Every January 26, World Environmental Education Day is celebrated. Environmental education wants to create awareness in all people about the importance of caring for the environment, of protecting the flora and fauna of their localities and join global initiatives.
But environmental education is not exclusive to classrooms, no education is. It is important that in our homes we also educate on the respect and care of nature. One way to do this is through games in which all members of the family participate. We present you some options.
European Union Games for Environmental Education
Europe has taken environmental education very seriously, so much so that on its website we can find some games and activities to do in class, or at home with the family, that allows us to know the European nature.
- Climate & Energy Quiz. In this game, a climate action superhero tests the whole family's knowledge about climate change and how it affects daily decisions in the environment.
- Board game climate action. Download this board game and with small gestures you will be able to discover and learn how to advance in the fight against climate change. Through these actions, you and your children will take a step in the protection and conservation of the environment.
- Know your pollinators. With this game you can challenge your friends and family and discover the different types of pollinators, their importance to humanity and their degree of danger of extinction.
All these games are for children from 9 years old. They are in Spanish, and in other European languages, which will also help them practice. You can download them directly from the EU website.
Board games for environmental education
There are many games that can be used to work the values related to environmentalism and environmental education. We present some of them below, to spend a very entertaining, fun afternoon, and learning. And honoring what they preach, almost all of them are made with recycled and environmentally friendly materials.
- Steam Park, for ages 10 and up, is about sustainability. Players cannot grow out of proportion, but rather have to design an amusement park sustainably. And they will have to clean up the garbage that is generated.
- FaunaIs a questionnaire about different animals, specifically about 360 animals. Points are awarded if the answers are close enough so that players can place their bets.
- Bioviva: challenge of nature, is played from the age of 7. It is a card game adapted to the little ones. You will learn a lot about animals, planet Earth, and space. There are more than 20 different decks, and several simplified decks, called Baby Challenge, in which it is not necessary to read to play, for boys and girls from 4 years old.
We have pointed out these three, as they are the most popular, and easy to get. But there are many board games that will help you create ecological awareness in your children.
A complex game for families with teenagers
In a brief way we want to talk to you about CO2, a game totally focused on Environmental Education, but perhaps less familiar. But we recommend it, because surely your teenage children and their friends will be hooked. Just as we recommend this article about ideas to do at home that help the environment.
In this game, each one represents a large electricity company that must be the largest energy supplier on the planet. But this energy must be clean, because the impact of pollution is already too great. It's a complex game, in which terms such as CO2 emissions, renewable energies, fossil energies are handled.
CO2 was published in 2012. But since 2018 there is a version, CO2: Second Chance, with new iconography, new rulebook, better wooden tokens, a new event deck, improved mechanics. This game can be played in its original version, or in a cooperative game mode in which you join forces to save the planet.