Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Homestead Online Activity

Early homesteaders were very resourceful. They produced little to no waste and found a way to re-use or re-purpose most things. This short activity will help you think like a homesteader by finding clever ways to get the most out of the items in your home, and how doing so may benefit you, your community, and your National Parks.

To begin, think about items that you would have needed to survive on your homestead. What were you going to eat? How would you stay warm during the winter in a snowstorm? What would you use to wash your clothes or hands?

A good way to step into the homesteader mentality is to imagine you are living in the Palmer-Epard Cabin and had to walk to the Freeman School for classes each day. What supplies would you need? Once you have brainstormed a few ideas, begin the activity below!

Look at the following items and name two ways homesteaders may have reused these items in their daily lives.

Now, look at these everyday items. How might you reuse these items in your daily life?

Discussion questions:

• Why is it important that we look to re-use and re-puprose items?
• How does recycling and reusing items help our communities and National Parks?

Learn more about how your at-home actions help to keep your community and National Parks clean!