Is April is the Best Month to Celebrate Nature with Your Kids?

Celebrate Nature April

Every day of the year is a good day for children across Canada to celebrate nature. That being said, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have an “excuse” to do so with an added sense of excitement. For this, we encourage parents and educators to look to nationally and internationally recognized days of celebration that apply to nature.

Days of celebration/recognition are annual observances designed to raise awareness, promote education, and encourage action on topics such as human rights, health, and the environment. They foster a sense of unity and encourage volunteerism, be it at a local, national, or global level. While there is something directly or indirectly related going on each month, no calendar has as many of its square boxes filled with nature-themed days of recognition as the month of April. It makes sense, given that it’s the first full month of spring. The latter also makes the month ideal for shaking-off the cobwebs of a long Canadian winter to encourage children to get outdoors more.

Below is a schedule of officially recognized (in Canada) nature-themed days of celebration that parents and teachers can use for planning outdoor learning activities. The schedule also features links to articles that the Plant a Seed & See What Grows Foundation have created through the years that provide ideas for how to celebrate these days of recognition. Enjoy!

Schedule of Nationally Recognized Events in April that Parents and Educators Can Use to Motivate Children to Celebrate Nature


World Health Day (April 7)

What is World health Day?

World Health Day is an initiative led by the World Health Organization (WHO). The event is designed to raise awareness about major global health issues, focusing on a specific theme like mental health, universal healthcare, or climate impacts. The link between World Health Day and nature has become stronger in recent years, with growing bodies of research confirming how deeply human health depends on the environment. WHD gives kids an opportunity to learn about how clean air, safe water, and nutritious food all come from healthy ecosystems, recognizing that issues like pollution and climate change can lead to health issues that children may recognize in their own peer-groups, such as asthma and a variety of other ailments. Meanwhile, studies confirm that spending time in nature – parks, forests, oceans – has been shown to reduce adolescent stress, anxiety, and depression, while concurrently elevating positive feelings and behaviors (for example) that relate to holistic wellbeing.

How to Celebrate it with Your Kids / Students

Our Foundation has provided a 5-point summary of how households (and classrooms) can support their community in recognition of World Health Day right here.

International Plant Appreciation Day (April 13)

What is International Plant Appreciation Day?

IPAD (an ironic acronym) is a day that encourages people – especially kids – to notice, learn about, and care for plants, which are essential to life on Earth. The day of celebration highlights how plants help keep the planet healthy, make oxygen through photosynthesis, provide food (fruits, vegetables, grains) needed for sustenance, and support animals and ecosystems to the benefit of humanity.

How to Celebrate it with Your Kids / Students

Parents and teachers can take kids outside to spend time with plants in a simple, yet meaningful way. Immersive experiences for kids of all ages may involve planting seeds in a backyard, school, or community garden and start a “plant journal” to track changes. Meanwhile, smaller children can learn to care for a houseplant, or visit a local park or garden to observe different species and identify native plants (view more) and how they grow. Ultimately, IPAD is a great day to reinforce the idea that caring for greenery supports both our environment and our well-being.


International Micro-volunteering Day (April 15)

What is International Micro-volunteering Day?

International Micro-volunteering Day highlights small, quick, and meaningful acts of volunteering that people can do for a short duration (even a few minutes) without needing a long-term commitment. It recognizes that many of us have hectic lives and are not able to devote as much time to altruistic causes as we’d like to.

How to Celebrate it with Your Kids / Students

There are a number of easy activities parents and teachers can facilitate. An act of micro-volunteering may involve finding and signing online petitions for a movement that seeks to protect the environment. Many people are not aware that both federal (House of Commons) and many provincial (e.g. British Columbia) petitions do not require signers to be over 18. Meanwhile, classrooms, households, and of-age kids with social media profiles can identify non-profit organizations that focus on the natural environment and help spread awareness about their causes (e.g. climate change, wildlife protection, or conservation) by sharing their social content. Even simple actions such as going for a walk with a garbage/recycling bag and a reacher-grabber in tow to pick-up litter is a form of micro-volunteering that benefits nature.


International Bat Appreciation Day (April 17)

What is International Bat Appreciation Day?

This one will definitely get the attention of children. IBAD is an annual celebration that is dedicated to raising awareness about bats, highlighting their importance in ecosystems, and helping people understand that these often-misunderstood animals are actually very beneficial. Most people are not aware of the fact that bats are pollinators.

How to Celebrate it with Your Kids / Students

There are nearly 20 species of bats in Canada. Several areas, particularly in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario, have a healthy population of bats that live near the water, wetlands, and in national parks. While some zoos and aquariums house them, certain locales have established natural sanctuaries where visitors can learn more about bats in their natural habitat. Do some research to find out if there are any near your home or school. Key spots include Jasper National Park (Alberta) and the Okanagan Valley (BC). A prime example is in Peachland BC, where a vacationing family, day camp, or class can visit the Bat Education & Ecological Protection Society to learn about the nighttime pollinator.


National Volunteer Week (April 19-25)

What is National Volunteer Week?

National Volunteer Week is an annual celebration, organized by Volunteer Canada., that honors the contributions of volunteers and encourages people to give their time to support communities. The week-long affair can connect kids to nature by encouraging them to volunteer in ways that protect and improve the environment.

How to Celebrate it with Your Kids / Students

During the week, family households and classrooms take part in activities like planting trees, cleaning up parks and beaches, restoring habitats, and supporting conservation projects. These actions help ecosystems stay healthy while also building a stronger connection between children and the natural world. Volunteering outdoors can also raise awareness about environmental issues and inspire long-term care for the planet, showing that even small efforts – when done together – can make a meaningful difference for nature. View this old article from our Foundation on how to celebrate National Volunteer Week in Canada for added inspiration.


Earth Day (April 22)

What is Earth Day?

Earth Day is a worldwide event dedicated to raising awareness about environmental issues and encouraging people to take action to protect the planet.

How to Celebrate it with Your Kids / Students

Our Foundation has extensively covered and been involved with Earth Day for a decade long and counting. Please reference past materials that you can use for inspiration for how to celebrate with your children/students:


Global Youth Service Days (April 24-26)

What Are Global Youth Service Days?

Global Youth Service Days (GYSD) is an international event held each year that celebrates and mobilizes young people to improve their communities through service and volunteering.

How to Celebrate it with Your Kids / Students

GYSD can connect kids to nature by giving them hands-on opportunities to care for the environment while learning how ecosystems work and why they matter. Children can take part in outdoor projects like gardening, planting trees, cleaning parks, and restoring habitats. The latter (restoring habitats) can be accomplished by having young participants identify invasive plants, then remove and replace them with native species to restore balance in local ecosystems.


Save the Frogs Day (April 28)

What is Save the Frogs Day?

This is another fun one, that most parents, educators, and kids don’t even know about! Save the Frogs Day is an annual awareness day that focuses on protecting frogs and other amphibians around the world. It was created by the conservation organization SAVE THE FROGS! to highlight the threats frogs face and encourage action to protect them. Frogs are very important in Canada because they play key roles in ecosystems and help scientists understand environmental health. They eat large quantities of insects, including mosquitoes, flies, and other pests, which is beneficial for naturally reducing harmful (when in-excess) insect populations, and for supporting healthier outdoor environments for people and wildlife alike. Frogs are also important for scientists as markers of problems in ecosystems because they have thin, sensitive skin that absorbs water and air directly. When their population is compromised, scientists are alerted to potential issues with the ecosystem itself. From there, corrective action can be taken.

How to Celebrate it with Your Kids / Students

With 1.3 million square kilometers of wetlands in Canada, many households and classrooms are near enough to one to organize a field trip with the kids. Find a wetland near you that offers a lot of online information about wildlife that is natural to the area – frogs included. Examples of such destinations are found here in BC, including the Boundary Bay Regional Park (get directions) which is home to frogs along with salamanders, garter snakes, and much more. Study this Canada-wide wetland map with your kids/students to identify frog habitats near you.

We hope everything above was helpful in the worthy mission of getting your children/students more engaged in nature. Meanwhile, please note that the Plant a Seed & See What Grows Foundation inspires and promotes healthy living and learning for kids across Canada. You can help us help the next generation by pledging your support too! View more on how you can get involved.