Carbon Footprint Investigation: School Supply Edition
Earth Rangers, let’s get ready for school with a twist—by being Earth-friendly! Use your investigation skills to prepare for the new school year with supplies that are better for the planet or can help lower your carbon footprint.
We’ve created a handy guide below to help!
Getting ready for school doesn’t mean you need to buy a lot of new stuff! Start by checking what you already have at home. You might find half-used notebooks or supplies from last year that just need a little care to be as good as new! Instead of buying new supplies, give your old items a makeover. It’s a great way to reduce waste and make the most of what you already have!
Here are some tips for eco-friendly back-to-school prep:
Look for items with minimal or recyclable packaging. Less packaging means less waste!
Choose things made from recycled or non-toxic materials. These are better for the planet and for you!
Paperand Notebooks – Take out your magnifying glass and check to see that your notebooks and paper have labels that say they’re made from recycled or upcycled products. This can help protect trees and reduce waste!
Pencils – Look for pencils made from recycled materials or sustainably sourced wood – pay attention to the special symbol on the box!
Erasers: If you need a new eraser, pick one made from recycled rubber.
Glue – When it comes to glue, look for ‘non-toxic’ first. You can also look for a label that says ‘eco-friendly’ or ‘made from plants.’
Crayons and Markers –Certain crayons and markers are made using solar power, which is a nice bonus. You can also choose crayons made of sustainably sourced beeswax instead of paraffin wax.
Backpacks –If you’ve got a backpack at home, give it a refresh! A trip through the washing machine or adding some fun buttons or pins can make it feel like new.
For more cool ideas, check out the Creative Corner in the Earth Rangers app. There, you’ll find fun ideas like how to make a bookmark or a pencil holder!
Ready to take your detective skills to the next level? Join the Carbon Footprint Investigation mission today and find even more ways to shrink your carbon footprint!
Did you know you can lower your carbon footprint by making smarter choices when you shop? Learn more in the Carbon Footprint Investigation Mission in the Earth Rangers App!
Did you adopt a moose, river otter, or Eastern wolf this past year? You’re not alone! Kids across Canada adopted a whopping 674 of these animals in 2023 and 2024 — that’s almost 700!
I’m Megan Quinn, a conservation biologist at the Nature Conservancy of Canada. I’m so grateful to everyone who has adopted a Northern river otter, a moose, or an Eastern wolf. Proceeds from these adoptions help me do really important work in Eastern Ontario to protect these species and their habitats. By following along with my journey in the field, you are helping to highlight how critical this work is.
You have also given me a lot of hope! When I was growing up, I didn’t have access to any nature, so I didn’t know how important conservation was. I have always loved animals, and wanted to help them, but I didn’t know how. By being an Earth Ranger, you are already way ahead of where I was, so I can’t wait to see where you’ll go!
I’ve appreciated all the great questions you’ve asked, and the curiosity you’ve shown. Even if I didn’t get to answer your question in a video, I read every single one, and they’ve inspired me to keep going in my work.
My job isn’t always easy! It can be physically exhausting, hot, uncomfortable, and full of biting insects, but knowing that you all care about these species as much as I do inspires me to keep going! Thank you for letting me share my work with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and my world with you.
I’m so excited to tell you about everything my team accomplished this past year — all thanks to you!
Springtime in the Forest
Spring is one of my favourite times to be a conservation biologist. The early spring flowers are starting to appear, and the forest floor is covered in white, purple, and yellow as the Bloodroot, Spring Beauties, and Trout Lily flowers appear. The animals also arrive too, whether they’re coming out of hibernation or returning from their migration routes. Suddenly, the forests and wetlands of Eastern Ontario start to feel alive.
Spring is also when our new conservation technicians start their work. If you want a job where you get to protect the earth every day, you might want to work with the Nature Conservancy of Canada as a conservation technician one day! It’s a great way to learn about the animals and plants that live in these unique ecosystems.
Fun fact: being a conservation technician was my first environmental job when I graduated from college. I love teaching our technicians how to do surveys, identify species, and navigate around the forests and wetlands For many technicians, this is their first environmental job, so they are eager to get started.
Our conservation technician Rishona filmed these Northern river otters playing — right outside of our office! It’s always such a joy to see them having fun! By protecting their habitat, and working to restore it, the Nature Conservancy of Canada makes sure these otters will have safe places to live and play for generation to come.
On the Trail
My team and I have been doing a lot of trail maintenance this year! Many Nature Conservancy of Canada properties have trails where you can go for a hike. This lets you experience these wonderful areas without damaging them or stressing out the wildlife that live there.
This year, I learned how to do something new: use a chainsaw!
In March, I took special training to learn how to use a chainsaw safely. When I first became a conservation biologist, I had no idea that it would involve using a chainsaw. But this job has taught me to use all sorts of tools and think creatively.
I had never used a chainsaw before, and at first, I was quite scared. It’s a heavy piece of equipment, and you can hurt yourself if you don’t use it properly. But just like any challenge, if you have the right guidance and attitude, you can overcome your fear. I’m really proud that I can now safely use a chainsaw to keep our forests in Eastern Ontario healthy and accessible for everyone.
When trees fall down across trails, it makes it difficult for people to hike. That’s why we use chainsaws to cut a path. It’s always really sad when a tree falls down. But luckily, even though the tree isn’t growing anymore, it still has a really important role to play in the ecosystem. As the tree starts to decompose, it puts nutrients back into the soil. These nutrients help the next generation of trees grow. The trunk of the tree also becomes great habitat for birds, insects, and small mammals. In order for new trees to grow, they need sunlight. A tree falling down opens up the canopy for more sunlight to get in, which means more trees can grow.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Another task I enjoy is working with our partners. I work across a really big area in Eastern Ontario, so I need to talk to a lot of people to make sure the work gets done.
In January, I went to a big meeting to talk about phragmites. Phragmites are an invasive grass species that takes over our wetlands. and makes it hard for species like the Northern river otter and the moose to find food and habitat. We have been removing phragmites for many years in Eastern Ontario. By working together with our friends and neighbours, we can clear more of it, and we can make sure everyone knows the correct way to remove it. Invasive species removal works a lot better when you work as a team!
In April, with the help of our friends and neighbours, we removed six huge garbage bags of invasive species that had escaped from people’s gardens onto one of our properties. If I tried to do that by myself, it would take days! But because we had 12 people, it only took a few hours.
Over the last few months, I’ve also been talking to a lot of people in the community about the work the Nature Conservancy of Canada does. I’ve given presentations to students at Arnprior High School and Queen’s University. I even took student volunteers from the Canadian Wildlife Federation on a guided snowshoe hike to talk about how to identify trees when they don’t have any leaves. You also may have seen me in your school, talking about Northern river otters! It’s important to talk about these species. That way, people who don’t work with them every day, like I do, will know how important they are, and how to protect them.
Working with Animals When You Grow Up
If you want to work outside and protect species like the Northern river Otter, the moose, and the Eastern wolf, you can be a conservation biologist too!
My first piece of advice would be to keep asking questions. Being curious about the environment is really important, because the more questions you ask, the more you’ll learn. I encourage you to learn about the species and habitats that are in your community. You can do this whether you live in a big city, a small town, or a rural area. Using apps like Seek or iNaturalist on your phone will help you to learn more about what you see outside.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada has properties across the country, and you can visit many of them to go hiking. You could ask your parents to volunteer at one of our Conservation Volunteer events. This is a great way to meet your local conservation biologist, do something good for the planet, and learn about the nature where you live. All of this will give you a head-start to being a conservation technician with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and one day, a conservation biologist like me.
But you don’t need to wait to grow up to make a difference! There are things you can do right now to help the planet, like planting a native flower garden, raising awareness in your school, and continuing to be an Earth Ranger.
Hi, I’m Nick Paroshy! I study polar bears at the University of Alberta. This past year, Earth Rangers like you adopted a whopping 478 polar bears. That’s almost 500 polar bears! Because of your support, I spent this past year in the Arctic Circle, studying how polar bears move through the ice, snow, and sea.
Researching animals takes a team. Because so many of you adopted polar bears, I knew I had the best team supporting me. I wouldn’t have been able to complete as much of my project — or have as much fun talking about polar bears — without you. Hopefully, everything I’ve learned while researching polar bears will help us make changes, as a team, to protect polar bears and their habitat!
I’m so excited to tell you about everything I accomplished thanks to your polar bear adoptions!
Here’s a picture of me with one of the polar bears we tracked! This bear is safe and sound asleep.
This past year, I traveled to the Arctic Circle. My job was to find polar bears on the sea ice and put special collars on them. These collars help researchers like me follow polar bears wherever they go!
Bears spend most their time traveling on the sea ice, looking for food. Their habitat is huge, and they can walk and swim a long way! When their habitat changes, like when sea ice melts because of climate change, it becomes harder for polar bears to find food, get around, and raise their babies.
For my project, I tried to learn more about where polar bears spend their time. If we know that, we can do a better job of protecting their habitat.
Have you ever wondered how you find a polar bear in the Arctic? You just follow their pawprints! Follow a trail of polar bear pawprints–also known as tracks–and you just might find a bear!
But tracks can be hard to spot. Check out this photo I took: Can you spot the polar bear tracks?
Wildlife adoptions aren’t the only way you can protect animals! Small actions make big changes. Encourage your friends, your parents, and your family to care about polar bears. Together, we can protect polar bears, seals, caribou, and all the other animals in Canada’s Arctic. We need kids just like you to be curious about science. You can study animals the same way I do, and when you grow up, you can have a career in conservation! Maybe I’ll even meet some of you out on the sea ice someday!
Last week on the Wild Wire blog, we told you that, this past year, Earth Rangers across Canada and the United States adopted over 200 jaguars! Every jaguar adoption kit sold supported the International Conservation Fund of Canada (ICFC) and Osa Conservation. These organizations protect native habitat for jaguars in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula, a beautiful and diverse rainforest ecosystem. Today, we’re here with even more good news – especially for future scientists and conservationists!
From Earth Rangers to Rainforest Protectors
You’re an Earth Ranger now – but did you know that you can be a ranger when you grow up, too? Wildlife rangers and park rangers are people whose job is to protect nature! They patrol protected land, monitor wild animals, combat poaching, work with local communities, manage natural disasters, and show tourists the beauty of nature.
Osa Conservation brings together dozens of volunteer rangers from all over Costa Rica to protect the natural resources of their home. These rangers are also known as Rainforest Protectors. In 2023, they carried out fourteen field expeditions to conserve wildlife in the Osa Peninsula’s rainforest — including, of course, jaguars! They patrolled 31,076.2 kilometres (19,309 miles) and logged 22,587 observations of 6,535 plant, animal, and insect species.
“We do not want generations to grow up without knowing was lives in these forests,” said Yolanda Rodriguez, one of Osa Conservation’s Rainforest Protectors. “What is in the forest is ours; it is our responsibility to protect it.”
Thanks to these Rainforest Protectors, the species that live and grow in the Osa Peninsula are being well-cared for. And future generations of conservationists and scientists have even more information about this incredibly biodiverse rainforest!
Want to Work in the Rainforest When You Grow Up?
If you want to protect the rainforest when you grow up, here’s some good news: You can! Osa Conservation has a beautiful campus in the middle of the rainforest where conservationists come from all over the world to study and learn.
In 2023, Osa Conservation gave five young conservationists full scholarships to live on the Osa Peninsula for six months and study the beautiful and unique rainforest ecosystem. These young ecologists and biologists had the chance to learn from more experienced conservationists and research wildlife that they wouldn’t encounter anywhere else!
From studying native plants to measuring the impact of microplastics to building treetop bridges for animals like monkeys, these young scientists all made the Osa Peninsula a safer and more comfortable place for jaguars. You made their scholarships possible by adopting jaguars. Maybe, a few years in the future, you’ll become a scientist and receive a scholarship of your own!
The Jaguars Thank You!
Or, at least, they would if they could talk! For now, please accept a big round of applause from all of us at Earth Rangers, and from our friends at Osa Conservation and the International Conservation Fund of Canada, for all your hard work protecting jaguars, supporting conservation science, and protecting the rainforest.
We got tons of great guesses on Part 1 of this Pixel Puzzler and now it’s time for the answer. Are you ready for the great reveal? Find out if you got it right!
The answer to this Pixel Puzzler is (drum roll please) Lemur! How did you do? Tell us in the comments!
Have you ever wondered what arctic research is really like? Today I’m talking to not 1, not 2 but 3 real-life scientists who help to protect animals in the arctic. Bundle up and tune in!
Emma’s interviewed THREE amazing scientists: Yifeng Wang, Katie Florko, and Nick Paroshy. These three have been working hard high up in the cold to help Polar Bears, Ringed Seals, and Caribou. Your help has allowed Earth Rangers to fund their research by sending money from plush adoption kits to save these beautiful animals.
But because of climate change, caribou are having a harder time finding food to eat and places to live. Polar bears who rely on sea ice for food, struggle because their habitat keeps melting as temperatures rise. Ringed seals depend on this ice for food and protection from predators, making it hard for them to protect and feed themselves.
Katie Florko has been in charge of studying how to protect ringed seals. Working in Churchill, her job to fly over the arctic to find ringed seals and fit them with special tags that track how they move and act underwater. If we understand where seals go, and what they do, we can learn more about how to protect them and their habitat. Once the data collected, she traveled to Tokyo, Japan, to share her discoveries with scientists from all around the world!
Earth Rangers across Canada adopted over 250 ringed seals to help her with this project. That’s an incredible amount!
Over the summer, Yifeng Wang went to the permafrost peatlands to collect data to predict how the permafrost might respond to climate warming. As the climate warms, shrubs growing in areas that used to be shrub-free making the permafrost thaw, which means that caribou have less access to food and water. In winter she went to Labrador to work with the communities there to organize events to help everyone learn and come up with solutions to together to fight climate change and protect the peatlands together.
She’s been able to do this thanks to the incredible help of 150 Earth Rangers who adopted caribou plushies. You too can help Caribou research by supporting scientist Claudia Haas by adopting a caribou of your own in the Earth Rangers store!
Nick Paroshy traveled up to the Arctic Circle to learn all about how polar bears move across their territory, and how we can help them when this land changes. From the safety of a helicopter, Nick will fly all over the Beaufort Sea to scout polar bears, and tag them to track their movements. To do this, they need to tranquilize the bears, since humans cannot safely approach these majestic predators.
An amazing 478 Earth Rangers helped Nick in saving Polar bears! You contribution has been a huge support!
Want to help out too? Go check out the current animal plush kits in the Earth Rangers shop – all of them are tied to real scientific research and will support these people in saving the animals you adopt! Don’t have any money to buy a plushy? Don’t worry! Wildlife adoptions aren’t the only way you can protect animals! Small actions, like challenges and missions, can go a huge way to helping fight for animals.
This will be our last episode for a while – Emma took the rest of the summer to prepare for her next adventure (a really special one at that!). Don’t worry – we’ll be back soon with a brand-new season and it will definitely be worth the wait.
Did you learn anything from Emma’s meetup with these super-scientists? Were you one of the cool Earth Rangers who had helped support their work? Which animal did you adopt? A comment below!
Hi, I’m Yifeng Wang! I study geography at Queen’s University. This past year, I’ve been busy in the permafrost peatlands of Newfoundland and Labrador, where herds of caribou roam. In the peatlands, thick layers of decaying plants called peat help the ground stay frozen. Lichen and plants that caribou love to eat grow all over the peatlands.
But because of climate change, caribou are having a harder time finding food to eat and places to live. I’ve been studying the ways that the permafrost is changing so that we can figure out how to protect caribou for generations to come.
This past year, Earth Rangers across Canada adopted nearly 150 caribou! I really appreciate your support. It makes me so happy to know that there are so many young people out there who are invested in the conservation of permafrost peatlands as critical habitat for caribou. You’ve made a tremendous contribution to my work! Here’s everything that I’ve been able to accomplish because of your adoptions.
Too Many Shrubs, Too Much Snow!
This past year has been very busy. I’ve been working with the data I collected from my study sites last summer. It helps us understand the condition of the permafrost. We are using the data to predict how the permafrost might respond to climate warming, shrub growth, and snow trapping. As the climate warms, shrubs are growing taller. They’re spreading into areas that used to be shrub-free. As the shrubs grow taller, they trap snow, which insulates and warms the ground. This ultimately makes the permafrost thaw, which means that caribou have less access to food and water. I’m using my data to predict how much the permafrost will change because of the increase in shrubs and snow.
Caribou in the Community
This winter, I went back to coastal Labrador to visit Cartwright and Black Tickle, two of the communities that we work in. I made sure that all of our weather stations were in tip-top shape. During my visits, I set up tents so that people in the communities could drop by, say hi, and chat with me about climate change and wildlife research. These events were really fun! In Cartwright, a caribou trotted right past our tent! In Black Tickle, the smell of hot dogs attracted a curious little arctic fox. And during my travels on the Island of Ponds, where Black Tickle is located, we saw several herds of caribou, all pawing away at the snow and snacking on lichen. It was great to see so many caribou out and about near Cartwright and Black Tickle!
Thanks to your adoptions, I’ll get to throw even more fun community events this summer! I plan to bring members of the community out by speedboat to pick bakeapples–a very culturally important berry, also known as liquid gold! It can be hard to pick bakeapples, especially because of rising fuel costs and thawing permafrost. I’m grateful that your support is giving me more time to practical traditional activities like berry-picking with members of the community in coastal Labrador. Working with these communities makes it easier for us to come up with innovative solutions to climate change and protect the permafrost peatlands.
What Can We Do Now?
This year’s caribou adoption project might be over, but there are still lots of ways to support animal conservation in our day-to-day lives. I think that becoming an Earth Ranger is a great way to start! The foundation of conservation is respecting the land. When you talk about conservation with friends, family, and other Earth Rangers, when you read books about animals and the environment, and when you spend time outdoors connecting with nature, you’re building that kind of respect in important ways.
Thanks again for supporting my research and adopting caribou! Stay tuned on the Wild Wire blog to learn about even more ways to protect animals in Canada’s beautiful Arctic Circle.
This past year, Earth Rangers across Canada and the United States adopted over 200 jaguars! That’s a lot of cool cats! Thanks to kids like you, we’ve been able to support the International Conservation Fund of Canada (ICFC) and Osa Conservation. These organizations protect the tropical rainforest of Costa Rica’s beautiful Osa Peninsula, which is one of the most biodiverse regions on earth – and native habitat for many jaguars!
Restoring the Rainforest
There are many threats to the beautiful jungles that jaguars call home. These old growth forests are vulnerable to logging and human development. Osa Conservation’s “Ridge to Reef” project aims to restore animal habitat in these forests. They want to make it easier for jaguars and other animals to move from place to place within the jungle. To do that, they need to create and protect what are called wildlife corridors–like highways for animals, but with native plants and trees instead of concrete!
On the Osa peninsula, conservationists work hand in hand with thousands of members of the community to restore rainforest ecosystems. This past year alone, they worked together to restore over 140 hectares of degraded land. That’s about as big as 140 Major League Baseball diamonds!
Helping Baby Trees Grow
Diversity is the key to healthy rainforests. That means the Osa Conservation team planted 319 distinct species of native trees. Their scientists went on expeditions deep into the rainforest to collect seeds from rare species. To help these trees grow tall and strong, a team of over a dozen local communities looks after a network of tree nurseries.
A tree nursery is exactly what it sounds like: a place where baby trees receive the care they need to grow big and strong. Even the tallest tree begins life as a teeny-tiny seed. In an Osa Conservation tree nursery, a seed can sprout into a sapling and grow its first branches and leaves, all without natural threats, like strong winds and rains, or manmade threats, like logging.
In 2023, Osa Conservation planted 107,565 native trees! That’s more than they’ve planted in any year in history. The jaguars that live on the Osa Peninsula now have a richer, denser, and more biodiverse rainforest to live, play, and raise their cubs in.
Bringing Back Jaguars’ Favourite Snack
Jaguars aren’t the only animals that call the Osa Peninsula home. Jaguars are carnivores, which means they can only eat meat. They survive by hunting other animals, and their primary prey source—sort of like their favourite snack—is a hairy, pig-like creature called the white-lipped peccary.
Historically, mega-herds of white-lipped peccaries roamed southern Costa Rica, giving jaguars plenty of their favourite food to eat. But because of mining, poaching, and deforestation, which means chopping down trees, white-lipped peccaries became extirpated on the Osa Peninsula. This means that there were no white-lipped peccaries left on the entire peninsula!
In 2023, Osa Conservation launched a plan to bring the white-lipped peccary back to Piedras Blancas National Park, an area of protected rainforests and beaches on the southeastern Osa Pensinula. They worked with local communities and governments to get every detail of the plan just right. Starting in 2024, white-lipped peccaries will be back on the menu for jaguars on the Osa Peninsula!
But That’s Not All!
These are just a few of the incredible changes that you’ve made possible by adopting a jaguar! Check the Wild Wire blog next week for another update on everything that Osa Conservation has accomplished for jaguars. And if you haven’t already adopted a jaguar, there’s still time to purchase a wildlife adoption kit and support jaguar conservation — just click the “Shop” button in the site header or visit the adoption section in the Earth Rangers App!
