With the promise of pool parties, popsicles, and backyard campouts, summer is a joyful rite of passage of childhood. However, students can lose months of knowledge over summer vacation. The Pennies for the Planet team rounded up some fun suggestions for how to jump start environmental education while you wait for the school year to begin.

• Nature Scavenger Hunt: Having a hard time prying your kids away from video games and getting them outside? Make a game out of it! A nature scavenger hunt is a great way to get kids interested in local wildlife with a little competitive challenge among friends. Start by making a list of native plants and animals, then help your little ones find and document as many as they can. You can use a sketchbook and have them create a nature journal, or let them borrow your smart phone or camera so they can create a photo log of their hunt. Don’t have time to create your own scavenger hunt? Shoot an email to info@togethergreen.org and they’ll send you an Audubon Adventures Nature Treasure Hunt sheet.

• Volunteer: Volunteer opportunities are easy to find thanks to services such as Volunteer Match and Idealist. Just go to the websites and type in your location and a few key words to bring up volunteer opportunities in your area. You can also reach out to your local Audubon center or chapter directly to see if they have any kid friendly projects coming up. Volunteering not only helps give back to your community, it also instills a sense of accomplishment in kids when they see a direct benefit from their actions. To find your nearest Audubon group, just enter your zip code here.

• DIY projects: The Green Education Foundation has an expansive list of educational activities you can do at home. Each activity is paired with an eco-tip, making it easy to add a lesson to each activity: teach the value of recycling while building a mini greenhouse, explain the value of composting while making a worm farm, or help nurture a budding locavore with a salsa garden.

And of course, Pennies for the Planet fundraising is a great chance to empower kids to make a difference and to teach them about the habitat and wildlife their pennies are protecting. Your family or group can raise money for a variety of animals. Last year’s funds went to help migrating butterflies, majestic cranes, and at risk shorebirds. The money raised helps preserve habitat, rebuild damaged populations, and promote education and awareness.

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Pennies for the Planet is a powerful tool for motivating kids of all ages to become engaged in protecting biodiversity. Kids not only learn more about conservation, but also directly help protect it by raising funds and conducting environmental projects in their own communities. To get your child/students involved, download a FREE starter kit!

Pennies is the education arm of TogetherGreen, a conservation initiative from Audubon, supported by a generous gift from Toyota.