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Little Super Ranger Lilly

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January 17, 2014

Reduce, reuse, recycle…three simple actions that have become part of our daily lives. For Super Ranger Lilly these actions have played an important role in how she views the planet. Six-year-old Lilly is passionate about animals and making sure they have a safe place to live.

barn swallow flying songbird — Lilly says “barn swallows are very cute!”

When Lilly saw a segment about Earth Rangers on TV she was inspired to start a Bring Back the Wild campaign to help protect barn swallows and their homes. “I love birds and I think barn swallows are very cute! I wanted to help build homes for them and their families.”

After going online and learning more about barn swallows Lilly decided to share what she had learned with her classmates. “I told my class about raising money for barn swallows and how they can become an Earth Ranger too! I told them about how barn swallows’ homes are being destroyed and how they can help.” Her teacher and some of her classmates even donated to her campaign!

Super ranger cookie sale kid fundraising — Lilly’s cookie sale

Lilly loves lots of animals including cheetahs, “I like them because they have long, strong legs and can run fast like me!” Lilly also likes playing with her friends, crafts and drawing.

We love hearing about children who are inspired to make a difference and we also love to hear about children who are working to inspire others!

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.

Top Ten Mountain Animals at the Highest Heights

Earth Rangers

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December 11, 2013

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Top Ten Mountain Animals at the Highest Heights

Believe it or not, the world isn’t flat. Yeah, we all know the earth is round but that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about slopes and hills, cliffs and mountains. We’re talking about elevation!

Everest_Luca_Galuzzi — Mount Everest. Copyright: Luca Galuzzi

Elevation measures how high something is above sea level (asl). Everything has an elevation, even cities. The highest point in Toronto is about 200 m asl while Calgary is over 1,000 m asl. Canada’s highest point is the Yukon’s Mount Logan (5,959 m asl) and North America’s highest point is Mouth McKinley (6,194 m asl) in Alaska. However, none of these compare to the highest point in the world, Mount Everest, standing at a towering 8,848 m asl!

There aren’t very many animals that live at high elevations. That’s because the higher you go, the thinner the air becomes, making it harder to breath. In this top ten we look at 10 animals that have what it takes to live at the top of the world.

*note: there are other species that live at high elevations including insects and plants. The Himalayan jumping spider (Euophrys omnisuperstes) is found at as high as 6,700 m asl and considered to have the highest home in the world.

http://www.toronto.ca/toronto_facts/geography.htm
http://www.calgary.ca/CA/fs/Documents/Plans-Budgets-and-Financial-Reports/Annual-Reports/Annual-Report-2008.pdf
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Euophrys_omnisuperstes

Brown Bear (Ursus arctos)

Where: Across North America, throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East and even North Africa
How high: Lives up to 5,000 m (16,400 ft) asl
Ref: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/41688/0

Himalayan Tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus)

himalayan_tahr_OZinOH_s — Copyright: OZinOH

Where: China, India, Nepal
How high: Lives up to 5,000 m (16,400 ft) asl
Ref: http://www.arkive.org/himalayan-tahr/hemitragus-jemlahicus/

Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus)

Where: Southern Europe, Middle East, Northeastern China and parts of Africa
How high: Lives up to 5,000 m (16,400 ft) asl but has been spotted at 7,500 m (24,600 ft)
Ref: http://www.arkive.org/lammergeier/gypaetus-barbatus/

Tibetan sand fox (Vulpes ferrilata)

Where: China, India, Nepal
How high: Lives up to 5,200 m (17,100 ft) asl
Ref: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/23061/0

Himalayan Marmot (Marmota himalayana)

Where: China, India, Nepal, Pakistan
How high: Lives up to 5,200 (17,100 ft) asl
Ref: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/12826/0

Kiang (Equus kiang)

Where: China, India, Nepal, Pakistan
How high: Lives up to 5,400 m (17,700 ft) asl
Ref: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/7953/0

Chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii)

Where: China, India
How high: Lives up to 5,500 m (18,000 ft) asl
Ref: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/15967/0

Tibetan gazelle (Procapra picticaudata)

Copyright David Blank — Copyright: David Blank

Where: China, India
How high: Lives up to 5,750 m (18,900 ft) asl
Ref: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/18231/0

Yak (Bos mutus)

Where: China, India
How high: Lives up to 6,100 m (20,000 ft) asl
Ref: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/2892/0

Alpine Chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus)

Where: Europe, Asia, North Africa
How high: Lives up to 6,500 m (21,300 ft) asl but has been spotted 8,200 m (26,900 ft) asl
Ref: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22705921/0

If you think animals are amazing, the Earth Rangers Podcast is for you!

Join Earth Ranger Emma as she travels the world on a quest to solve some of nature’s greatest mysteries! With top ten countdowns, animal guessing games and epic animal showdowns, this is a journey you won’t want to miss!

Super Ranger Sophia and Her Caribou Play

Earth Rangers

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December 6, 2013

170

Super Ranger Sophia and Her Caribou Play

AAAAAND ACTION! How many people do you know that have starred in a play? Well this Super Ranger not only starred in a play, she wrote it too and it was all about how to protect the woodland caribou!

Thiessen_Caribou — Photo Credit: Ron Thiessen

Meet Super Ranger Sophia! After seeing Earth Rangers on TV and the Earth Rangers show at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Sophia wanted to make a difference for endangered animals. Worried that if people keep killing endangered animals then there might not be any left for future kids to see, Sophia jumped into action!

Combining her love for animals with her dream of writing and being in her own play, Sophia came up with a great story featuring some familiar characters: a wood thrush, polar bear, American badger, Oregon spotted frog, and of course, a woodland caribou. The Prime Minister even made an appearance!

The story is about two sisters, Lola and Charlie, who want to stop global warming and save endangered animals. They decide to write to the Prime Minister, asking her for help. Meanwhile, a group of animals is looking for a new home but can’t seem to find a place that is suitable for their needs. Check out the video above to see what happens next!

Sophia did an amazing job and raised over $500 to protect the woodland caribou!

A BIG thank you to Sophia and her awesome cast: Jacqueline, Francessca, Emma W, Tithi and Emma R.

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.

Caption This! What’s This Rodent Thinking?

Earth Rangers

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November 6, 2013

384

Caption This! What’s This Rodent Thinking?

We need your help! This rodent is trying to tell us something but we can’t figure it out! Do you know what it’s thinking?

See if you can come up with the best caption!

Post your ideas in the comment section below.

Looking for more fun stuff? Check out our other captions, try and figure out a pixel puzzler, take a quiz or watch a cool video!

Super Ranger Nadia, A Friend to All Species

Earth Rangers

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November 4, 2013

41

Super Ranger Nadia, A Friend to All Species

Look down. See that T-shirt you’re wearing? When you bought it, did it help animals in need? Well, if you buy SpeeZees tees it will!

Meet Nadia, the girl who came up with the idea behind SpeeZees. This 7-year-old is passionate about animals of all kinds, especially insects. Science is Nadia’s favourite way to pass the time. She loves doing science experiments and making potions out of what she finds in nature. She enjoys playing in the forest and exploring nearby beaches with her sister and friends.

Nadia was sitting down one morning eating Gorilla Munch, a cereal that donates a percentage of its sales to conservation work related to saving the mountain gorillas of the Virunga Mountains. After reading the box with her mother and talking about why these gorillas needed help, Nadia wondered whether they could do something similar. Nadia’s parents, who make organic cotton onesies and kids T-shirts, thought it was a brilliant idea and decided to launch a T-shirt line called SpeeZees (like “species”).

Nadia, along with her younger sister, Elena, and her parents, chose 10 species from around the world – northern spotted owl, Asian elephant, polar bear, Lehmann’s poison frog, Cape mountain zebra, Western bumble bee, mountain gorilla, greater bamboo lemur, Indochinese tiger and Amsterdam albatross – and spent almost a year researching the best organizations working to support these species. Through SpeeZees, Nadia and her family want to celebrate not only conservation work around the world, but also kids like you who are passionate about protecting animals.

Wise Words from Nadia

When we asked Nadia for some words of advice, she came back with three awesome quotes:

“Be kind to all creatures big and small. Even tarantulas and black widow spiders are really gentle and delicate spiders.”

“Every animal has a reason for being here, even wasps!”

“We can all make a difference by working together.”

Nadia and Elena (small) — Nadia and her sister, Elena

For every T-shirt you buy, $1 goes to the conservation organization working to support that T-shirt’s species.

Have you done something in your community to help wildlife?

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.

How Many Different Types of Trees Live in the Amazon?

Earth Rangers

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October 18, 2013

17

How Many Different Types of Trees Live in the Amazon?

Have you ever tried to count tree species in a forest? This can be a tough job, even for smart scientists who really know their trees, that’s because some forests are really big and aren’t easy to get to because the terrain is so rugged. The Amazon Basin and Guiana Shield, cover an area the size of 48 continuous North American States! We know the Amazon is filled with extraordinary diversity of tree species but there has been a lack of knowledge about what types of plants live in the area. A new study has now helped to uncover the mystery of what trees are in the Amazon. More than 100 experts looked at information from 1,170 forest surveys that were done throughout the Amazon over the past 10 years. Their research has shown that there are 390 billion individual trees in the Amazon Basin and Guiana Shield and roughly 16,000 different species of trees!

These trees provide homes for tons of animals, some researchers estimate that one tree in the Amazon can be home to over 10,000 species of insects, that’s a ton of biodiversity. The researchers also found that some of the tree species are more common in the Amazon than others. Trees like the Brazil nut, rubber tree and acai berry tree have been cultivated and used for millennia by human populations. Not all the trees are plentiful though, roughly 6,000 tree species in the Amazon have less than 1,000 individuals left, which means they would be listed as a threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. These fascinating tree facts help us better understand Amazonia so that we can protect these amazing forests.

What types of trees live in your neighbourhood? Post your answer in the comment section below.

Find out more about this research:
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6156/1243092.abstract
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/fm-fms101413.php

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.

What in the World is Moulting?

Earth Rangers

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October 17, 2013

20

Have you ever been to a friend’s house and noticed that their dog’s or cat’s fur seems to be on everything? That’s because their pet is shedding. Like dogs and cats, birds go through a similar process known as moulting. When their feathers are damaged or get too old, the feathers are pushed out and replaced with brand new ones. Unlike dogs and cats, which shed their hair continuously (like all mammals), birds moult their feathers only once or twice each year depending on the species.

The timing and process of moulting often differs depending on the bird species; in fact, when moulting occurs it can even be different for individuals of the same bird species. Factors like time of year, location, mating, weather conditions and feather damage all play a role in when and how often a bird will moult.

One Complete Moult a Year

Hawks, owls and jays are examples of birds that will moult once a year

Many birds will go through one complete moult, where all their feathers are replaced once a year. These are birds like owls, swallows, jays, hawks and thrushes, just to name a few.

One Complete and Partial Moult a Year

Western tanagers and yellow warblers are examples of birds that will undergo one complete moult and partial moults during the year.

Some birds, like warblers and tanagers, go through one complete moult but will also lose some of their feathers before getting ready to breed (call a partial moult). After this partial moult, the males will have bright and colourful feathers to attract females.

More Than One Complete Moult a Year

A few birds, like marsh wrens and bobolinks live in areas where their feathers get damaged more often than other birds so they will go through more than one complete moult in a year.

Moulting is a very intense process and can be very taxing on birds. It takes a lot to of energy (and food) to grow new feathers! During this time, the birds will add more protein, calcium and iron to their diet. They also move around less because it is difficult for a bird to fly very much when it is growing new feathers. Even though moulting is tough for birds, growing a new set of feathers is really important. After all, feathers are vital for regulating body temperature, protection and camouflage, attracting a mate and, of course, flying!

You can help protect songbirds when you sign up for a Bring Back the Wild project to protect barn swallows.

Generously Supported By

References:
http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/animal-health/molting-in-birds/966
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/allaboutbirds/studying/feathers/molting/document_view

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.

Super Ranger Mady: The Creature Helper

Earth Rangers

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August 23, 2013

72

At Earth Rangers we always have one thing on our minds – animals! That’s why we were so excited when we discovered Earth Ranger Mady’s blog. The Creature Helper is all about animals and ways you can help protect them to make sure they stick around for a very long time. Mady is really passionate about animals and she is dedicated to raising awareness for the animals of the world!

Mady first became an Earth Ranger because she really liked playing the games on the website. Soon after joining she decided she wanted to try fundraising for an animal or two. Her first campaign was for the spotted turtle. “I really like turtles and since I didn’t know much about them, this was a good way to learn more.”

Mady’s passion for learning about animals led her to a second campaign for the American badger. Before the campaign she had no idea what an American badger was or that it is endangered. She set her goal to $1,000 and learned a whole lot about this burrowing species.

Mady at her yard sale for the American Badger — Mady at her yard sale for the American badger

She asked her family and friends to donate to her campaign in place of birthday and Christmas gifts, made fridge magnets and sold them in her school and held a yard sale. Then, in a true act of generousity, Mady chose to sell her iPod in order to reach her goal. “I received an iPad mini as a present in June this year. Since I had bought my iPod with my own money, my parents said it was up to me if I wanted to sell it. At the time, I was about $100 short of my goal. I knew selling my iPod would put me over the top, and I didn’t need both devices, so I sold it and reached my goal.”

Another way Mady is helping to raise awareness for animals is through her blog, The Creature Helper. “I try to feature animals that are endangered or unnoticed, like manatees. I look online for information and I always learn a lot about a variety of animals through my research.”

When she’s not researching and writing her blog Mady loves photography. She even sold some of her pictures at the yard sale she held as a fundraiser for the American badger. She also enjoys drawing and playing the piano.

Thank you Mady for your commitment to helping animals!

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.

Super Ranger Amanda and her Super Community Clean Up

Earth Rangers

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August 2, 2013

82

Super Ranger Amanda and her Super Community Clean Up

Being an Earth Ranger doesn’t stop when your campaign ends. Being an Earth Ranger means being a steward for the earth every day. Super Ranger Amanda is a perfect example of an Earth Ranger who took action in her own community. Take a look at Amanda’s story.

Amanda is a 9-year-old who loves animals and being outdoors. She loves nature and does whatever she can to preserve and protect all living things. She does not like when people litter and don’t keep the environment clean.

Amanda heard about Earth Rangers through her Dad who works with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority who shares office space with Earth Rangers in Ontario. After hearing about the Bring Back the Wild Program, she knew that Earth Rangers was the perfect fit for her!

This year was a very exciting year for Amanda as she was instrumental in bringing Earth Rangers to her school in Manitoba. Her school enjoyed their presentation and many students signed up to be Earth Rangers as a result.

To show her love of nature and to involve other like-minded students at her school, Amanda, with the help of a friend, collected photos from students that they took over the summer of things in nature and compiled and published a hard cover book called, “The Beauty of Nature”. The book is now available for borrowing at her school’s library.

Amanda’s latest campaign for Earth Rangers is to help the Polar bear. She embarked on an email campaign to family and friends and committed to collecting 125 pounds of garbage around her community. She is well on her way to reaching that goal!

Recently, Amanda organized a Creek and Community Clean Up in her area that included classmates, parents, teachers and neighbours. She celebrated after with a hot dog BBQ in her yard where all the volunteers were presented with a Certificate of Appreciation from her local municipality. The Councillor for her area was in attendance and made the presentation. At the BBQ, she set up a table dedicated to nature and Earth Rangers where people could make donations to Earth Rangers, sign up for a nature club and talk about why it is important for everyone to do their part.

Amanda’s story is truly inspirational. She shows us that if you put your mind to it, you can make a real difference for your community. Amanda hopes to make the Creek and Community Clean Up an annual event and we wish her all the success in the world.

Have you done anything to help the environment in your community?
Let us know in the comment section below.

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.

Meet Vanessa – Making a Difference, One Animal at a Time

Earth Rangers

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July 17, 2013

92

Meet Vanessa – Making a Difference, One Animal at a Time

How do you choose which animal you want to protect? Do you choose them because of where they live, how endangered they are, or their level of cuteness? For this Super Ranger, choosing which animals she wanted to fundraise for was easy! Take a look at Vanessa’s inspiring story!

Meet Vanessa! Vanessa first decided to become an Earth Ranger after seeing an Earth Rangers show at her local museum where she met Timber the Pine marten. After seeing Timber jump from one perch to another to demonstrate his natural agility, she was inspired to start a Bring Back the Wild campaign, “I wanted to support the Pine marten because we have a forest behind our house that we really love and one of the reasons the Pine marten is endangered is because they are losing their forest habitat. Plus, they’re super cute!”

Vanessa with Mandy and Animal Ambassador Timber the Pine marten.

Vanessa enjoyed protecting the Pine marten so much that one campaign wasn’t enough. Since Vanessa and her family love listening to the songbirds that live in and around their backyard, she chose to start a campaign to help the Wood thrush.

With the help of her friends and family, Vanessa collected an amazing $105! That left her just $20 short of her goal. Determined to reach her goal, Vanessa decided to take $20 out of her vacation fund. Vanessa’s dedication to protecting the Wood thrush not only blew all of us here at Earth Rangers away, but also some other pretty important people. The people at Holcim, the Wood thrush project sponsor, were so impressed they decided to match her donation, doubling her total to $250!

Vanessa loves to draw animals, especially owls!

Vanessa’s love for nature runs so deeply that when she isn’t fundraising to protect animals through Bring Back the Wild, she is protecting them in her own backyard. Last year, her family raised three monarch caterpillars and when they turned into butterflies they released them into the wild. This year they put up an owl nesting box in their yard. “I like putting up bird houses so that birds have a safe place to nest. Right now we have chickadees feeding their babies in one of the bird houses! This is why Earth Rangers fundraising is so important to me, because I can truly make a difference protecting many different species!”

Thank you Vanessa for your commitment to helping animals!

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.

Earth Rangers

Earth Rangers

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.

Brown Bear (Ursus arctos)

Himalayan Tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus)

Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus)

Tibetan sand fox (Vulpes ferrilata)

Himalayan Marmot (Marmota himalayana)

Kiang (Equus kiang)

Chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii)

Tibetan gazelle (Procapra picticaudata)

Yak (Bos mutus)

Alpine Chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus)

If you think animals are amazing, the Earth Rangers Podcast is for you!

A BIG thank you to Sophia and her awesome cast: Jacqueline, Francessca, Emma W, Tithi and Emma R.

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.

See if you can come up with the best caption!

Post your ideas in the comment section below.

Looking for more fun stuff? Check out our other captions, try and figure out a pixel puzzler, take a quiz or watch a cool video!

Wise Words from Nadia

For every T-shirt you buy, $1 goes to the conservation organization working to support that T-shirt’s species.

Have you done something in your community to help wildlife?

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.

What types of trees live in your neighbourhood? Post your answer in the comment section below.

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.

One Complete Moult a Year

One Complete and Partial Moult a Year

More Than One Complete Moult a Year

You can help protect songbirds when you sign up for a Bring Back the Wild project to protect barn swallows.

Generously Supported By

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.

Thank you Mady for your commitment to helping animals!

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.

Have you done anything to help the environment in your community? Let us know in the comment section below.

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.

Thank you Vanessa for your commitment to helping animals!

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.

Have you done anything to help the environment in your community?
Let us know in the comment section below.