Bank holiday weekend activities: Best environmentally friendly projects to do as a family in Yorkshire

Energy supplier, OVO Energy, has put together a list of activities you can do with the family, whilst also minimising your impact on the environment. We have also picked out Yorkshire-specific venues where you can enjoy some of these pastimes.

1. Go berry picking

There is nothing more relaxing than touring a local fruit farm and picking out your favourite berries. Not only is this a fun activity to do as a family, but it is a great way to encourage children to make healthier choices and also reduces the food miles of your fruit. You can find plenty of fruit farms in Yorkshire, including Annabelle’s Deliciously British in Leeds, Eastfield Farm in Doncaster and Hutton Bonville Fruit Farm in Northallerton.

2. Make a hedgehog hotel

You can build a safe home for hedgehogs who come to visit your garden by upcycling old wooden boxes and even scour around your garden to find any dry leaves and logs to construct a safe haven for the animal. The process will not only potentially save a stray hedgehog in search of a home, it will also expose your children to wildlife and nature.

3. Go for a bike ride

You may have been born and raised here all your life, but spending your days on your bike will introduce you to whole new sides to Yorkshire you never knew existed. Not only is it great exercise, but by cycling, you are reducing your carbon footprint, improving the environment in the process. There are many beautiful cycle routes in Yorkshire you can try like Aire Valley Towpath, York Solar Cycle, Way of the Roses, Yorkshire Dales Cycleway, Dalby Forest and Boltby Forest.

4. Have a sponge water bomb fight

Instead of using water balloons as a great way to cool down, which can be harmful to the environment, why not make your own sponge water bombs? You can create your own water bombs by cutting old sponges into strips and tying them together with string.

5. Upcycling arts and crafts

You can make enough arts and crafts to open your own shop by just browsing around your house for any loose ends and materials lying around. Why not create pencil holders by using cardboard cylinders from your toilet roll? Or perhaps you could invent a new board game by using a cereal box as its base?

6. Go on a treasure hunt

A treasure hunt combines two passions; observing nature and using your keen eye to find obscure items. Use this bank holiday weekend to explore the exciting world of nature in Yorkshire by going on a treasure trail. You can visit Bolton Abbey Explorer, Cawood Treasure Hunt Trail, Elvington and Sutton upon Derwent Trail and Goathland - Legend of the Gytrash.

7. Grow your own vegetables or plants

What better way to encourage a healthy lifestyle and save the planet than to grow greens with the family? Gardening is also a great way to destress, so the experience of doing it as a family can be very fulfilling. It’s important to remember to use peat-free compost so that you can be sure that your new hobby won’t harm the environment.

8. Make bird feeders out of unused bottles

Get your creative juices flowing by recycling your plastic bottles, yoghurt pots and milk cartons and turn them into bird feeders. To do this, you just need to cut a few holes in your bottle, attach some wire and hang it on a tree. The birds will be flocking to your garden in no time. It makes for a great activity with the kids and you can do a bit of bird watching once you are done.