Wind can do a lot of things; it can make our hair dance (making us look like movie stars), it can blow away our homework, but did you know that it’s also one of the fastest growing sources of electricity in the world and in Canada?
That’s right! Energy from wind turbines accounted for 5.1% of electricity generation in Canada as of 2018. What makes wind so great? It’s sustainable and renewable! For today’s eco-activity, we’re going to create our very own wind-turbine out of paper. Print out your template and follow the steps below to get started!
What you will need:
Scissors
Coloured pencils, markers, or crayons,
A dress pin
A bead
An eraser
Instructions:
Print out your paper wind turbine template
Cut out both the tower and the blades
Decorate your tower and blades as you wish with coloured pencils, markers, or crayons
Fold the inside surface of the tower (the side that isn’t decorated) as indicated on the template
Complete your tower
Bend the blades slightly to create a tilt angle
Place your dress pin through the centre of your blade, through a bead, through the top of your tower, and finally through an eraser to keep it all together
Place your wind turbine somewhere with a breeze and watch it spin!
The Earth Rangers App is where kids go to save animals! It’s free to join and you’ll have access to real-world Missions like this one. Plus, you can adopt an animal to support conservation projects, and learn all about animals in the Wild Wire Blog.
Find activities like this, and so much more in the App!
Great Horned Owls are majestic, large birds native to the Americas, but how much do you know about our feathered friends? We’re here to find ou​t! For today’s eco-activity answer the true or false questions below and see hoo is an owl expert and hoo needs to read up on their owl facts! Win 10 points in the Earth Rangers App if you answer them all correctly!
Want to help protect the Great Horned Owl? Every Adoption Kit purchased helps support work to restore important habitat for these fascinating fliers – and from now until October 5, for every Digital Adoption Kit you purchase, we’re giving you a second one for FREE! That’s double the animal-saving awesomeness – plus double the digital goodies, like an exclusive avatar item and virtual animal pal! Simply add two digital kits to your cart and we’ll give you one for free when you check out. It’s that easy!
The Earth Rangers App is where kids go to save animals! It’s free to join and you’ll have access to real-world Missions like this one. Plus, you can adopt an animal to support conservation projects, and learn all about animals in the Wild Wire Blog.
Find activities like this, and so much more in the App!
The last official days of summer are upon us, and we are starting to see some leaves changing colours!
Days are shorter, colder weather approaches and deciduous trees have started storing their energy by sending all nutrients down to their roots. This means that the chemical responsible for the green colour on leaves (chlorophyll) breaks down since it’s no longer receiving nutrients, and the green colour disappears leaving brilliant colours of red, yellow, orange, and brown.
For today’s eco-activity, we’re going on a fall outdoor scavenger hunt to find fallen leaves of deciduous trees! If the leaves haven’t started to fall in your neighbourhood yet, don’t worry! You can just look for the green leaves still on the trees and learn more about the trees near you!
The Earth Rangers App is where kids go to save animals! It’s free to join and you’ll have access to real-world Missions like this one. Plus, you can adopt an animal to support conservation projects, and learn all about animals in the Wild Wire Blog.
Find activities like this, and so much more in the App!
Rachel Carson brought the problems with DDT to the world’s attention. It was a chemical used a long time ago to protect crops from hungry insects. Over time, DDT started impacting the ecosystems where it was sprayed, causing bird and fish populations to drop significantly. Thanks to Rachel Carson’s tireless work, DDT was banned in 1972. Talk about an eco-win!
Rachel Carson Eco All-Star Fast Facts:
1. She is known as one of the best nature writers of the 20th Century. She has written many books, but her most famous is ‘Silent Spring’ about her fight to get DDT banned.
2. She made significant steps within the world of environmental science, particularly for women in science!
3. She is known as the ‘Mother of environmental movements’ because of her willingness to fight so strongly to protect the environment.
4. In school, she studied marine biology (all about sea life).
5. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980 for her environmental work.
Rachel Carson’s work as an environmentalist has made a huge difference for nature as we know it! Without her, who knows what our ecosystems would look like now! She serves as a role model for all aspiring environmentalists, and has definitely taught us a lesson or two about protecting the environment.
Collect this card by leaving a comment telling us what you admire most about Rachel Carson!
What species live near you? You won’t know until you look!
The world outside your window is filled with incredible plant and animal species, but the types you see depend on the habitats nearby. You probably won’t be seeing a dolphin if you live near a desert, unless it’s really gotten lost—how would it even get there? Did it swim through the sand?!
In this article, we’re going to take a look at some common species that you might find in habitats near you!
If you live near a forest…
You’ll see lots and lots of trees—after all, trees are what make a forest a forest! You might also see moss, mushrooms, grasses, orchids, and ferns. Animals that live in forests include:
snakes
owls
woodpeckers
red foxes
bears
moose
If you live near a wetland…
Wetlands like these provide important habitat for Midland Painted Turtles.
You’ll see lots of tall grasses, reeds, rushes, shrubs and mosses. There will be water and lots of mud. You might also see trees and lilies. Animals that live in wetlands include:
salamanders
frogs
ducks
dragonflies
turtles
herons
If you live near an ocean…
You’ll see lots of salt water. There might be sand, rocks, coral, and lots of underwater plants like kelp, sea grass, and algae. Animals that live in and around oceans include: –
fish
whales
puffins
sea otters
crabs
starfish
If you live near a desert…
You will see plants scattered here and there, but there won’t be a lot of them. They will be hardy plants that don’t need a lot of water, like cacti and shrubs. Animals that live in deserts include: –
badgers
scorpions
snakes
lizards
antsÂ
vulturesÂ
If you live near a body of freshwater…
You’ll see lots of water. Similar to the wetland, you might see lilies, reeds, rushes and tall grasses. Animals that live in and around bodies of freshwater include:
river otters
beavers
turtles
loons
frogs
fish
If you live near a mountain…
You’ll see lots of rocks, mosses, lichens, and sedges. You might see trees, but there will be less and less of them the higher up you go. You might even get to see snow in the summer! Animals that live on mountains include: –
cougars
marmots
mountain goats
eagles
pikas
big horn sheep
If you live near a grassland…
You’ll see tall grasses and a few trees. You might see sagebrush, and even a cactus or two. Animals that live in grasslands include:
bison
snakes
burrowing owls
prairie dogs
coyotes
grasshoppersÂ
If you live near the Arctic…
You’ll see lots of mosses and lichen. The plants will be short, even the trees, and you might see a few flowers, like the Arctic daisy and Arctic poppy. Animals that live in the Arctic include:
polar bears
Arctic foxes
seals
ptarmigansÂ
caribou
belugas
There are so many species in these habitats that if we listed them all, we’d be here forever! You won’t know which ones you’ll see, until you get outside and start exploring. Don’t forget to keep track of the species you see and check out the Backyard Biologist Mission to learn how to become a citizen scientist!
What are some other species you might see in these habitats? Let us know in the comments!
This summer, Earth Rangers members from all over Canada took part in the #ecosummer21 contest. We challenged them to help the planet by taking part in our Eco-Activities. These small but mighty eco-actions are all about supporting the environment, conservation, and biodiversity!
As a thank you for their hard work, members who submitted pictures using #ecosummer21 got a super cool prize. Congratulations to our winners and we hope you enjoy your summer swag bag!
Congratulations to Earth Rangers Rayyaan, Raahil, and Ruqayyah
Rayyaan, Raahil, and Ruqayyah took part in Eco-Activity #150: Make some homemade wildflower seed bombs! Click here to make some as well!
As humans, we find many different ways to express our emotions. Our faces, our gestures, and even our voices are ways to show our emotions. Did you know that animals express their emotions in similar ways? For today’s eco-activity, compare the way you express your emotions to the ways some of our animal friends do by filling in the chart below!
The Earth Rangers App is where kids go to save animals! It’s free to join and you’ll have access to real-world Missions like this one. Plus, you can adopt an animal to support conservation projects, and learn all about animals in the Wild Wire Blog.
Find activities like this, and so much more in the App!
Today is World Teddy Bear Day, and what better way to celebrate than by honouring our real-life teddy bear friends: grizzly bears! Grizzly bears are considered a subspecies of brown bears and they’re the bears that most teddy bears are based on!
For today’s eco-activity, we’re going to honour our grizzly
pals by making our very own grizzly bear claws! No, not the type you eat, but
the type you wear on your hands! Follow the instructions below and create a
beary cool craft!
What you’ll need
A brown paper bag
Glue
Black construction paper
Scissors
Instructions
Make a mark 2-4 inches above the bottom of your paper bag
Fold the two ends down until the bottom of your paper bag folds into a nice point
Cut out a circle from your black construction paper; this is going to be the pad off your bear paw!
Cut out all five claws. These should resemble triangle points. Grizzly paws can grow up to four inches long so make sure that they’re fairly big!
Glue the pad in the centre of the point at the bottom of your bag. Glue your claws above the pad.
Repeat and make your other bear paw.
Put them on and go get grizzly!
Want to help out our Grizzly pals? Purchase a Grizzly Bear Wildlife Adoption! Your adoption will help Earth Rangers as they work with Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Canada, the Government of Yukon, and the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun to support a team of grizzly bear biologists to learn how the road and mining sites will impact grizzly bears’ preferred habitats and where conservation and avoidance of key habitats could mitigate potential effects of the road.
The Earth Rangers App is where kids go to save animals! It’s free to join and you’ll have access to real-world Missions like this one. Plus, you can adopt an animal to support conservation projects, and learn all about animals in the Wild Wire Blog.
Find activities like this, and so much more in the App!
Eating local is a great way to lower your food’s carbon footprint. It reduces associated emissions from transport and supports local farmers and businesses in your area! It’s a win-win!
For today’s eco-activity, you’re going to put your chef’s
hat on and create a recipe exclusively with locally sourced ingredients! How
cool is that? Follow the steps below and get ready to make some delicious food!
*Chef’s kiss*
What you’ll need
A list of some local places to purchase your produce!
Look for places like farmer’s markets, local farms that sell produce, or even
farms where you can pick your own!
A computer to search for recipes (unless you’re such a
great chef, you can make your own!)
A kitchen to cook in
Instructions
Go with your parents or guardians and pick up your
favourite produce from a local vendor of your choice!
Head home and visit https://myfridgefood.com/. From there you can
select your ingredients and see a list of suggested recipes!
Pick one of the suggested recipes or make your own.
Start cooking!
Eat, and enjoy!
Shopping local allows us to not only purchase foods that don’t have much packaging, but it also saves energy and gas emissions that would’ve been used from shipping. Check out the Live Love Local Mission for more tips and tricks to help you stick close to home when you shop!
The Earth Rangers App is where kids go to save animals! It’s free to join and you’ll have access to real-world Missions like this one. Plus, you can adopt an animal to support conservation projects, and learn all about animals in the Wild Wire Blog.
Find activities like this, and so much more in the App!
You’ve probably heard Sir David Attenborough’s voice before. As the narrator of the ‘Planet Earth’ series, he took us around the world and gave us an insider’s look at what really goes on in the wild. While this might be the way many of us know him best, it’s just one of the ways he’s an Eco All-Star.
David Attenborough Eco All-Star Fast Facts
1. He knows all about nature and the planet. He studied geology (the physical features of the Earth) and zoology (everything to do about animals) in school, and has explored many of the planet’s ecosystems.
2. He is an environmental advocate. That means he stands up for the environment and teaches us about the importance of conserving nature.
3. As a broadcaster with the BBC and the narrator of Plant Earth, he brought the natural world to our TVs for many years. He’s taken viewers on adventures in the rainforest with monkeys, underneath the canopy of huge sequoia trees, on a frigid coastline observing puffins, and so many more.
4. He supports lots of environmental organizations, like World Wildlife Fund, Fauna and Flora International, and BirdLife International.
5. He is such an important Eco All-Star that he’s been knighted twice! Maybe he should be called Sir Sir David Attenborough!
David Attenborough’s work has inspired a love for nature in many people, and with that, a drive to protect the planet. His dedication to advocacy, conservation, and nature exploration has had significant impacts on the planet and people alike.
What do you think is the coolest thing about Sir David Attenborough? Let us know in the comments!
