What’s on your list of things to do in 2015? Get inspired by some of these animal New Year’s resolutions then share your ideas for how to make this year the best one yet!
Meet 10-year-old Nicholas, an Earth Ranger who has done some amazing things to help protect animals.
Nicholas first learned about Earth Rangers when we visited his school in Manitoba. Since then he has been busy doing his part to preserve the wild spaces that animals call home.
Nicholas accepted the Battery Blitz Mission and went to his dad’s work to collect batteries. He collected 400 batteries!
To support the For the Birds Mission he came up with his own design for a bird feeder that will help birds in the winter and hopefully protect the seeds from squirrels!
For the Homemade Holiday Mission, Nicolas made a very cool card out of a used pizza box and recycled paper. It can even be used as a Christmas card holder or a stocking for holiday goodies!
Nicholas is also working to help the western screech owl. He made this awesome western screech owl poster and made a presentation at his school to help raise awareness and funds for his campaign. He is also shovelling driveways in his community and plans to host a Bring Back the Wild Birthday party in the spring to support his campaign.
“We need to help protect all animals so people in the future will be able to enjoy them. I try my best to help animals. I pick up garbage when I see it on the street or in a park. I recycle paper and plastic at home. I even made a bird feeder out of a plastic bottle that I recycled.”
Around this time of year, when most trees are bare and winter is near, do you ever look up and see a ball of leaves high in the branches? If you have spotted one of these leaf balls you might be standing at the doorstep of a squirrel’s home!
Most ground squirrels hibernate in winter, but not the Eastern grey squirrel. Eastern grey squirrels stay active all year round. Throughout the winter, you can see them running around digging small holes in the snow looking for nuts that they hid in the summer and fall. Eastern grey squirrels stay warm at night in nests. They will use existing tree cavities, but if none are available they will build a leaf ball home called a ‘drey’. These balls of leaves actually have three parts: the base; the outer layer and the inner core. Squirrels build the base for their nest out of sticks so that the nest has lots of support. The outer layer of leaves looks messy and fluffy but it really helps to block the cold wind. Inside, the nest has an inner, warmer core of leaves tightly woven or packed together with grass and thin strips of tree bark. In the extreme cold, two squirrels may share the same nest to help stay warm.
• Squirrels are in the rodent family
• Worldwide there are 262 species of squirrels
• Twenty-two species of squirrels live in Canada, six of which nest in trees, like the Eastern grey squirrel; the other 16 live in dens or burrows in the ground
• Eastern grey squirrels have two different colour types, grey and black. Scientists think the black colour is an adaptation to cold winters in Canada
Many species use camouflage to help them survive, click here to see some animals that are incredibly good at blending into their environment. But not all animals can be the best at hiding, sometimes they don’t get it quite right. Check out this countdown of animals with the worst hiding spots.
Eight-year-old Lucy is a dedicated Earth Ranger who is always looking for ways to keep our planet healthy.
She is especially concerned with all of the batteries that she sees on the streets and playgrounds in the community where she lives. With permission from her mom, Lucy picks up batteries so she can properly recycle them at her local depot. “I worry about the batteries polluting the soil and getting into the food supply of squirrels and raccoons. I feel good knowing I’m doing something to help.”
Lucy first learned about Earth Rangers when she attended an Earth Rangers presentation at the Royal Ontario Museum. She has completed Bring Back the Wild campaigns for the barn swallow and the bobolink. Lucy also recycles, composts and brings litter-free lunches to school.
Thank you, Lucy, for helping to keep your community clean. Collecting and recycling batteries properly is extremely important because batteries can have a serious impact on the environment and animals that need healthy and clean habitats to survive. Find out more about recycling batteries with the Earth Rangers Battery Blitz Mission.
Have you ever walked outside on an icy cold winter’s day and forgotten to put your coat on? It was probably only a matter of seconds before you realized your mistake and quickly dashed back inside for warmth and a nice hot cup of cocoa! Animals that survive in the Arctic very rarely have this problem. They are adapted to survive long winters (up to 10 months) of snowfall, ice, periods of little sunlight and freezing cold temperatures that are sometimes well below – 30° Celsius! Let’s take a look at some of the ways Arctic wildlife are able to live in this harsh climate.
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about adaptations to the cold is of course having a thick fur coat. Most Arctic animals have a fur coat surrounding their body that usually thickens as winter approaches.
Some animals in the Arctic can reach enormous sizes and survive the cold because of thick amounts of fat and blubber around their body. The fat acts like an insulator, trapping heat and keeping animals warm on land and in the North’s frigid and icy waters! Polar bears can weigh up to 600 kg and possess a thick layer of fat and blubber that they use for both warmth and energy, especially when sea ice has melted and they can no longer hunt for prey. Aquatic species also use a thick layer of fat to keep warm in the water, including hooded, ringed and bearded seals, as well as walrus that can have a layer of blubber over two inches thick! Female seals will also produce milk for their pups that is very high in fat to help their babies grow quickly and develop their own layers of blubber to survive the icy water.
Snow and ice are characteristic features of life in the Arctic, which means to survive animals need specific physical characteristics to help them get around. Wolverines have large paws that act like snowshoes to keep them from sinking in deep snow. Arctic hare have long, thick claws to help them climb over piles of snow and dig dens for shelter from the cold and wind and protection from predators.
Living in the Arctic can be tricky, but these animals are adapted to these extreme conditions, allowing them to call this chilly place “home”! If you could use one of these animal adaptations to stay warm this winter which one would you choose? 1) Growing thicker hair, 2) Adding a layer of blubber, 3) Shortening your nose and ears or 4) Growing bigger paws to cross deep piles of snow?
This article was written by honorary Earth Ranger Luana. Luana Sciullo is a doctoral student in the Department of Biology at York University where she works with researchers at Environment Canada to investigate long-term shifts in Polar bear foraging ecology and body condition in relation to environmental change in Western Hudson Bay.
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At Earth Rangers, we ask some very serious questions. Can flamingos bust a move? What’s the top track on a zebra’s playlist? What happens when a baby rhino can’t find his mom? Will that tarsier ever let go of that stick? Find out the answers to these important questions in this video—and try not to laugh too hard!
If animals could talk, what do you think they’d say?
Have you ever made your own paper? Using paper can’t get much more environmentally friendly than this. Plus, it’s really fun too! Take your Homemade Holiday Mission to the
next level by getting your family together and use these instructions to make your own paper for your Homemade Holiday cards!
Here’s What You’ll Need
Special Notes:
– Used paper can include old paper, newspaper, used envelopes, even junk mail (just make sure the paper isn’t glossy).
– Use the cookies sheet to catch water and the cutting board for flattening.
– When looking for a cloth, make sure it isn’t a face cloth or bath towel as a textured material will stick to your paper.
– You can substitute any of these items if you come across something that you think would work better.
Rip up your paper into small pieces. Put the pieces into your leak-proof plastic container with just enough warm water to cover all the pieces and let it soak for about 30 minutes.
TIP: Add some glitter to the mix if you want your paper to sparkle!
While you are waiting for your paper pieces to soak, it’s the perfect time to make your screen. Have an adult bend your wire hanger into a rectangle. Next stretch the old pantyhose over the wire frame.
TIP: You can use duct tape to secure the edges if needed.
Are the 30 minutes up? Great! Add a little bit more warm water to your container, toss in your marbles and close it tightly. The amount water you use depends on how many paper pieces you have and how thin you want your finished paper to be. You may need to do a little experimenting. With the help of an adult shake the container until the paper has broken down and the mixture has thickened. Once you’ve removed your marbles, your paper pulp is ready!
TIP: Want a faster way to make the paper pulp? Instead of using marbles and a container, put the soaked paper pieces and water into a kitchen blender! Always remember to ask an adult before using kitchen appliances.
Place your homemade screen over the cookie sheet and pour your paper pulp over the screen until it is covered evenly. Don’t worry if you have extra pulp, it means you can make another sheet!
TIP: If your pulp is too thick, put it back in the container, add more water and mix again.
Put a clean cloth over the pulp and place your cutting board on top. Now squeeze the cutting board and cookie sheet together as hard as you can. This will help you get rid of some of the extra water while flattening your paper at the same time. Drain the extra water. Remove the cutting board and press your sponge on the cloth to soak up more water. Absorb as much water as you can. The more water you absorb, the faster your paper will dry.
Flip your screen over so the cloth is facing downward and gently scratch the screen with your finger nails or the tip of a spoon. This will help the paper detach from the screen.
TIP: Feel free to replace your cloth before flipping the screen if you think it is too wet.
Carefully remove your screen and set your paper and cloth aside to dry. Once it’s completely dry, carefully peal off your paper. If you notice your paper isn’t as flat as you want it, put it between two books for a while.
When your paper is flattened to your liking, you have made your own paper!
Want to make something fun with your homemade paper? Accept your Homemade Holiday Mission to make homemade holiday cards out of materials from around your house.
Did you know that countries have national birds? Here’s our countdown of some of the weirdest looking national birds from all around the world. If you could pick your country’s national bird, which species would you choose? Leave a comment to share your suggestion.
These animals are in the Halloween spirit year round thanks to their striking black and orange colouring. We’ve given them some fun captions to share what we think they’d have to say about Halloween! Can you think of any other animals that remind you of Halloween? Share your suggestions below.
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