Plastic Petals

Earth Rangers

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August 17, 2023

23

Plastic Petals

Time:25 min

Difficulty:Easy

Upcycle your plastic bottle into one of these flashy flowers!

Here’s what you need:

An upcycled plastic bottle
Paint
Scissors
Glue
Something for a stem, like a stick, popsicle stick, or thin dowel
Two different colored paper, foam, or felt sheets
An Adult to help

Here’s how you make it:

Step 1: After you remove and recycle the label from your bottle, cut the bottom of the bottle off—with an adult’s help, of course!

Step 2: Flip the top of your bottle over so the part where you drink from is facing away from you. With an adult to help, cut slits about 3 cm apart around the bottle. They should go all the way to the bottle’s neck. These are the petals. Bend them down so they look like a flower.

TIP: You can make a bonus flower with the bottom of the bottle too!

Step 3: Start painting your petals. Feel free to give them different colours and patterns!

Step 4: While your paint is drying, cut some leaf out of one of the coloured sheets. Cut a circle out of the other one to make the centre of your flower.

Step 5: Once the paint is dry, glue the circle onto the bottle cap. Next, glue the leaves onto the stem.

Step 6: Finish up by gluing the stem to the back of the flower.

That’s it! You’ve got your own bouquet of plastic petals!

Pawsitively Hilarious Jokes #9

Earth Rangers

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August 14, 2023

47

How do you make an octopus laugh?

Give it ten-tickles!

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Ultimate Guide to National Parks: Grounded???

Earth Rangers

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August 11, 2023

108

Ultimate Guide to National Parks: Grounded???

Whoa! Earth Ranger Emma is grounded? Number One is putting Emma on a mandatory holiday to make sure she does not get overworked, but our intrepid reporter is not having it! She’s one “rest-less” mission to turn this relaxation into exploration! Adventure is calling!
Tune in and find out!

Hey Earth Rangers, it’s time for another epic adventure with Earth Ranger Emma! But uhh…There’s just one teeny, tiny problem: she’s not supposed to be on an “epic adventure”.

She’s supposed to be on vacation.

See, Earth Ranger Emma has been stressed out ever since the end of Quest for the Best, and her boss, Number 1, noticed. Now Emma’s only assignment is to take a summer vacation.

Summer vacation is the perfect time to lay back and relax. There’s no better way to bust stress than to have fun and not worry about work!

But instead of taking a quiet holiday, Emma is going to check off an item on her bucket list: to explore national parks in Canada and the USA. She’ll see the sights, learn about the plants and animals in each place and, maybe (just maybe) find a moment or two to relax.

Is this a good idea? How stressful might a trip through the national parks end up being? What adventures – oops! I mean “relaxing sights” might Emma see there? Do you know any nice places she could check out that could help make this a nice trip?

What are your thoughts about Emma’s vacation destination? Do you have any ideas of where she could go? Don’t know any good national parks, let us know what’s your favorite kind of relaxing thing to do during summer vacations!

Pixel Puzzler #31: The Great Reveal

Earth Rangers

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August 11, 2023

35

We’ve gotten 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) a mouse! How did you do? Tell us in the comments!

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Solar S’mores

Earth Rangers

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August 10, 2023

75

Solar S’mores

Time:60 min

Difficulty:Hard

Do you like sticky snacks? What about sustainable sticky snacks? We’ve got a hot recipe for you! It’s time to use solar energy to roast some s’mores!

Here’s what you need:

A cardboard box with a lid (a shoe box or old parcel box would work, as long as it’s more than 8cm deep!
A repurposed plastic bag or plastic wrap
Upcycled Tin foil
Tape
Glue
Aluminum pie tin
Stick
Ruler
Scissors or an exacto knife
Marshmallows
Chocolate
Graham crackers
Help from an adult

Here’s how you make it:

Step 1: With the help of an adult, cut a 3-sided flap in the top of the lid of your box. Be sure to keep a border of about 2 1/2cm between the flap and the outer edge of the lid!

Step 2: Cover the inside/bottom of the flap in tin foil, gluing it in place with the shiny side facing out. Make sure to do so gently, keeping the tin foil as smooth as possible. Cover the rest of the inside of the box with foil as well.

Step 3: Lay your clear plastic across the top of the opening, making sure the flap is still open. Tape down the plastic to seal the box tightly.

OPTIONAL: If you want, you can add two layers of plastic wrap to trap even more heat inside your solar oven.

Step 4: Prop the box’s flap to stay open using a stick, pole, ruler, or anything else you can find. You may have to tape it to ensure it stays open.

When you are done, place the box in the sun and allow it to get hot for about 30 minutes.

Step 5: Once the box is preheated, open one side of the plastic wrap and place the pie tin inside the box.

Set down 2 graham crackers, with a square of chocolate and a marshmallow on top of each, inside the tin. For now, leave the top graham cracker off of the s’more.

Step 6: Seal the plastic wrap tightly again, making sure there are no holes. Point your box towards the sun, angling the flap so that it will reflect the light and heat into the box.

TIP: By securing the plastic wrap, you will trap more heat, and your s’mores will roast faster!

Step 7: All that is left is to wait! Your s’mores should take anywhere between 30-60 minutes to roast. Once roasted, the marshmallows will be soft, and slightly goopy, and the chocolate will be melted.

Add another graham cracker and you’ve got yourself your very own solar s’more sandwich! Enjoy!

Looking for more ways to harness the power of the sun? Check out the We’ve Got the Power Mission on the Earth Rangers app to learn all about solar power (along with other types of green energy).

Would you Rather #47

Earth Rangers

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August 7, 2023

128

Would you rather have…

A tail like a scorpion or teeth like a viper?

Tell us which one you pick in the comments!

More “Would You Rather” Questions!

Pixel Puzzler #31: Part 1

Earth Rangers

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August 4, 2023

93

Let’s put your identification skills to the test! Can you figure out what is hidden in this picture? Make your guess in the comments.

Check back next week for the answer!

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Hungry Snake and Hoppy Frogs

Earth Rangers

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August 3, 2023

76

Hungry Snake and Hoppy Frogs

Time:30 min

Difficulty:Easy

We’ve got an un-frog-ettable game for you! Grab your friends so they can join in on the hissssterical fun!

About the game:

Objective: A game of jump rope with a twist! One person, the “hungry snake”, moves in circles with their rope. To not get caught, the “frogs” must successfully jump over the rope as it comes close.
Players: 2 or more

Here’s what you need:

A skipping rope
Friends or family members
Somewhere outside to play
Plastic or paper cups (optional)
Water (optional)

Here’s how you do it:

Step 1:

Start by picking one person to hold the rope. This person is the snake and everyone else is a frog. If it’s hot outside, you can give each frog a cup filled with water.

Step 2:

The frogs should form a circle with the snake in the middle. They should be a little less than the distance of the rope away from the snake.

Step 3:

Next, the snake starts to spin in a circle, dragging the rope around on the ground. Frogs must jump over the rope to avoid getting “bitten”. If you’re playing with water, don’t be surprised if you get splashed! If the rope touches any of the frogs, they’re out until the next round.

What did you think of the Hungry Snake and Hoppy Frogs game? Let us know in the comments!

Ultimate Guide to National Parks: A Thief in the Forest

Earth Rangers

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August 3, 2023

121

Ultimate Guide to National Parks: A Thief in the Forest

The Quest for the best is done and Earth Ranger Emma is back at Earth Rangers HQ.
Today’s task is simple: a bird census in the forest surrounding the Earth Rangers Centre! But a berry thief is on the loose and causing trouble for our intrepid adventurer. Can super sleuth Emma solve the mystery?
Tune in and find out!

Emma’s back from her Quest for the Best and ready to return to work after her time away from Earth Rangers HQ!
Last season she raced across the US against Ryan to see who would win the position of podcast host and before that? She traveled the world to find missing conservationist Adelia Goodwin!

Time to get to work…

Emma has been through a lot. She very much deserves a chance to get back to her usual work. But will her time at Earth Rangers be a calm one? Or do adventures follow her everywhere she goes?!

Emma’s task of the day: Observe Birds.

Observing and “tabulating” birds might seem boring after so much running around, but it’s super fun and super important! By birdwatching over time, and keeping track of the species seen, Emma’s observations can help tell us how bird behavior (migration, numbers, etc…) changes.

Of course, it’s also really nice to see cool and colorful birds! Let’s take a look at those Emma saw in this episode…

Are you able to name all of these birds? Be sure to check over the episode if you aren’t sure!

BUT WAIT! THAT IS NOT ALL!

During her birdwatching, Emma stumbled upon a mystery: A thief!?!

Someone is wandering the forest stealing delicious snacks! Detective Emma manages to narrow down the potential criminals to FOUR different animals:

One of these four animals is responsible for stealing Emma’s blueberries right from inside her bag! What kind of crafty creature can open a backpack like that? Through some careful sleuthing, Emma should be able to figure it out!

Are you glad to see Emma back to work? What kind of adventures do you think she’ll be having next?
What about you? Were you able to find the animal thief before Emma? Or name five of the birds she saw in this episode?

Super Ranger Alissandra is unstoppable!

Earth Rangers

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August 2, 2023

39

Alissandra’s favourite animals are cheetahs and lions. She learned about Earth Rangers from her dad’s work and now she’s an unstoppable planet-protecting super-hero!

Alissandra loves all of the interesting facts you can learn on the app. What’s her favorite mission? The Water Taste Challenge! She had fun watching her family members test the water, and since then, they’ve pretty much stopped using single-use plastic water bottles for good! Go, Alissandra!

When she’s not busy on the app, Alissandra loves the great outdoors and spends her time playing hockey, hiking, swimming in lakes, and snowboarding in winter. Alissandra is also a master gardener and loves planting flowers and other plants in her family garden.

Alissandra also likes to camp outside in the wilderness, leaving their campsite better than they found it She always makes sure that her family doesn’t leave any litter, and wants to remind everyone that if we all clean up after ourselves, we can enjoy our parks more!

What’s next? Alissandra plans to walk to school and will challenge her little brother to walk with her. The race is on! Let’s all cheer Alissandra on as she takes on the world to make it better!