Take this quiz to see how much you know about freshwater and climate change

We’ve got a resource to help you answer the questions! Check it out here.

Join the Big Splash Challenge, and log your habits to help protect water!

The post Quiz: Freshwater and Climate Change first appeared on Earth Rangers.

Climate change is making waves, affecting everything in the ocean. Take this quiz to see how much you know about oceans and climate change. 

We’ve got a resource to help you answer the questions! Check it out here.

Join the Big Splash Challenge, and log your habits to help protect water!

The post Quiz: Oceans and Climate Change first appeared on Earth Rangers.

Dive into the deep blue and discover the secrets of the water that covers our planet. We’ve got a treasure trove of mermaid-approved tricks to help you save water! Join this Challenge to uncover small, everyday habits that make a big difference to the planet.

When you dive into this challenge, you can enjoy…

Log your climate-friendly habits to help us reach our 120,000 habit goal, and unlock a donation to water conservation. You can also unlock treasures like a coloring page, sand dollar cookie recipe, and a shell necklace for your avatar. Let’s make a BIG SPLASH!

Join the Big Splash Challenge now! Together, we can create waves of positive change.

The post Big Splash Challenge first appeared on Earth Rangers.

The Mysterious Earthworm

It might surprise you to find out that we don’t know a whole lot about many species of earthworm. We know they come in different colors. Some live in trees, some live in lakes, and one type of Australian earthworm can grow to be up to three meters long! We know that the roles earthworms play in their ecosystems are complex. (They’re sometimes called ‘ecosystem engineers.’) That’s why it’s important to understand HOW earthworms are distributed and what effect they’re having on the ecosystems they’re in.

Invasion of the Earthworms

First, let’s talk about how earthworms came to Canada. There were almost NO earthworms in Canada after the last ice age. People brought them here from Asia and Europe because earthworms are often great for gardens and agriculture – they aerate the soil and they make nutrients more available to plants. But it’s not all good news. When non-native species are brought to a new place, there can be consequences.

Into the Woods

Earthworms can become a problem when they end up in our forests. They decompose leaf litter, a thick layer of decaying leaves that native plants and animals rely on. Earthworms do it much faster than native decomposers. This can cause biodiversity loss and the release of greenhouse gases – two things we definitely DON’T want.

But HOW do earthworms end up where they’re not supposed to be? Blame it on people. Earthworms are often spread when people use them as fishing bait, put them into their gardens, or move soil or plants around.

We can appreciate the good work worms do in our gardens, but make every effort to keep them out of the forests where they can do harm. Avoid moving soil or wood into forests because worms can hide in even the smallest amounts of both. And, if you’re going fishing, definitely do not leave your bait behind.

A New Friend!

Everyone who logged a habit during the Gross Out Challenge will unlock a special Worm Buddy for your avatar in the Earth Rangers App! Visit the Community Rewards section of the Challenge to learn more. We’re proud to support the work Stephen Paterson is doing, so in honor of our Gross-Out Challenge, we’re making a donation to contribute to his important research.

The post Earth Rangers, You Squashed the Gross Out Challenge! first appeared on Earth Rangers.

Here’s something you can toot, burp, wipe your nose, or slime about! It’s our newest climate change-fighting Challenge: Gross Out! Get ready to log some stinky, mucky and super-yucky habits!

When you join this challenge, you will do things like…

Fighting climate change can be fun, rewarding, and TOTALLY GROSS—in a good way! Every small habit you log brings us closer to reaching our goal of 120,000 habits logged! Plus, you’ll earn awesome rewards along the way, like some slime hands, a slime recipe, or your very own worm buddy!

Get your hands dirty by joining the Gross Out Challenge now! When we work together, climate change doesn’t stand a chance.

The post Gross Out Challenge first appeared on Earth Rangers.

The problem with plastic is that it takes a really (we mean REALLY) long time to break down. And when it finally does, it doesn’t actually disappear. It just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics, which then get into the air, our water, and our food.

See if you can guess how long each plastic item takes to break down into microplastic!

Join the Rangers vs. Plastics Challenge and help us kick plastic waste out of the game for good!

When you join this challenge, you will do things like…

Look for it in the Challenges section of the Earth Rangers App.

The post How long till it’s “gone”? first appeared on Earth Rangers.

If being climate-friendly were a sport, plastic waste would be off the team! Not only is it bad for the planet, animals, and us, but it’s just about everywhere. It’s been found in the water we drink, the food we eat, and even the air we breathe. This unsportsmanlike behaviour won’t stand! Join this Challenge and help us kick plastic waste out of the game for good!

When you join this challenge, you will…

Join Team Ranger as we work together to defeat Team Plastic! Every habit you log will get us one step closer to reaching our goal of logging 125,000 habits! When we reach this goal, a donation will be made to help ringed seals. But that’s not all! Everyone who helped us get there will earn a free ringed seal digital adoption kit too! We can hear the crowd cheering “hip, hip, hooray” already!

Join the Rangers vs Plastic Challenge now! When we work together, climate change doesn’t stand a chance.

The post Rangers vs Plastic Challenge first appeared on Earth Rangers.

You can see the full video in the All Taste, No Waste Challenge toolkit! Look for it in the Challenges section in the App!

The post Hanging Out in the Kitchen with Chef Sam first appeared on Earth Rangers.

Food waste is a big problem, and as Canadians, we waste a lot of it—2.2 million tonnes of food a year, to be exact. That’s like throwing away the weight of 1000 elephants worth of food every day! As that food breaks down, it releases more greenhouse gases than 2 million cars.

Can you guess how much food we throw out every day in Canada?

The post Quiz: How much food do we throw away every day? first appeared on Earth Rangers.

Food jokes are fun, but food waste is not. And it’s something we need to taco’bout!

Food waste is what you call food scraps and leftover bits that you don’t eat. It might seem harmless, but it’s a big climate change problem. Here’s why:

When food is thrown in the garbage it usually ends up in the landfill. While there, it’s broken down by teeny tiny microbes, like mold, germs, and bacteria. In the process, they create methane, one of the strongest greenhouse gases—it can trap 25 TIMES more heat than carbon dioxide!

Worm Food to the Rescue!

Luckily, there is a really easy way to use your food waste to help the planet instead. Compost it!

A compost bin is a special container that helps your food break down. It is a paradise for bacteria, fungi, bugs, and worms who turn your leftovers into black gold. This black gold, also known as fertilizer, is really good for plants because it’s filled with nutrients from the food. Even better, compost bins have lots of oxygen in them, which those methane-making microbes hate! 

A Big Composting No-No

Food like meat, dairy, raw eggs, and fat can turn your black gold into an unusable muck! They can carry diseases that get into the fertilizer and end up hurting your plants. They can also be really smelly, which attracts animals. Make sure to keep those foods out of your compost bin!

Making black gold is one of the habits in the All Taste, No Waste Challenge. Look for it in the Challenge section of the Earth Rangers App to get more climate-friendly habits that will help you say “so long” to food waste!

The post Make Worm Food first appeared on Earth Rangers.