With a little over a month until Earth Day, how will YOU help the environment? Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel have a ton of ideas!

Coming in April, Nickelodeon will launch The Big Green Help. Designed to empower kids to take action on the environment through gaming and grassroots, Big Green Help will explain climate change to kids and connect them to energy saving and earth-friendly activities in their everyday lives. The centerpiece of The Big Green Help will be the first-ever global multiplayer online green game for kids, which will provide actionable, measurable steps and information to directly link them to ways that they can positively contribute to helping the environment, on an individual and a community level.

Nick.com will launch a new website in April to help educate kids on all things green: www.thebiggreenhelp.com. This site will include features like a questionnaire to track kids’ individual and family; a glossary of environmentally focused terms; daily green tips for kids; a video upload tool that kids can use to share what they are doing to protect the planet; and green games to teach kids earth-friendly activities. Kids can also create green environments in Nicktropolis (www.nicktropolis.com), Nickelodeon’s virtual community for kids.

Wal-Mart stores in April will distribute 1.2 million green seed packs, containing “secret green codes.” Kids can log on to www.thebiggreenhelp.com to enter the secret codes and access a SpongeBob-themed eco-game.

Last month in LA, Disney Channel stars Emily Osment (above) and Mitchel Musso (”Hannah Montana”),  Selena Gomez and David Henrie (”Wizards of Waverly Place”), Jason Dolley and Maiara Walsh (”Cory in the House”) and Alyson Stoner (”Camp Rock”) shared ideas how kids can help the environment with small changes in their homes and neighborhoods.

“If we just give it a bit of thought, a ‘no waste lunch’ is so easy to do and it can help reduce the trash in the world,” commented Selena Gomez. “We’ve seen that we can start by making simple changes like packing our lunch with reusable bags and utensils. These are small steps that can make a big difference.”

 Other green tips from the DC kids:

• David Henrie

“Don’t leave the lights on in your room. “Turn off all of your TV’s and gadgets and gizmos in your house. They all have a stand-by mode, but that uses up a lot of power.

• Jason Dolley

“Take shorter showers. It’s hard to get started because you don’t realize how long your showers are, but cut a minute off your shower by setting a timer to remind you when the time is up.” 

• Emily Osment

“Using energy-saving light bulbs is easy and effective.”  

• Maiara Walsh

“My number one thing is to recycle everything from newspaper to aluminum cans, and I even use a canvas bag instead of the plastic ones when I go to the grocery store.”  

• Alyson Stoner

“Use every inch of both sides of the paper while taking class notes.” Also, use your email. I love writing letters to people, but do it via Internet, or call them on the cell phone.” 

• Selena Gomez

“I love being in the garden with my grandmother, spending time planting vegetables and pretty flowers, and then picking the ripe veggies to cook up yummy meals. The leftover green cuttings go in the compost bin. It allows me to spend quality time with my grandma while doing good things for the environment.” 

• Mitchel Musso

“I like to shop for vintage clothing, which is part of my reusing and reducing plan,” said Musso. “I love the look, and it also helps save the Earth.” 

Do YOU have any tips on how to help the environment on a kid level? E-mail me at jzolondz@evtrib.com!

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