My nephew turns 8 next month and I can't wait to attend his birthday party at the local bowling alley. In lieu of gifts, my nephew is asking for charitable donations [I know, such a philanthropist in his young age], which, if you think about it, is a very green thing to do. Here are a few other tips to make your child's bday earth [and kid!]-friendly:

1. Ask guests to wrap any gifts in homemade paper, including newspaper with food coloring, or perhaps grocery sacks.

2. Avoid giving out party favors. Instead, throw your child's party at a local zoo, kid-friendly restaurant or even park. The event will be an experience guests will remember, and a favor will be less necessary. Besides, does any child really need 14 plastic kazoos?

3. Consider an environmental-friendly theme. Use recyclable paper plates, a globe cake and share fun facts about our Earth during the party.

4. Stack a few recycled-paper coloring books and soy crayons on the picnic table for less active guests.

5. Play "hot potato" with a bouncy globe ball or run relay races with burlap sacks. The kids will be entertained for hours!

Most of all, explain to your child why he/she should consider hosting an environment-friendly party. Chances are, your child will start a neighborhood trend and before you know it, your town will be greener than ever.

It's been all over the news for about six months now: there is a bee shortage. While this probably means catastrophic things for our planet in general terms, more specifically, it leaves us with a lack of honey for cooking and body care products, and less beeswax than we'd like to make lip balms and other lovelies.

What about the long-term effects the dwindling bee population could have on our plants? Without bees to pollinate them, our blooms could fade into just a memory.

Have you thought about becoming a beekeeper?

At my house, we really try our best to live in an environmentally friendly way, for our health and the Earth's. We eat local, fresh food as much as we can, we never use chemicals on our lawn or plants, we don't clean the house with chemicals, and we have quite the raging compost pile.

It seems that we got a bit overzealous with the composting, in fact. Last fall, after carving a stunning Jack-o-lantern, we responsibly dumped the innards of the pumpkin into our composter.

Throughout the autumn, we had several pumpkins displayed on our walkway and stoop. When it was time to put up the Christmas decorations, we plopped the pumpkins in the composter. Follow me after the break; I'm going somewhere with this...

Here at DIY Life, Earth-friendly ideas are always a popular topic. So, when we heard that our sister site Green Daily is running a fantastic giveaway from Gardener's Supply Company, we couldn't wait to tell our readers about it!

One lucky reader will win a complete composting kit, featuring more than US $300 in supplies. The centerpiece of the prize is the Earthmaker Composter (a $225 value), but there are also plenty of accessories in the package, including a nifty odor-busting crock in which you can collect your kitchen scraps before putting them in the compost bin.

To learn more, and enter, please visit the giveaway post at Green Daily and follow the instructions: all you have to do is leave a comment telling them what you would compost if you were the winner. If you've never commented before, the system will require you to confirm the comment with a legitimate email address. Good luck!

If you don't win, a few great DIY composting ideas may come in handy. Check out the following posts:

• Bethany's Start your own worm composting bin
• Create a compost pile in your back yard, also by Bethany
• Francesca's Make a compost bin from shipping pallets
• Anna's 163 items to add to your compost

Why study earthworms? They may not be pretty, but earthworms have an important role in creating healthy soil that supports life everywhere.

Kids are fascinated by living creatures, and they have a lot to learn from worms. They can learn about their unique form of locomotion, or that earthworms have a highly developed digestive system that creates healthy soil out of decomposing materials. Possibly most important of all, kids can learn that all creatures have a role in a functioning ecosystem, including the lowly worm.

An earthworm habitat is not only fun to make, it's an easy way to observe worm behavior up close. Because this project requires the handling of live creatures, an important first lesson is how to respect life while also studying it. Worms need to be handled gently. They also need a safe environment while in captivity, including food and moisture. When the project is finished, they should be carefully returned to the safety of a shady spot of soil.

Ready to get started? Check out the gallery below!

Nothing is more satisfying that creating a miniature (or full-blown) garden from which to cultivate nutritious herbs, vegetables, and other edible goodies. Have a bay window? Create a garden there. How about a box window over the bathtub? As long as it gets plenty of light, there's another opportunity.

Use organic seeds to create that garden (large or small) and give it plenty of love. Our friends over at Green Daily have plenty of ideas in this area, so keep a close eye on them in the near future. I've already found it a great resource for all things eco-garden and eco-yard.

Although summer mowing is winding down for many of us, another great idea for some temporary mulch for that herb garden can come in the form of grass clippings (changed regularly). I use a manual rotary mower for my minor mowing duties for its non-footprint on greenhouse gas output, along with the healthy cut it gives grass.

Want a built-in workout while doing chores? Nothing beats a manual mower for sweating it up while getting that yard in shape. Collect some of the clippings to use as mulch in those paper pots you'll be growing those eco-herbs in, and be at peace with the world.