The Earth Rangers Wildlife Adoption Program is a great way to support important conservation research! But for today’s eco-activity we’re giving you the chance to suit up as a real life wildlife biologist when you build your own osprey habitat! Have you ever wanted to be on the front lines of conservation? Today’s your chance!

Osprey Habitat Architect

Every year Earth Rangers works with tons of awesome conservation partners on projects that help animals everywhere. The Toronto Region Conservation Authority is hard at work on the Meadoway Project, which will restore a 16km stretch of meadowlands in Toronto that will provide habitat for thousands of species of plants and animals, including the awesome osprey! Today, you can help by creating your very own habitat for the osprey to survive! Colour the plants and animals needed for the osprey’s home. Then design your habitat by cutting them out and pasting them onto the meadow scene. Make sure to add your own creative details! You can get even more original and draw your own landscape, prey, bushes, nests, and ospreys. And, finally, don’t forget to add the osprey and their gigantic nest, which they call an eyrie! (HINT: Osprey like to make their nests at the highest point, even on top of telephone poles!)

Click the image below to download this activity! 

Show us the habitat you’ve created by taking a photo and posting it with #EarthMonthforAnimals! This will help raise awareness for this magnificent migratory bird and remind people that Earth Month is an awesome time to think about how our everyday actions impact the animals that live in our neighbourhoods and beyond!

Want to learn more about ospreys?

Click here to learn more about the Meadoway Project.

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!

Eliminate Energy Wasters in Your Home

Did you know there are some serious energy-wasting offenders hiding in your home? When we use too much energy, even more energy needs to be made, which puts unnecessary strain on our planet’s resources. This can lead to increased CO2 emissions and ultimately contribute to climate change, which affects animals all over the world. We need your family’s help to cut out these culprits!

The Power Phantom has been stealing your energy through the unused electronics and appliances you keep plugged in and on standby. It can steal up to 100 watts of energy at a time!

Stop it by: Unplugging electronics and small appliances when you aren’t using them.

The Thermo Inferno grows bigger the hotter you keep your home in the winter and the colder you keep your home in the summer. It spreads throughout your home, eating more and more energy, up to 200 kilowatt-hours a year per degree!

Stop it by: Lowering your thermostat by even 2 degrees to make a difference. If you can program the thermostat to lower the temperature while you’re sleeping and don’t need as much heat, even better! Now that it’s spring, you may even be able to turn it all the way off on warmer days and let the sunshine do the work instead of your furnace.

The Devious Draft has been breaking into your home through small cracks under doors and windows, and in walls and ceilings! It blows cold air into these cracks, making you use extra energy to keep your home warm. 

Stop it by: Finding drafts around windows and doors by running the back of your hand around the frames. If you feel air blowing on your hand, you’ve caught the devious draft red-handed! Time to seal it up!

Interested in learning about an even greener future when it comes to energy use at home and around the world? Check out this article on the Wild Wire!

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!

A Nest FULL of Outstanding Osprey Opportunities

Ospreys are large predatory birds found on every continent except Antarctica. They’re known to be great fishers: they dive feet first from up to 40 meters high to grab unsuspecting fish. Their strong wings give them extra lift to fly up and out of the water. We Earth Rangers think they are so outstanding that we couldn’t stop dreaming up awesome at-home activities to celebrate this magnificent migratory bird. Today we’ve got 3 for you to tackle:

• Print out and colour the fact-catcher.
• Cut around the outside of the square.
• Flip the page over so the words and pictures face down.
• Fold the paper diagonally in both directions, then unfold.
• Using the lines as a guide, fold each corner of the paper toward the center.
• Turn the paper over so the folded sides are face down.
• Again, fold all the corners to the center.
• Fold it in half, top to bottom, and then unfold.
• Fold it in half again, left to right, and unfold.
• Using your thumb and forefingers in the flap pockets, squeeze all four sides towards each other.

Click the image below to download this activity!

Did you know ospreys have an average wingspan of 5 feet?! They have no troubles carrying a heavy fish! Draw the other half of the osprey’s wing and tail. Finish by colouring it in!

Click the image below to download this activity!

Still as hungry for osprey facts as they are for underwater prey? Use the word bank to finish the crossword puzzle to learn even more! For a challenge, try filling it in without peeking at the word bank.

Click the image below to download this activity!

Did you hear that Earth Rangers are helping fund the Meadoway Project? It’ll be a 16 km stretch of greenspace and meadowlands through Toronto, providing habitat for migratory ospreys! Learn how your family can get involved through our Wildlife Adoptions Program in support of the Osprey in the Earth Rangers App! Plus, for a limited time in support of Earth Month, digital adoption kits are 50% off!

Share your #EarthMonthforAnimals pics of your completed activites!

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!

Upcycled Plant Palaces

We don’t know about you, but we’ve gotten very well acquainted with our household plants over the past few weeks! As a thank-you for helping us feel those spring vibes inside, we want to give them some extra love! Looking for fresh new digs for your springtime seedlings? You may have all the materials you need in your recycling bin! Using just plastic containers, glue, water, and recycled paper you can paper mache your way to a unique plant home! Here’s how:

1. Hop around the house and look for colourful paper scraps that can be used for your masterpiece. Some options could be: magazines, newspapers, mailers, or seasonal cards. Begin by cutting your findings into fun sizes and shapes.

2. Prepare your glue by diluting it with a little water in a wide-mouthed dish until it is slightly runny.

3. This is where things start to get a little messy! Turn your container upside-down and start on the bottom. Dip each scrap piece into the glue until fully saturated, then layer onto the container. Smooth each piece into position with your fingers. Be sure to overlap your pieces and to fully cover the container. Ideally your pot should eventually have two to three layers of overlapping paper pieces so it stays strong.

4. Allow your pot to dry completely. Depending on the temperature and the thickness of your paper layers this will usually take at least 48 hours. Feel free to create this craft in stages over the span of a few days, just don’t forget to cover your unused glue dish so it doesn’t dry up too!

5. Once your creation is totally dry, flip it over, trim any loose edges, and transplant your seedlings. Don’t have any seedlings yet? Check your fridge for seed-bearing veggies (like tomatoes and cucumbers)—just soak the seeds in water for a day, dry them, and they’re ready to plant!

This recycled craft ensures that less waste ends up in landfills and waterways where it can pollute the environment or hurt wildlife. Share your animal-saving decor with the hashtag #EarthMonthforAnimals to inspire your friends to make Earth-friendly art!

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!

Every Earth Ranger knows that Earth Month is for the animals, which makes now the perfect time to highlight our animal adoption program, and the work our awesome conservation partners are doing to protect the future of the species. Each week we’ll feature one of our amazing project animals and share fun facts, project details, and of course exciting activities for you and your family to enjoy!

This week: Meet the Osprey!

Ospreys are majestic fliers and skilled hunters, with an amazing sense of vision that helps them spot their underwater prey from as high as 40 metres in the air. Ospreys can live in a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water that’s well stocked with their favourite food: fish! Their populations were in trouble back in the mid-1900s, when a popular pesticide called DDT caused their eggshells to get too thin and break. Thankfully they’ve made a big comeback since then, but they continue to face threats due to habitat loss and disturbance.

That’s where you come in! Earth Rangers is working with the Toronto Region Conservation Authority on the Meadoway Project, which will create a 16 km stretch of greenspace and meadowlands stretching right through Toronto! Creating and restoring habitat for ospreys and other species by planting native wildflowers removing invasive plants, and cleaning up litter will help make sure all the animals that call this new space home will have a safe habitat for years to come.

You can help support this important research by purchasing an osprey adoption kit! Your kit includes an adorable plushie plus an adoption certificate and a poster, and when you make your purchase through the Earth Rangers App your child will also earn points to help them level up on their Earth Rangers journey—plus a set of virtual rewards they can show off!

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!

More Pawsitively Grizzly Tasks

No time to hibernate through this fantastic Friday! There’s a whole den’s worth of activities ahead!

1. A Grizz Quiz! Test your bear-identifying knowledge and see if you can identify different bears, including our beloved bear of the week:

2. Whose cub are you? Find out which fuzzy family you would fit into if you were born a bear cub! Take our fun Which Bear Are You Quiz:

3. Now, strike a PAWS! Take a photo of you and your family enacting some bear-like behaviour. Give us your best ROAR faces!

Show your love to grizzlies everywhere by posting it with the hashtag #EarthMonthforAnimals! Need some inspiration? Check out this videoto see a few clips of them in action.

We know it’s tough to be stuck at home, but we’re using the opportunity to gain some serious animal knowledge! Did you know that grizzly bears are some of the world’s most prolific hibernators? Take a look at how grizzlies take social distancing to a whole new level in our latest Wild Wire article!

Bonus: Check out the Earth Rangers Grizzly Bear Digital and Plush Adoption kits! They help fund conservation efforts to protect the habitat of the grizzly bear. Available in the Earth Rangers App and the Earth Rangers e-store.

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!

Brewing Bio-Friendly Bath Bombs 

Looking for toxin-free TLC? Leave unnatural toxins behind next time you jump in the tub by making your own fizzy bath bombs! When toxins get into the environment, they can do a lot of damage by polluting our ecosystems and making the animals we love sick. You might be adding to the problem and not even know it! Why? Because some of the products we wash down the drain every day contain toxins that can end up in the environment.

If something is toxic, it means that it’s harmful to the health of humans, animals and/or the environment.

Toxins in products you have at home can cause big problems for wildlife, and we’re not just talking about the animals in your neighbourhood. If these toxins get into important waterways, like the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, they can travel all the way to the Arctic! 

The good news is that scientists across the globe are always working to create new products that don’t cause harm to the environment. Want to try your hand at some safe at-home chemistry, or looking to DIY awesome gifts for holidays that are just around the corner? Take down bathtime toxins with this homemade bath bomb recipe!

You’ll need:

• 1 ⅓ tbsp citric acid (you can find this at most grocery stores, or at bulk food stores)
• 2 ⅔ tbsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp corn starch 
• 1 tsp water
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• A spoon
• 2 bowls
• A mould for your bath bombs (muffin tray, ice cube tray, or sand moulds if you want extra fun shapes)
• A paper towel
• Food colouring (optional) 
• Epsom salt
• Natural fragrances (optional – things like essential oils or extracts you’d use for baking will do the trick!)
• If you don’t have these materials already at home, don’t fret! They are super easy to find online and can often be delivered right to your door.

Use your creations in your next bath and let the animal-friendly fizz keep you and your family in the tub a little longer.

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!

Grizzly Recipe & Riddle

Do you feel a rumbly in your tumbly? Breakfast, lunch, or snack, we’ve got your family covered! Even the littlest cubs at home can help make this with their bear hands! But don’t forget to wash them first before doing this creative culinary activity.  

Ingredients: 

Sliced whole wheat bread, Blueberries, Banana, Peanut butter (jam, soy butter, hazelnut spread, or sunflower butter can be used as an alternative)

Instructions: 

1. Peel and slice up the banana 
2. Put a slice of bread into the toaster 
3. Slather the toast with peanut butter 
4. Take two banana slices to make the bear’s ears 
5. Take one banana slice to make the bear’s snout 
6. Take two blueberries to make the bear’s eyes 
7. Take one blueberry and place it on top of the snout to make the bear’s cute little nose 
8. Enjoy!

Post a pic with your grizzly snack to show your love for grizzlies with the hashtag #EarthMonthforAnimals

Bonus for the younger Earth Rangers: Have a teddy bear picnic indoors or in your front/backyard if you have one! Go around the house and collect any teddy bears you have and invite them to join you. 

Now that you’ve filled your tummy, fill in these blanks! Find the answers to this punny quiz to solve the riddle 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!

Eggcellent bunnies & chicks

Let’s get in the springtime spirit by creating some eco-friendly upcycled decorations! With each individual dome from your egg carton, you’ll have the beginnings of an adorable bunny or newly hatched baby chick. Easy peasy! You probably already have all you need to do this simple craft at home. 

Here are our suggestions for materials you can use to bring them to life, but feel free to get even more creative!

• Recycled egg carton
• Kid-safe scissors 
• Markers, paint, or crayons 
• Pipecleaners (for easy fuzzy ears)
• Glue 
• Googly eyes 
• Cotton balls (for fluffy tails!)

Making crafts like these out of recycled materials that come from trees are an amazing way to reduce our impact on forests and the animals that live there! Don’t forget to share your eggcellent creations and help spread awareness of the importance of Earth Month by posting a photo with the hashtag #EarthMonthforAnimals.

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!