Time for a Bring Back the Wild™ pop quiz! Quick, what animals did Earth Rangers fundraise for last school year?….. Times up if you guessed the Wolverine, Peregrine falcon, Grizzly bear and the Jefferson salamander then five gold stars for you!!

For those needing to brush up on their Bring Back the Wild™ facts let’s catch up with one of the animals that Earth Rangers helped protect, please welcome Jeff!

OK, really his name is the Jefferson salamander and since these guys have a little stage freight we’ve asked Mark Stabb, from the Nature Conservancy of Canada to fill us in. Listen up to hear how your Bring Back the Wild™ campaigns have helped to protect the Jefferson salamander and their home in Ontario’s Happy Valley Forest.

The Happy Valley Forest

The Happy Valley Forest is home to many rare species, like the Jefferson Salamander. It is a great place for them to live because there aren’t many houses or even roads present in the forest. This is the type of habitat that the Jefferson salamander thrives in. In the Happy Valley forest, these reptiles spend most of their time on land but they use ponds for their reproduction. Sometimes travelling to the pond can be quite a distance so making sure they can get their safely is really important.

Here’s how you helped the Jefferson salamander!

Through your donations, the Nature Conservancy of Canada was able to install gates and signs to help keep park visitors on paths and trails, instead of wandering through the forest where they might disturb animals in their habitat. Thanks to amazing Earth Rangers like you, we’ve helped to make the Jefferson salamanders’ trek down to the pond a whole lot safer.

More ways to make a difference

Mark Stabb also has some great tips for how you can help the environment. Check out these fun eco-tips:

• Practice the 3 Rs – reduce, reuse, and recycle!

• Don’t pour any chemicals and other toxic liquids down the drain

• Plant trees and restore habitats. Check out this take action article for ideas

To learn more about the Jefferson salamander read up on these cool facts and remember that thanks to Earth Rangers just like YOU the Jefferson salamander’s home in the Happy Valley forest is a safer place for them to live!

Earth Rangers is a non-profit organization that works to inspire and educate children about the environment. At EarthRangers.com kids can play games, discover amazing facts, meet animal ambassadors and fundraise to protect biodiversity.