turning plastic waste into art.
Bug Day · Gardening Day · Nature Play Day +3Build a Bug Hotel
Children fill a box frame with sticks, pinecones, bark and leaves to create a home for insects in the garden.
Reconciliation Week · Clean Up Australia Day · Environmental Day +3Caring for Country Walk
Children pick up litter and notice native plants on a nature walk. Connects caring for the environment with respect for Country.
Earth Day · Environmental Day · World Oceans Day +1Coffee Filter Earths
Children colour coffee filters with blue and green markers and spray them so the colours blend into a bright planet Earth.
Gardening Day · Sustainable Superstars · Recycle Day +3Compost Bin Start-Up
Children sort food scraps into compost and non-compost piles, then start a compost bin and learn what breaks down and why.
Sustainable Superstars · Recycle Day · Clean Up Australia Day +2Daily Waste Audit
Older children weigh and sort the day's rubbish to see what the service throws away and plan ways to reduce it.
Op Shop Day · Kindness Day · Sustainable Superstars +2Donation Sorting Drive
Children help sort, fold and pack donated items for a local charity or op shop. A meaningful way to give back to the community.
Environmental Day · Clean Up Australia Day · Earth Day +2Environmental Action Day
Children take part in a litter clean-up, sort waste into the right bins and share a waste-free afternoon tea.
Lost Creatures · Threatened Species Day · Environmental Day +3Extinct Animal Research
Children research an extinct or endangered animal and present their findings to the group.
Superhero Day · Book Week · Silly Stories Day +1Hero Comic Strips
Older children plan and draw a four-panel comic where their own hero solves a local problem.
Bug Day · World Bee Day · Sustainable Superstars +3Homemade Beeswax Wraps
Older children help make reusable food wraps by melting beeswax into cotton squares, learning about reducing plastic waste and the role of bees.
Clean Up Australia Day · Recycle Day · Environmental Day +2Litter Sorting Graph
Children sort clean collected rubbish into types and create a graph to show what they found.
Sustainable Superstars · Bird Watching Day · Recycle Day +3Milk Carton Bird Feeders
Children turn clean milk cartons into bird feeders, fill them with seed and hang them outdoors to watch for visitors.
National Tree Day · Gardening Day · Earth Day +3Native Seedling Planting
Children plant native seedlings in the service grounds or a community site, learning how trees support wildlife and the environment.
Jungle Mission · Rainforest Day · Jungle Safari +2Rainforest Canopy Craft
Children layer paper leaves, vines and animals onto a cardboard tube tree to show rainforest layers.
Rainforest Day · Jungle Safari · Jungle Mission +2Rainforest Layers Diorama
Children build a box diorama showing the forest floor, understorey, canopy and emergent layers. Science and art together.
Bird Watching Day · Recycle Day · Gardening Day +3Recycled Carton Bird Feeders
Children turn milk cartons into bird feeders, fill them with seed and hang them outside to attract local birds.
Recycle Day · Sustainable Superstars · Science Week +3Recycled Paper Making
Older children turn scrap paper into pulp and press it into new sheets of handmade paper, seeing the recycling process up close.
Recycle Day · Clean Up Australia Day · Sustainable Superstars +3Recycling Sort Relay
Teams race to sort clean rubbish into the right bins, learning which items belong in recycling, compost or landfill.
Wild Rescue · Threatened Species Day · Environmental Day +1Save a Species Poster
Children create a campaign poster to help protect an animal, with a strong message and a picture.
Clean Up Australia Day · Environmental Day · Earth Day +3Schoolyard Litter Clean-Up
Teams with gloves and tongs collect and tally rubbish around the grounds, caring for their space.
Gardening Day · Earth Day · National Tree Day +3Seed Bombs
Children mix clay, compost and native seeds into small balls to scatter in garden beds, helping bring bare patches to life.
Threatened Species Day · Wild Rescue · Animal Theme +1Threatened Species Fact Files
Children research a threatened Australian animal and create a fact file covering its habitat, diet, threats and how people can help.
Clean Up Australia Day · World Oceans Day · Environmental Day +3Waterways Pollution Demo
Children use a simple model to see how litter on the ground travels through drains into waterways.
Threatened Species Day · Nature Play Day · National Tree Day +3Wildlife Habitat Building
Children build a small habitat from sticks, leaves and natural materials for a threatened species, thinking about shelter, food and water.
Gardening Day · Sustainable Superstars · Recycle Day +3Worm Farm and Compost
Children set up a worm farm and compost bin and feed them afternoon tea scraps, learning how waste becomes soil.