The Sustainable Parent: Making Fall Family Traditions Eco-Friendly

As a parent, one of the things I treasure most is creating new traditions that bring my family joy. Over the years, we've built a few fall traditions that my children eagerly anticipate—asking hundreds of times if it’s October yet, waiting for the pumpkin patch to open, and getting excited to start our Thankful Turkey project. There’s something magical about this season. Kids sense the change in the air, and it feels like autumn welcomes joyful memories with family and friends.

For those of us intent on raising eco-conscious children, this season is a golden opportunity to weave sustainability into our family traditions. By making small, thoughtful adjustments to our plans, we can make eco-friendly family traditions that reduce our environmental footprint and create an even better experience for our loved ones.

In this post, we’ll explore simple ways to make fall family traditions more sustainable, focusing on eco-friendly transportation, zero-waste snacks, and supporting local farms. Let’s dive in!

Choose Eco-Friendly Transportation

Transportation is often one of the most significant contributors to a family’s carbon footprint, but there are plenty of ways to reduce it during fall outings. Whether you’re heading to a local farm for apple picking or visiting a pumpkin patch, consider these eco-friendly transportation alternatives:

• Carpool with friends or neighbors: If your family is heading to a popular fall destination, consider coordinating a carpool with friends or neighbors who plan to go as well. It reduces emissions and adds to the fun – your kids will love sharing the journey with their buddies.
• Public transportation: In some cities, buses, trains, or local options like streetcars and ferries (in New Orleans, for example) can be part of the adventure while lowering your carbon footprint.
• Biking or walking to local spots: If you live near a pumpkin patch, farmers market, or fall event, why not turn the trip into an outdoor adventure by walking or biking? It’s a great way to enjoy the fresh air, get some exercise, and minimize your environmental impact.

If alternative transportation isn’t realistic for your family, don’t stress! Even small steps, like keeping your tires properly inflated or avoiding idling in long lines, can make a difference in reducing emissions.

Pack Zero-Waste Snacks for Your Adventures

If your family is anything like mine, an outing of any length of time requires copious snacks. Unfortunately, these excursions can also generate unnecessary waste, especially if you rely on pre-packaged snacks. This year, try a zero-waste approach for fall picnics and snack times. Here are some tricks:

• Choose reusable containers and bags: instead of single-use plastic bags, choose reusable containers or silicone snack bags to pack your family’s food. They’re better for the planet and they keep snacks fresher. Win/win!
• Pack homemade snacks: Preparing snacks at home allows you to control ingredients, reduce packaging waste, and provide healthier options for your family. Some of our favorite zero-waste snack ideas include:
  • Homemade granola bars using oats, nuts, and honey
  • Apple slices with a reusable container of almond butter for dipping
  • Roasted pumpkin seeds from your pumpkin carving adventures
  • Freshly baked muffins made with seasonal ingredients like pumpkin or apple
• Bring reusable water bottles: Instead of grabbing bottled water or juices, pack reusable water bottles for everyone. For a fall twist, fill thermoses with warm apple cider!
• Teach the “pack it in, pack it out” rule: We always remind our kids to leave no trace. Any waste from our outing must end up back in our car to be recycled or disposed of at home. This is especially important in natural settings, where our trash can harm local wildlife. It’s never too early or too late to begin teaching (and leading by example) about respect for nature.

Support Local Farms and Markets

One of the things my children love most about fall is visiting local farms for pumpkin picking, hayrides, and seasonal treats. These activities not only create sweet memories and adorable photo ops; they also offer an opportunity to support sustainable farming and small businesses. Here’s how to make your farm visits more eco-friendly: 

• Choose organic or pesticide-free farms: many farms now practice organic farming methods that avoid harmful pesticides and chemicals. By supporting these farms, you’re contributing to healthier soil, cleaner water, and safer ecosystems. Plus, it’s great peace of mind when you’re bringing produce home for your family.
• Buy local, seasonal produce: Take advantage of farm stands to pick up fall favorites like squash, root vegetables, and leafy greens. Buying local produce reduces the carbon emissions associated with transportation and supports small-scale farmers in your community.

Choose Eco-Friendly Alternatives to Fall Décor

One of my kids’ favorite family traditions is decorating our house for the holidays. They love to walk around the neighborhood to see the inflatables, giant skeletons, witches, and pumpkins. The kids come up with creative ideas for making our home festive, and I do my best to bring their visions to life. In recent years, we’ve decided to move toward eco-friendly decorations. Here are some ideas for decorating sustainably:

• Choose natural decorations: Instead of buying plastic or synthetic fall decorations, try decorating with natural materials like pumpkins, gourds, corn stalks, and hay bales. Once the season is over, many of these items can be composted or fed to local wildlife. We like to return to a farm we visited earlier in the season and give them our pumpkins and gourds to feed their animals! With so many options for beautiful, natural décor, there’s no reason to turn to Temu, Amazon, or other cheap, synthetic decorations.
• DIY Crafts: Get the kids involved in making fall decorations from natural or recycled materials. We love going on nature walks to collect beautiful leaves and other treasures, then turning them into garlands and wreaths. DIY Projects are fun activities that reduce waste and create sweet memories.
• Reuse and repurpose old decorations: Instead of buying new fall décor each year, reuse and repurpose what you already own. This reduces waste and helps children understand the value of reusing things rather than throwing them away after a single season.

Teach Sustainability through Fun Family Traditions

The fall season offers plenty of opportunities to talk about sustainability in fun, kid-friendly ways. Here are some ideas we love:

• Compost your pumpkin: After carving pumpkins, remove the seeds, and let your kids smash the pumpkin in the yard before covering it with leaves to compost. Nature will do the rest!
• Leaf pile fun: Raking leaves into piles for jumping is a classic fall family tradition. Once the fun is over, gather the leaves for composting or mulching the garden, showing the kids how nature’s waste can be reused to feed plants.
• Nature walks and scavenger hunts: If we want our children to grow up caring about and advocating for our environment, we must first help them to love it. We can make nature fun for them by going on walks and talking about the changing seasons, plants, and local wildlife. Make it a game by creating a scavenger hunt for fall-related items like acorns, colorful leaves, or wildlife sightings. 

Incorporating sustainable practices into fall family traditions helps reduce our environmental impact while creating meaningful, lasting memories with our kids. From eco-friendly transportation to zero-waste snacks and natural décor, small changes can pave the way for greener generations—one fall tradition at a time.