12 Earth Day Coloring Pages (Free Printable PDFs)

Choose a page

The planet Earth coloring page is the easiest of the set. It shows one big happy globe, so it works well for preschool. The recycling coloring page has a large bin with the three arrow symbol, plus a bottle and a can that are ready to go in.

The planting a tree coloring page shows a child watering a young tree, and kids can make that child look like themselves. Older students will like the clean ocean coloring page, with a sea turtle, fish and coral, and a boat that pulls trash from the water.

When is Earth Day?

Earth Day is held on April 22 each year. The first one took place in 1970 in the United States, when millions of people came out to ask for cleaner air and water. Today it is marked in many countries, and schools often plan a week of activities around it. You can read the full story on Wikipedia.

You do not have to wait for April, though. These pages work all year, in any lesson on nature, weather, oceans or waste. Arbor Day comes soon after Earth Day, and the tree page fits that well.

Earth Day coloring pages for the classroom

Teachers can use a different sheet each day of the week. Start on Monday with the globe, and talk about land and water. Move to recycling on Tuesday, then trees, then oceans. On Friday, let the class choose one small action and make a promise poster.

Kindergarten kids can sort paper pictures of trash into bins. Older grades can track how much waste the class throws away in a day, then try to cut it down the next week. Real numbers make the lesson feel important, and students enjoy seeing a chart go down.

Talking to young kids about the planet

News about nature can feel scary to a small child. Keep the focus on what they can do. Turn off a light when you leave the room. Use both sides of the paper. Pick up a piece of litter. Small jobs give kids a feeling of power, and that is much better than worry.

That is why our drawings are bright and hopeful. The Earth is smiling, the boat is cleaning the sea and the young tree is growing well. Kids see people helping, and they want to help too.

Color ideas for nature pages

Blues and greens are the heart of this set. Use two or three shades of each to add depth to the sea and the land. Brown works for soil and tree trunks. A yellow sun adds a warm touch. Try to color in soft, even layers, which look much better than pressing hard.

Here is a green tip for your art box. Save old crayon stubs, peel off the paper and melt them in a muffin pan with a grown up, to make new chunky crayons. Print on the back of old paper when you can. It fits the theme, and it saves money.

Activities to go with the pages

Take a walk with a bag and gloves, and clean up one small area near your home. Plant a seed in an egg carton. Make a bird feeder from a clean milk jug. Turn old boxes into a robot or a castle. Each of these takes little time, and most of the supplies are already in your house.

Finished pages can do a job as well. Hang them near the trash can to remind everyone what goes where. Or send a picture to a grandparent with a promise written on the back.

Earth Day coloring pages for clubs and groups

Scout troops, church groups and after school clubs can use these sheets too. Hand them out at the start of a meeting, so early arrivals have something calm to do. Then talk about one local issue. Is there a park that needs cleaning? Could the group plant flowers near a sign? A real project beats a long talk. Keep it small. Choose one job, pick a date and invite families to join in, then post a photo of the finished work beside the colored pages.

What to look for in each drawing

Each page gives you something to talk about. On the recycling page, the three arrows fold over each other in a loop. They stand for one idea: used things can turn back into new things. Ask your child what the bottle and the can beside the bin might become next.

The tree page has a shovel standing in the soil and drops falling from a small watering can, so you can talk through the steps: dig, plant, water and wait. On the planet Earth page, the land shapes are simple blobs and not a true map. Nobody needs to fuss over the outlines. Bring out a globe if you have one, and find your home together.

Up on the surface of the clean ocean page, a little boat pulls a net to collect trash. The net is a good place for kids to add their own drawings. What did the boat pick up today? Most children have a strong opinion.

Earth Day at home

You do not need a class project to mark the day. Look in your own recycling bin with your child, and sort a few clean items on the floor. Rules change from one town to the next, so check your local list together. That small job turns the recycling page into something real.

Printing Earth Day sheets for a class

Press Download PDF on any page. The file fits US Letter paper and also prints on A4. Please print as many copies as your class needs, as our free use license explains.

Why the turtle and the tree matter

Two of these pages have a true story behind them. Sea turtles sometimes mistake floating plastic bags for jellyfish and try to eat them. That is why the little boat on the clean ocean page matters, and it gives a child a clear reason to pick up litter near a beach or a stream. Keep it simple with very young kids. Say that the turtle needs clean water, and leave it there.

Trees take in carbon dioxide from the air and give off oxygen, which we need to breathe. Older students can add arrows to the planting a tree page to show that swap. On the planet Earth page, a quick fact helps with the color plan, since most of the surface of our planet is water. Let the blue win.

Make new paper from old pages

Finished sheets can become something new, which fits the day well. Tear old pages into small bits and soak them in warm water. With a grown up, blend the mush, press it flat on a screen or a towel and sprinkle on a few flower seeds. Once it dries, you have seed paper to plant in a pot.

For an easier job, wrap strips of colored paper around a pencil to make beads, or use your finished recycling page as gift wrap. Then ask your child what else in the house could have a second life.

More nature pages

For more of the outdoors, visit our spring coloring pages or flower coloring pages. Curious about the rest of the sky? Our space coloring pages show where our planet sits among its neighbors.

Questions