Earth Day Tutorial Resource

Earth Day tutorial resource

Open the editable resource in Canva

A ready-made Navigate tutorial pack for Earth Day (22 April). The 2026 theme is Our Power, Our Planet, focusing on the idea that individuals and communities can still make a real difference through everyday actions.

How to use this resource

This is a ready-made Navigate resource pack intended for use within college tutorials or sessions. You are welcome to use it as provided or adapt it to better suit the specific needs of your college and students. It is available in both PowerPoint and Canva formats so you can edit the materials as needed. Please ensure that all activities are recorded on Navigate against each participating student.

1. Choose your icebreaker — at the end of the pack you will find three icebreaker options designed to introduce the session's theme. Select the one that best suits your group's energy, time and context.
2. Review the tutor notes — before delivering, read through the tutor notes to understand the background and purpose of the topic.
3. Follow the session plan — use the 30–35 minute session plan as your guide. It offers a suggested flow with timing and activity breakdowns.
4. Deliver using the slides and resources — work through the main input, activity and reflection slides in order, using any printable resources to support the main activity.

Topic context (tutor notes)

EARTHDAY.ORG organised the first Earth Day on 22 April 1970 and now mobilises over a billion people annually to protect the planet, working with more than 150,000 partners across over 192 countries. Transformational change requires action at all levels — business, investment, and city and national government — but as an individual you hold real power as a consumer, a voter and a member of a community that can unite for change.

Session plan (30–35 minutes)

1. Starter — icebreaker (5–7 mins): choose one of the three options below.
2. Main tutor input (10 mins): introduce what Earth Day is, why it matters, and its relevance for young people — their responsibility, the future, and everyday habits.
3. Main class activity (15 mins): the 5-Minute Fix Challenge in groups or pairs. Link back to real-life habits, the college community, responsibility and small changes.
4. Reflection and wrap (5–8 mins): use the reflection questions and log learning on Navigate.

Introduction

What is Earth Day? A global event held every year on 22 April to raise awareness of environmental issues and encourage people to take action to protect the planet. It is celebrated to raise awareness of climate change, encourage individual responsibility, promote sustainable habits (recycling, reducing waste, energy saving) and help young people understand how their choices affect the future.

Learning objectives — understand what Earth Day is and why it matters, recognise how everyday habits affect the environment, identify and suggest simple realistic solutions, and develop awareness of sustainability in everyday life.

What this means for you

Environmental issues are not just global problems — they also come from everyday student habits such as buying bottled drinks daily, throwing away food, fast fashion, plastic packaging, leaving lights or chargers on, and litter around college. The issues that affect young people most include climate change, cost of living, future jobs and careers, city pollution, and waste.

Main activity: the 5-Minute Fix Challenge

Each group or pair is given one real-life environmental problem that affects young people (for example: too much plastic packaging, single-use drink bottles, canteen food waste, fast fashion, campus litter, or lights and computers left on). They discuss and answer:

1. What is the problem?
2. What is one realistic change that could fix it?
3. How could students help make it happen?

Groups create a simple solution that could actually work in a college and present it back or record a short reflection on Navigate. A printable worksheet is included in the pack.

Icebreaker options

Option 1 — True or False: statements such as "one plastic bottle takes over 400 years to break down" (true), "fast fashion is one of the biggest polluters in the world" (true), "most young people say climate change affects their future" (true), "turning off lights makes no real difference" (false) and "the UK throws away millions of tonnes of food every year" (true).

Option 2 — What would you ban first? Students vote on which everyday habit or item to remove first (e.g. single-use bottles, disposable coffee cups, fast fashion sites, takeaway packaging, leaving lights on) and explain their reasoning.

Option 3 — This or That: students choose between two everyday options and reflect on how small choices can impact the environment.

Reflection and wrap-up

• Did anything today surprise you?
• Do you think small everyday changes can actually make a difference?
• What is one thing you might try to change after today?
• What environmental issue affects young people the most in your opinion?

Encourage students to log their learning and reflections on Navigate. Some prompts for reflection: What did you do or learn today? What questions did you ask? What skills have you developed? What did you find interesting or challenging? How can this help you in the future?

Source files attached below.