Socialite Nicole Richie has urged schools to help save the planet - by teaching kids about environmental issues from a young age.

The Simple Life star, who has a 16 month old daughter Harlow with boyfriend Joel Madden, has become a passionate green campaigner in recent years and insists her family only eats organic food.

And Richie hopes educational institutes will heed her advice and encourage children to recycle, save energy and maintain a balanced diet.

She tells Hollyscoop.com, "Being in a school with the environment of education, it really doesn't make sense to educate children on math, science, history and not educate them on nutrition and taking care of our planet. It seems that it is our responsibility to make sure that happens.

"Anyone that is going to eat organic is going to feel different. We only eat organic. We don't really have plastic in our house, we mostly use glass bottles. People can even help by turning off their lights when they leave the house, it's just so easy for everyone, if they helped just a little bit, if everyone helped a little bit, it would make such a huge, huge difference."

Nicole Richie Photos

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)