Celebrate Earth Day!

April 19, 2022 |

This Friday, April 22 is Earth Day! From the creation of Grain of Rice Project, we have made it essential to cultivate environmental stewardship. In fact, it is one of the 9 Key Principles as members of Fair Trade Federation: "Fair trade seeks to offer current generations the ability to meet their needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Members actively consider the implications of their decisions on the environment and promote the responsible stewardship of resources. Members reduce, reuse, reclaim,  recycle, and regenerate materials wherever possible. They encourage environmentally sustainable practices throughout the entire trading chain."

Recycling and reusing has always been important to us. At our original site in Kenya, we worked in the largest slum in East Africa where trash pick-up was extremely limited, so we always made it a priority to try to repurpose materials. Now we are in a village that doesn't provide trash pick up and so the need to creatively reuse materials is imperative. We are proud that our artisan team produces little waste and that most of our scraps from sewing and other various pieces can be reused in new pieces. This also goes for our school. If you've been following us on social media, especially Instagram, you may have noticed all the materials we use for school products and experiments.

This Earth Day, we invite you to consider your own environmental impact in your everyday life. We have gathered several activities that are great for all ages. Some activities will require supervision and assistance for younger kiddos. Several of these activities our students participated in last month as a part of the curriculum.  Some activities require a little bit of planning while a couple can be more spontaneous.  

Make your own Bird Feeder this Earth Day (Minimal Prep Work)

Download Earth Day Activity Sheet (Flower Collage and Nature Scavenger Hunt) (Medium Prep Work and Spontaneous)


(Flower Collage)

Download Sheet for Bury Your Trash Experiment (Medium Prep Work)

We hope you enjoy these activities to enjoy this Earth Day or over the weekend! We also invite you to take a photo during your activities and tag @grainofriceproject to be featured on social media!

Leave a Comment

Share

Back to School Campaign

July 26, 2021 |

This week we’re launching our #BacktoSchoolCampaign.  As the end of July rolls around, most families are shopping for school supplies and new clothes.  There’s the supply lists at every major shopping store of all the things your kiddo needs (think Clorox wipes, endless glue sticks, and white board markers).  And while it looks quite different,…

Read More

When in Doubt

February 25, 2021 |

The hallway is getting the final coat of paint; some gutters have been installed, and we finally put up some curtains in the volunteer house.  The walls on the two new classrooms are done, welded roof trusses ready for installation, and after searching all over Meru, Edwin found some pretty beautiful rocks for the kitchen…

Read More

Things to Be Thankful For

November 30, 2020 |

As is often the case, it is only when everything is stripped away that I can clearly see the abundance of life I have come from and truly appreciate some material conveniences I take for granted.  I can also see the distraction that some of these things have caused in my life as well.  It’s…

Read More

The Plate Sellers

October 20, 2020 |

I’ve started calling our van the Blessing Mobile. We’ve picked up quite a few people standing on the side of the road who always need a ride to somewhere. Public transportation is very limited in this rural area of Daiga, so our van is a bit of a novelty, or rather a blessing. We’ve picked…

Read More

Today’s Miracle

October 12, 2020 |

This morning I trudged along the muddy road with Ellis on my shoulders and a floppy hat on my head.  The hat kept obstructing my view, so I couldn’t lift my head much, and I focused only on the brown stones and dirt littered before me.  Our van was parked a mile behind me at…

Read More

Here We Go

September 1, 2020 |

Our bags are packed, our house is almost sold, and after 6 months of waiting for the airport to reopen in Kenya, the time is finally here–our family is headed to Kenya full time in September to help oversee the upcoming Grain of Rice Academy.  What was only a dream a few years ago, is…

Read More

Healing

June 2, 2020 |

I haven’t said much about what is happening across the U.S. this week.  Please don’t misunderstand my silence for apathy.  On the contrary, there have been so many deep emotions floating through our house this week that trying to even explain the pain I hear from people around me is not easy.  Putting all your…

Read More

Kenya, Kibera, and Coronavirus

April 10, 2020 |

Today is Good Friday.  In the Christian tradition, it’s a day for us to reflect upon the sacrifice of Jesus’ death in order for us to have eternal life.  As I was reading through my Common Prayer book today, this note about a past Good Friday event struck me:   Hundreds of Christians gathered on…

Read More

And So it Begins

March 7, 2020 |

There’s been a lot of anticipation, and finally we’re moving forward with construction on the school.  I left Nanyuki on Friday afternoon after having spent another morning with the crew.  Building works differently here, and the protocol for starting a project like this is really different than in the U.S.  The first day I arrived…

Read More

It’s Getting Real!

March 4, 2020 |

 We’ve got news!!!  This is the post I’ve been anticipating writing for so long.  TOMORROW is the day we break ground on the school!  Yes, finally, things are moving and starting to happen.  I arrived in Kenya on Tuesday, and today I spent most of the day with the architects and company that will oversee…

Read More