Ask the children to interview a couple of adults they know about the type of energy the adults consume and what they do to try to conserve energy. The results will likely focus on gasoline for cars, natural gas or another heating sources for the home, and electricity use. The children should hear about solutions such as car pooling, using public transit, insulating a home properly and turning off appliances when they're not being used.
Let a tap drip into a container in the sink and measure how much water is in the container at various intervals up to one hour. Ask the children how water may be wasted in everyday activities, such as brushing your teeth, washing dishes or watering the lawn. Discuss how to minimize this waste, such as by shutting taps off while brushing, collecting rain water for the lawn or only running the dishwasher when it is full.
Go on a walk through a local forest and discuss the various plants and animals that live there. Ask what would happen if the forest wasn't there. Where would the animals go and what would happen to the plants. This excursion would also work on a small farm outside your city. Ask the kids where food would come from if these farms didn't exist. Talk about why forests and farms are disappearing, such as for new houses, stores and highways.
Visit a local farm to find out about what the farmer does to retain the soil on the farm, such as not plowing too often and rotating crops so the nutrients aren't depleted from the soil. Talk about fertilizers and pesticides, and organic farming to introduce the variety of ways food is produced and the effects each method has on the soil. Discuss the characteristics of healthy soil, such as dark, rich color, texture that is not too sandy or too hard, and plenty of worms.