TurfMutt Lesson Plan: Carbon Creep – It Piles Up

Have you ever considered what your carbon footprint is? The TurfMutt lesson plan “Carbon Creep – It Piles Up” helps kids in grades K-2 (and the adults in their lives!) measure their carbon footprint by observing the amount of trash they accumulate.

As the lesson explains, our carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide released into the air because of our own energy needs. This includes everything from transportation to electricity, food, clothing, and other items. When too much carbon dioxide is in the air, temperatures rise and sea levels go up – affecting everyone, not just where you live.

Carbon Creep – one of the environmental villains TurfMutt is on a mission to eliminate – is the single-biggest cause of climate change. He struts around the atmosphere, puffing up his chest and increasing the greenhouse effect.

Download this activity to help the children in your life learn more about Carbon Creep and what they can do to reduce his effects on our world.

To learn more about the many benefits of the green space around us, check out the TurfMutt Foundation’s International Backyarding Fact Book. Sign up for Mutt Mail, a monthly e-newsletter with backyarding tips and all the news from the TurfMutt Foundation here. Look for Mulligan the TurfMutt on the CBS Lucky Dog television show on Saturday mornings.