ACTIVITY BOOK 

What does the U.S. EPA 

do to protect the 

environment? 

Turn the page to find out 
EPA protects the water we use 

Color these pictures that show how important it is to have clean water! 

What do you do to save water? 

Turn off the faucet while you brush your teeth. 

Wash your bike with a bucket and sponge instead of a hose. 

Scrape food off your dirty dishes instead of rinsing them. 

Water is too important to waste! 

2	

Do you know how much 

water a family of four 

uses every day in the 

United States? 

400 gallons! You could take up to 

10 baths with that much water! 

Learn more at epa.gov/students
EPA protects the air we breathe 

Look up the Air Quality Index in your neighborhood at airnow.gov

Draw a picture of your 

favorite outside activity. 

How do you reduce air pollution? 

Ride your bike Ride the bus 

Turn off the lights Walk instead of ride in a car 

by making sure it is clean and free from 

pollution so we can all breathe easy! 

3	

GREEN – Good 

It’s a great day to be 

active outside! 

YELLOW – Moderate 

It’s a good day to be active 

outside. 

ORANGE – Unhealthy 

for Sensitive Groups 

It’s OK to go outside and be 

active for recess or PE 

class. For longer activities, 

take it a little easier. 

RED – Unhealthy 

Take it a little easier if you 

do any outside activities. 

PURPLE – Very Unhealthy 

It’s a good day to play 

inside. 

Color the air quality flags. 

EPA and your State measure 

pollution in the air. They use the 

Air Quality Index to tell the people 

if the air is healthy or unhealthy. 
Too much UV radiation is unhealthy. 

Can you find the sunscreen? 

EPA protects our health 

by making sure we know about hazards that are 

caused by chemicals, radiation, and pollution. 

Which of these do you do to protect your health? 

Avoid too much sun and wear sunscreen. 

Wash fruits and vegetables before you eat them. 

Avoid secondhand smoke. 

4	

• Dust Mites 

• Mold 

• Secondhand Smoke 

• Pet Dander 

• Cockroaches 

• Pollen 

Things that make 

asthma worse are 

called triggers. 

These are “triggers” 

that can make 

breathing difficult for 

people with asthma. 

These vegetables 

have been washed. 

Color them yummy! 

Learn more at epa.gov/students

30 
Color the animals in this ecosystem. 

Have you ever seen these where you live? 

EPA protects ecosystems 

by making sure that plants and animals 

have a clean and healthy place to live. 

What do you do to help protect plants and animals? 

Don’t litter. Pick up trash. 

Plant a tree to give birds and animals shelter. 

Learn about your local streams and forests. 

5	

Do you know that 

many plants and 

animals depend on 

each other in an 

ecosystem? 

Learn more at epa.gov/students
EPA protects the land where we live 

by cleaning up after the soil has been polluted. 

6	

EPA helps reduce waste in landfills and creates new parks 

and neighborhoods in places that were once polluted. 

Learn more at epa.gov/students

Draw a line to connect each of these items to the correct bin. 

Bag	

JUICE 

RECYCLE COMPOST TRASH 

Food is too 

good to waste! 

What do you do to help reduce waste and pollution? 

Recycle as much as you can. 

Don’t waste food. Only take food that you can eat. 

Save leftovers. 
Complete the crossword puzzle to show how much you learned. 

Go back and find the answers if you need to. 

EPA protects our entire environment! 

Learn more at epa.gov/students

What did you learn? 

DOWN 

1. In the United States, a family of four uses

about 400 ______ of water every day.

2. You can save water by turning off the

______ when you brush your teeth.

3. Cardboard and other types of paper should

be ______ instead of thrown in the trash.

4. A purple air quality flag means that it is a

good day to play ______.

7	

ACROSS 

5. Avoid too much sun and wear ______

to protect your skin.

6. Plants and animals live together in an

______.

7. Things that make asthma worse are

called ______.

8. A ______ air quality flag means that it

is a great day to play outside.

1 2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 
Word List 

compost 

learn 

pick up waste 

plant a tree 

recycle 

ride a bike 

save water 

turn off lights 

volunteer 

List 5 things you will do to 

help protect the environment 1	

2	

3	

4	

5	

T P R I L H W G O T H J R P D 

U L E R M O P H G W Q X E E E 

R P B K O M O L N Q S P C E G 

N T O U I L Y R A H Y E Y R V 

O K X T Q B A I C O H F C T W 

F C Q M C E A Q M E R I L A C 

F D C D L R P E N L E S E T E 

L U P T V D S B D D Q E G N P 

I M D M H H J C T I O L J A B 

G M B K G P U I H A R T S L Z 

H E T S A W P U K C I P E P J 

T V A R E T A W E V A S B F Q 

S R D V L T A T Y F F I Q E C 

C O M P O S T X H P S C T F T 

V O L U N T E E R G J S A H O 

What can you do? 

EPA-171-K-17-00