Everyone knows that bees are super-important – they pollinate flowers, fruits and vegetables. These helpful insects are anything but pests! Unfortunately, western bumblebee populations are in decline. These fuzzy black-yellow-and-white bees are called “habitat generalists,” which means they’re happy to live in a variety of different ecosystems. Western bumblebees used to be found in habitats across western Canada, from mountain areas to forests to prairie grasslands. These once common insects are losing their habitats to development and agriculture. They’re also being exposed to pesticides. All of these problems spell big trouble for this crucial little bee.
A Busy, Buzzy Life! A bumblebee’s life starts with the queen of the hive. She’s the only bee to survive the winter (she hibernates through the cold months), and in the spring she has one job: to find the perfect place to lay her eggs and start building a new colony. Popular areas for bee nests are under buildings (like sheds) and in abandoned rodent burrows. The first eggs the queen lays develop into female worker bees. They help by collecting pollen and nectar, and taking care of the larvae and the nest. Later in the season, eggs develop into male bees and new queens. These queens survive the winter, starting the cycle over.
Bee-ing Helpful We’re working hard to bring the western bumblebee back to southern Saskatchewan by teaming up with Nature Conservancy Canada (NCC). By adopting a western bumblebee, you’ll help NCC purchase land that has been used for farming and transform it back into bumblebee habitats – that means planting native flowers, creating nesting spots and protected areas for overwintering. NCC will also help to educate people in Saskatchewan about how they can help the western bumblebee through their Conservation Volunteer and Indigenous Youth Education Programs.
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The Earth Rangers App is where kids go to save animals! It’s free to join and you can adopt an animal to support conservation projects, get access to real-world Missions, and learn all about animals in the Wild Wire Blog.
Adopt an animal and more in the App!
Hey Earth Rangers! As you may have read in our project kickoff article, our research partner Emily Choy is working hard at saving the thick-billed murre. Curious to see how she manages to do her work, on the side of cliffs (WHOA!)?! Keep reading!
Meet Thick-billed murre hero, Emily Choy!
Emily studies the effects of climate change on thick-billed murres in the Arctic, looking at how changes in prey availability (that’s fancy “science-speak” for how much food they can find) affects their behaviour. Over the past 30 years, the prey of thick-billed murres has changed from almost 50% Arctic cod to almost 50% capelin, a fish species from the Atlantic Ocean. But why? And does this matter? These are questions Emily is hard at work trying to figure out!
So what is a typical day for Emily?
Usually, Emily and her team start their day off by checking each
of their research sites for new eggs, pipped eggs (eggs that have cute little
baby chicks starting to hatch), and new chicks. Next, it depends on what type
of research activities they have planned for that day.
On some days early in the breeding season, Emily helps measure the size of eggs to see how they are developing and when they might be ready to hatch. On other days Emily’s team spends a few hours gently catching birds and attaching small biologgers on them. These fancy tools basically look like tiny backpacks on the birds’ backs. How cute! They let the team track where the birds are going and what they are doing. Other days Emily spends her time working on her main research goals, including looking at the effects of warm temperatures on the birds’ breathing rate and behaviour, or monitoring their heart rate!
Emily’s team hard at work near the murre colony.
LOOK HOW FLUFFY THOSE CLIFFSIDE CHICKS ARE!
Breakfast is served, little one!
SO CUTE!!!
What is the most difficult thing about what Emily does?
According to Emily, definitely the rocky cliffs and weather conditions! Arctic fieldwork can be very tricky as the weather and environment can be unpredictable. Sometimes Emily might have a plan to do her work, such as re-catching a bird she is studying, but she can’t if it’s too windy, since it isn’t safe for her to do her work. The team also has to be extra alert for polar bears, since they sometimes come looking for murre eggs. If a polar bear comes looking for eggs to nibble on while they are researching they can’t keep hanging out with the murre because it can get extra dangerous!!
Safety first for Emily and her team! Look at all their harnesses!
A birds-eye view of the Coats Island, where Emily’s team is doing their research. This is what the murres see when they are flying around! Awesome!
Spectacular swimmers
Emily believes that murres are really quite extraordinary, and we do too! Murres spend many hours flying great distances through the air during the breeding season. This defies the rules of nature because most other birds that are amazing divers typically do not spend a lot of time flying since it requires a lot of energy. Penguins are the perfect example of this, as they are amazing divers but do not fly!
Murres can use their wings to swim underwater, kind of like underwater flying! Some murres have been recorded to dive up to 200 metres in about 3-4 minutes. To compare, scuba divers can generally only go about 40 meters deep without it getting extremely dangerous for their bodies, due to extreme underwater pressure. That means that the murres can swim down five times that amount, so they are incredibly strong! Take a moment and think about that in terms of height: if we swam down 200 meters, that would be like swimming about half the length of the CN Tower in Toronto!! WHOA!
Round of applause for Emily and the magnificent murres!
You can do your part to help Emily on her quest to learn more about these amazing birds by purchasing an adoption kit in the app!
Your adoption kit comes with a personalized certificate, thick-billed murre poster, and an adorable murre plushie!
The Earth Rangers App is where kids go to save animals! It’s free to join and you can adopt an animal to support conservation projects, get access to real-world Missions, and learn all about animals in the Wild Wire Blog.
Adopt an animal and more in the App!
It’s almost
Valentine’s Day, Earth Rangers, and love is in the air for these woodland
creatures! We ventured deep into the forest to meet five amazing animals that
find the love of their life and then stay together forever. Let’s find out the
key to their long relationships!
Hello, Bruce. It’s so nice that you invited us to your lodge today. Ah, hello! Just adding some more logs to the ol’ dam. We beavers are constantly building, adding, and adjusting our homes. Some people call us the engineers of the animal world.
These twigs look perfect – time to build that addition we’ve been talking about!
Does your whole family live in your lodge together? I live here with my kids – my kits, really – and my dear mate, Bernice. She’s so wonderful. We met when we were three – which is the age most beavers find mates. Did you know Bernice is now a mother of twelve? We’ve had three kits every year for the past four years. Each year, the new kits and the ones from the past year live in the lodge with us. Then, after two years at home with mom and dad, they head out on their own.
Any Valentine’s Day plans? Well, Bernice and I always enjoy going out for a delicious meal of bark, twigs and leaves. Yum!
Thanks, Bruce! Now, I think I see my next interview subjects…ah, yes. It’s Emerald and Edward the bald eagle! Their nest is pretty huge, actually, so it’s not hard to find!
Ah, I see you spotted us. Our nest is really big because we use it every single year when we’re ready to lay our eggs! Did you know that our nest is also called an aerie? We add to it each year and it can grow quite huge!
Comin’ in hot for a hug, dear Emerald!
It’s very impressive! How did you pick this spot?
Well, we knew we
wanted the tallest tree in the forest, so that was our first pick! A tree near
water was a nice bonus too. We were lucky we found a spot like this in such a
beautiful forest, and we’re so thankful this forest exists!
Well we’re pretty thankful too – you have such a beautiful family and a beautiful home! I’m an Earth Ranger, and to show my appreciation for forests and all the amazing things they give us, I’ve made tons of cool crafts using things like twigs and recycled toilet paper rolls.
The Fantastic Crafts and When to Make Them Mission gave me lots of good ideas, including a Valentine’s Day card made of popsicle sticks that I made especially for you two lovebirds! And speaking of lovebirds, how do you two deal with parenting together?
Well look at that Edward, isn’t that just lovely?! Thank you so much! When it comes to parenting, we both take our roles very seriously. Bald eagle parents take care of their eaglets for two and a half months. We both bring food to the nest, and we both protect our babies from predators. Even after our eaglets leave the nest, they don’t go too far away. We continue to give our little sweeties food until they’re totally grown up.
When do bald eagles usually find a mate?
When we’re about five years old. We live up to thirty years, so we have really, really long relationships!
Wow! That IS a long time! Now, I’ve got to look for our next creatures…the gray wolves! Ah, there they are…with their whole pack! Er…hi, Walter. Nice to see you!
Good to see you as well! This is my wonderful mate, Wendy. And this is our pack!
I’m Wendy, and this is Gloria and Walter Jr.! Nice to meet ya!
Uh, yes. I noticed. There sure are a lot of wolves here.
Yes, we have ten wolves in our pack. I’m the alpha male, and Wendy is the alpha female. That means we’re the leaders of the pack. The rest of the wolves are our pups from years past. We’re all family.
How many pups do gray wolves usually have each year?
We have about 4-7 pups in a litter, and after our pups turn two years old, they can choose to stick with our pack or head out on their own. Some of our pups have started their own packs. It makes a papa proud! Speaking of proud papas, have you met Chris? He’s the tasty-looking coyote that lives just over that hill.
Yes, I’m off to see him next! Thanks, Walter.
Happy to help! Tell Chris I hope to see him later.
Chris, you’re the last animal on my Valentine’s Day list. Tell us about your mate.
I met Clementine when we were about two – that’s the usual time for coyotes to find a mate. And we’ve been super close ever since. Coyotes stay together forever. We’re true romantics!
Check out this photo from last year’s Christmas newsletter – we make a pretty cute couple, huh?!
That’s lovely. And you have a family?
Oh, yes. We’ve been lucky enough to have two litters so far, each with six pups. My pups are the most wonderful little coyotes in the world. Smart, good-looking, so clever and curious. They’re the apples of my eye. Clementine and I work really hard to raise our pups, keeping them well-fed and safe from predators. It’s a big job, but everything works better when we work together.
You can show your appreciation for forests and all the amazing
things they give us by accepting the Fantastic Crafts and When to Make Them
Mission today! You’ll find instructions for making Valentine’s Day cards out of
materials like recycled cardboard and popsicle sticks, so get crafting – and Happy
Valentine’s Day, Earth Rangers!
Now that winter is here, you might notice some unpleasant chilly breezes in certain parts of your house. It’s the dastardly work of one of Earth Rangers’ Most Wanted Energy Wasters: The Devious Draft!
Down with the Devious Draft!
How does this unwelcome house guest get into what should be your warm and comfy home? Through small cracks in walls and ceilings and around windows and doors, that’s how – we told you it was devious!
The worst part is that when the Devious Draft invades your place, it makes you use extra energy to keep the temperature toasty. So not only is it wasting energy, it’s also costing your family more money. Those are some pretty solid reasons to give this guest the boot!
The Draft Stops Here
What can be done to make sure winter at your home is warm and energy efficient? There’s a simple test you can do to find out if the Devious Draft has invaded: just run your hands around the edge of your windows and doors that lead outside (pay special attention to the bottom of your doors). If you feel air coming in, you’ve got a draft. Tell an adult and they can seal up the holes or repair door sweeps to keep the cold air out and the warmth in!
Want to save more energy?
The Devious Draft is just 1 of the 7 culprits we want you to stop as part of the Operation Conservation Mission! When you accept your Mission, you’ll protect your home from energy-wasters and help in the fight against climate change.
How many culprits will you stop? Accept the Operation Conservation Mission today!
Happy New Year, Earth Rangers! I hope everyone’s decade is off to an amazing start. I know mine is – amazingly hilarious, that is! Want to get in on the joke?
Just click the play button on the player below and get ready to laugh!
Earth Rangers, we hope that after a year of being a Ringed Seal rescuer, you’re as excited about these perfect pinnipeds as we are! As we wrap up this project, let’s have a quick refresher course about what makes the world’s smallest seal so super.
1. Ringed Seals live in the Arctic, and spend lots of time swimming in the frigid waters (they can dive for up to 45 minutes at a time!). They don’t mind the chill because they have a thick layer of blubber to keep them warm.
Cold? Me?! Nope!
2. These seals enjoy cod – it’s what most of their diet is made of – but they’ll also eat other Arctic fish and shellfish.
3. Ringed Seals carve out snow dens to protect themselves from predators. Each den is built with a hole in the ice so they can grab a quick snack from the water below!
4. Ringed Seals give birth to their babies (called pups) in special lairs on the ice. Arctic ice is super important because it allows the babies to be protected from predators like polar bears.
A baby Ringed Seal hangs out on the Arctic ice.
5. Ringed Seal pups are adorable – they have a fluffy white coat of fur!
6. Ringed Seal claws are REALLY sharp – they can dig through up to six feet of ice to reach the water.
A Successful Campaign Earth Rangers has been working with the W. Garfield Weston Foundation and researchers from the University of Manitoba to investigate what type of habitat Ringed Seals like best, and what effect climate change will have on their habitat. Thanks to the hard work of about 7,000 Earth Rangers like you, we’ve been able to purchase satellite collars for the seals. The collars allow the research team to track the movements of the Ringed Seal – and boy, do they move a lot! Some of the Ringed Seals that were tracked traveled extremely far distances – some of the farthest ever recorded for this type of seal!
The Next Steps Now that we know where Ringed Seals prefer to live, the next thing to figure out is the ‘why’. Why do Ringed Seals choose certain habitats over others? Does it have to do with the depth of the water? Maybe water temperature or access to ice? Is climate change affecting the habitats these seals choose? Researchers are analyzing the data to try and answer those questions. So far, one hypothesis is that it might be more common for Ringed Seals to travel farther distances than experts initially thought. In the future, researchers may put collars on more seals. The more data the researchers can collect, the more useful and complete the information they’re tracking will be.
This has been a hugely successful campaign, Earth Rangers, and we’ve learned so much important information about these adorable animals, thanks to you! The Ringed Seal is an Arctic icon, and we want to be sure it’s surviving and thriving for generations to come!
WOODBRIDGE, ON, Jan. 21, 2020 – Today, Earth Rangers launched its new app designed to provide children and families with a safe way to make a real and positive impact on the environment through learning and action. Building on the organization’s mission to create a generation of conservationists, the Earth Rangers App empowers kids and their families in the face of growing anxiety over the state of the planet.
“We hear more about large-scale environmental challenges now than we ever have before, from climate change to plastics in our oceans to species extinction. At Earth Rangers, we have seen time and again that taking action—even in small ways—leaves kids feeling more optimistic about the future,” says Tovah Barocas, President of Earth Rangers. “We can transform anxiety into learning and passion through action. Our new app provides kids, and their parents, with a safe place to learn, talk, and act for nature.”
The app houses over two dozen fun and impactful missions that take the app experience offline by engaging kids in activities like shoreline clean-ups, battery recycling drives, conserving energy and creating butterfly gardens. The app also offers localized content, with missions that are customized by province or region so that members can learn about environmental issues relevant to where they live. Local events, such as tree planting and other on-the ground opportunities will be promoted to members in different parts of the country.
“Research shows that eco-anxiety is a real thing. It’s impacting children, as well as adults. We know parents are struggling with how to talk about these issues with their kids,” says Dr. Katie Hayes, the lead author of the upcoming chapter on mental health and climate change for the National Climate Change and Health Assessment. “The new Earth Rangers App gives parents and kids a safe and fun place to start having these conversations, while encouraging long lasting habits that positively impact the future of our planet.”
In addition to missions and local events, members are also able to symbolically “adopt” a wide range of Canadian species, with funds going towards conservation projects related to them, like habitat restoration or research and monitoring projects. Along with earning points with the adoption of a species, they will earn stars which help them earn a seat on the “conservation council” where they can vote on future conservation projects.
Other Earth Rangers app features include:
Virtual badges, leaderboards, and rewards for almost everything you do in the app;
Endless entertainment and inspiration through hours of educational videos and thousands of fascinating articles about animals and the environment;
Easy access to the award-winning Earth Rangers podcast;
Points based levelling system that allows you to journey through different habitats, unlocking cool animal facts along the way;
Customizable avatars that allow you to create your own virtual identity; and
The app is free to new and existing Earth Rangers’ members, with animal adoption fees completely optional and requiring parental permission. Free membership card and welcome package will be sent by mail when you complete your membership sign-up.
“Everyone at Earth Rangers is so excited to launch this app, from our conservation experts to our developers. We hope kids and parents can see that they can be part of the solution and have a blast doing it!” says Barocas.
Earth Rangers is proud to announce that our co-founder and former President, Peter Kendall, is among the 120 newest appointments to the Order of Canada!
The appointment was made by the Governor General of Canada on December 28, 2019 in recognition of Peter’s “steadfast commitment to conserving and protecting Canada’s biodiversity for future generations”. Other appointees include Nobel laureate Donna Strickland, Canadian zoologist Anne Dagg, and former Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Peter Kendall co-founded Earth Rangers with entrepreneur and environmentalist Robert Schad in 2004 and led our organization for 15 years. Thanks to Peter’s passion, innovation, and unique ability to inspire others, Earth Rangers is now the largest youth conservation organization globally, with more than 200,000 young members across Canada. Peter is currently serving on our Board of Directors as the Finance Committee Chair, after stepping down as President in July 2019. He is also the Executive Director of The Schad Foundation.
Peter hopes the honour draws attention to the importance of empowering kids to be part of the solution to the environmental challenges we currently face: “While we face the existential threats of climate change and biodiversity loss, I have been lucky enough to come face to face with the incredible resilience of children and youth – they are motivated to act and that’s what Earth Rangers has always been about”.
Congratulations Peter!
The Order of Canada recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication, to the community, and service to the nation. Since its creation in 1967, more than 7,000 people from all sectors of society have been invested into the Order, each exemplifying the Order’s motto: DESIDERANTES MELIOREM PATRIAM – or, “They desire a better country”.
Grizzly bears are awesome creatures. They’re the not the largest bears in North America (the polar bear takes first prize in this category), but they can reach a weight of up to 410 kg! Most grizzlies live in Alaska, Canada and Russia. Grizzlies are mostly solitary animals, although they don’t really mind if their territories overlap. They’re omnivores, and their favourite foods are salmon, mammals and berries. Before hibernation, grizzly bears need to eat a LOT in order to gain the weight they’ll need to see them through the winter (they can hibernate for up to seven months!).
It’s a Bear’s Life Grizzly bears are really adaptable. They live in a wide variety of habitats, from forests, to alpine meadows, to the Arctic tundra. A female grizzly gives birth to two or three cubs between January and March. Cubs are really, really small – they only weigh a pound when they’re first born. Mother grizzlies take care of their babies for two or three years, and she will defend them fiercely if she feels they’re ever threatened. Mama grizzlies will even take on a large male to protect her babies! The lesson here? Don’t mess with mama bear!
Lend a Helping Paw Beaver River is a remote watershed where grizzlies live. Unfortunately, there’s a potential mining road that will run right through important habitat in this area, destroying hectares of berry patches that grizzly bears eat. That’s why Earth Rangers has teamed up with Wildlife Conservation Society Canada and the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk. When you adopt a grizzly, you will support a team of grizzly bear biologists who will visit the Beaver River Watershed and use special non-invasive methods to determine the population size, habitat and distribution of the grizzlies. The data gathered will be used to learn how the mining sites will impact the grizzly bears’ habitats, which can help us protect them for years to come!
Your adoption kit comes with a personalized certificate, grizzly bear poster, and an adorable bear plushie!
Proudly supported by:
T-Gear Foundation
In collaboration with:
The Earth Rangers App is where kids go to save animals! It’s free to join and you can adopt an animal to support conservation projects, get access to real-world Missions, and learn all about animals in the Wild Wire Blog.
Adopt an animal and more in the App!
Last year Earth Rangers teamed up with Bird Studies Canada
on a project to help protect the adorable but endangered Piping Plover, and
we’ve got lots of good news to share: their populations are on the rise! In
2019 the team identified 8 pairs nesting at 5 beaches across Ontario – that’s
twice as many pairs as there were in 2018! These plovers were found nesting in
Wasaga Beach, Sauble Beach, in Darlington Provincial Park, as well as two private
properties on Georgian Bay, and we’re happy to report that 7 chicks
successfully fledged!
Over 150 people who live near these sites volunteered their time to help with the program, including two of our very own Earth Rangers! When people went to visit the plovers in their protected nesting areas they received stickers and tattoos to help promote the protection of the recovering population, and almost 5,000 conversations with beachgoers were had over the summer. That’s a lot of stickers!
In Wasaga Beach and Sauble Beach even local businesses wanted to get involved in saving these adorable little birds by running social media contests and conducting surveys. This shows that when everyone works together, great things can be accomplished!
Photo by Neal Mutiger
Check out the above picture taken at Wasaga Beach! Did you know that when plovers are born, they are only the size of golf balls? This dad is protecting his brood of chicks by sitting on them to keep them warm while they are only a few days old.
If you look closely at some pictures or the drawing below you might notice that the Plovers look like they’re wearing a little ankle bracelet. These are called bands, and they help us track the birds, understand their lifestyle, and protect them. Bands have been used for over 100 years and they have helped us to learn much of what we know today.
Each of the banded plovers have a unique identification number, like a fingerprint: something that is uniquely theirs and that lets us track them all along their migration journey. Bands are placed on the plovers when they are only 10 days old, and they’ll stay on throughout their travels. So far 9 of Ontario’s plovers have been observed down south, something we only know thanks to their unique bands. Want to see where they’ve been so far?
Pepa
from Wasaga Beach was observed in Outback Key,
Florida on July 16. Pepa hatched in Sauble Beach in 2012, and spent her first
few summers breeding in the States, before finding Wasaga Beach. She has bred
at Wasaga since 2016, and is one of Ontario’s oldest plovers. She was named
after the famous hip-hop group, Salt n’ Pepa.
Pepa, Wasaga Beach. Photo by Neal Mutiger
Flash from Wasaga Beach was observed on an island off the coast of Alabama on Sept 17, and again on Nov 22. Flash was hatched and raised in captive rearing in Michigan in 2018; the nest was abandoned after one of his parents was predated by a Snowy Owl, luckily biologists were able to save the eggs. Flash was named after the superhero.
Flash, Wasaga Beach. Photo by Neal Mutiger
Ms. Green Dots from Sauble Beach was observed on Key Biscayne, Florida on October 14. Ms. Green Dots hatched in Michigan in 2015, and has nested in Sauble Beach every year since, producing 8 fledglings overall. She has a green dot on one of her leg bands, which is how she got her nickname.
Ms. Green Dots, Sauble Beach. Photo by Neal Mutiger
The female from Darlington Park (she needs a
nickname!), was observed in Ohio in late July. She was there for 3 days, before
likely heading further South. Last year she wintered in Florida with her
sister. She hatched in Wasaga Beach in 2015, and 2 of her siblings also breed
in Ontario, and one sibling breeds in the States. Photo by Josh Solti.
The female from Darlington Park – Photo by Josh Solti
