Use both sides of the paper. Reuse paper that is blank on one side before recycling it.

Choose a reusable lunchbox, metal utensils and containers, instead of a paper bags, or plastic bags. Avoid using paper plates and tissues or paper decorations during parties. Opt for cloth napkins instead of tissue napkins. Reuse cartons and gift wrapping paper. Use recycled paper, whenever possible.

Simply don’t print a cartoon, document or a sketch because you like it. If the document is important, then print on both sides of the paper using the “double sided option” to print. Did you know that 24 trees are cut to generate 1 tonne of non-recycled printing and office paper.

Trees help us in many ways and you can show your gratitude by planting more trees. Find out what trees grow in your area with the help of your elders and then plant one, be it in your garden, park or even school.

Find that one special tree that you would like to adopt in your locality. Visit it and care for it in different seasons to see it grow. Share this idea with your friends and learn what they feel about it.

Gift a potted plant instead of a bouquet of flowers. The potted plant would last longer than the bouquet and also you would be sharing the message to care for plants and trees.

Spend time with trees and learn more about them. Ask your elders to take you to national parks that have special guided tours and walks for children. A visit to these parks with your elders would provide you an opportunity to explore more about them.

Encourage family and friends to use a USB data stick/pen drive to share documents or data. Or use email rather than paper mail.

Remind elders to use ceramic mug in office instead of disposable cups.

Suggest your elders to use digital book-reading devices, e-books, and also to subscribe to online versions of magazines and newspapers etc.

Remind elders to buy alternatives to wood furniture.

Spread the message to save trees by sharing the various ways in which your family and friends can also make their contribution.

Suggest your elders to switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs, drive less, and walk more. Ask them to use natural light, wherever possible and use blinds to reduce heat and the need for an air-conditioner. Climate change has led to ocean acidification, which poses a serious threat to marine life. You can help marine life even at home, by lessening your carbon footprint.

Suggest your elders to make a conscious decision to have fish that has been harvested in a sustainable way. Ask them to opt for fish that have a healthy population, and whose harvest minimises bycatch and impacts on the environment.

Help reduce the amount of plastic bags piling up in rivers, seas and garbage dumps. Suggest your elders to use jute bags, to carry reusable water bottles and buy things with less packaging. Plastic is a non-degradable item and stays around for hundreds of years. It poses a serious threat for marine animals. They may accidentally feed on plastics, which can choke them to death or impact their immune system.

Learn more about oceans, the issues facing them and then share it friends. If you visit a beach, make sure to be responsible enough to not to litter it.

Never release balloons in the air, as they may find their way into oceans and seas, and this poses a danger for the marine animals. Marine animals can mistake them for food and swallow them or get entangled up in their strings. If you are using balloons make sure that you pop out the balloons and throw them in the trash instead of releasing them.

If you are visiting a beach or ocean, make sure that you do not interfere with marine animals or remove rocks and coral.

If you find any tap at your home leaking or dripping then inform your elders to get it fixed. if the handles of the toilet has to be jiggled to stop flushing, then inform elders that water is continuously running through the toilet and needs to be fixed.

Save water by taking short showers, and encourage your family members to do the same.

Save water by using a bin to dispose used tissues and don’t flush them.

Collect the water that is used to wash fruits and vegetables and use it to water the plants.

Encourage your elders to water the lawns in the cooler parts of the day such as early morning or after sunset. This helps the water to remain in the soil for longer rather being lost to evaporation.

Suggest your elders to use a bucket instead of a hose to clean the car.

Suggest your elders to use a broom rather than a hose to clean the sidewalks, and driveways.

Put a container outdoors to catch rain water, then use that water for watering plants.

Tell your friends what you’re doing to save water and encourage them to do the same.

Put curtains on glass windows. Birds collide with glass windows, when they see the reflection of nature in the window and fly into the glass. Putting up curtains cancels the reflection and helps make the window visible to birds.

Keep cats indoors and your dogs on leashes. Cats and dogs can harm birds by disturbing, chasing and even killing birds. If you have to let your cat out, then put a bell on its collar, so that birds get warned about the danger approaching them.

Fledglings (young birds) may spend several days on the ground after they leave the nest and before they are able to fly. Avoid going near them, don’t touch them, as they would be looked after their parent birds.

Place water-bowls or a bird-bath that can help birds to re-hydrate, as they need supply of fresh, clean water all year long. Keep water clear of algae, mud or droppings by replacing it frequently. Plant a variety of native trees, which would provide food, nest sites, and home for birds.

Selling wild birds as pets is illegal. Buy only captive-bred birds as pets.

Make sure that plastic bags are disposed of properly, and don’t find their ways to parks and gardens. Birds that eat plastic trash accidentally can become ill or even die.

Make a choice to ride your bike, walk or suggest to your elders to car pool. This would reduce your carbon footprint. Just like humans, even birds face respiratory problems due to air pollution.

Get closer to nature and enjoy spotting birds in your local park or local neighbourhood with your friends and elders. If you want to explore more about birds then visit bird sanctuaries , where you would find birds in their natural habitat.

Talk to your friends and family and share all that you have gathered about birds, so that even your family and friends can make their contribution.

Learn about the most common wild animals in your city. Ask your elders to take you to visit national parks, wildlife preserves, and zoological parks.

Do not throw food and litter on roadways, as it attracts wildlife on the roadways, which could be fatal for them.

Suggest your elders to buy recycled paper, sustainable products made out of jute, bamboo and Forest Stewardship Council wood products, and help protect the species that live in forests.

Don’t feed animals. By feeding animals, we create a dependency of animals on humans, which is not good. Wild animals can get sick from eating human food. Also, it’s dangerous to get too close to wild animals.

Plant native flowers, trees and provide a habitat for local wild animals.

Suggest your elders to adopt an animal from shelter. Shelters are filled with pets that need homes. This way, you would be helping an animal in need, and finding a wonderful animal companion at the same time.

Do not buy pets illegally, especially endangered ones like turtle. Do not buy products or souvenirs made from endangered animal parts.

Suggest your elders not to use pesticides and fertilisers in the garden, as they are harmful and affect wildlife at many levels.