What day is that? Earth Day! Emma comes to you with a special episode to celebrate this special day. She’s got some good news to share, and much more! What might it all be? Let’s tune in and find out.

Happy Earth Day everyone!
The “Quest for the Best” isn’t about to stop Emma from enjoying this special day. Today is a big day, so let’s be sure to join in on the fun!

What is Earth Day?

Earth Day celebrates the progress that the environmental movement has made, and the impact that raising awareness has helped bring to saving animals and the planet. The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970 – 53 years ago. A lot has happened in that time, but there’s still plenty of work to do!

How can I celebrate Earth Day?

There are many ways to celebrate Earth Day! Ask a parent to take a look at where you live to see if there are any events being organized. Can’t find anything? Don’t worry. Here are a few ideas on how you can go about it yourself:

• organize a litter clean-up in your neighborhood
• plant a tree or some flowers
• limit your water waste
• turn off the lights when you leave the room
• spread the word about Earth Day

Some of these idea might be closely connected to missions on the Earth Rangers app – be sure to take a look and accept those you want to do. Today is a perfect chance to complete a mission and celebrate Earth Day.

What about Emma?

In this episode, Emma mentions some good news that’s worth celebrating. What are they? Let’s take a look…

Pandastic news:

Remember the red panda Emma talked about while staying at Adelia’s cabin in Nepal? If you missed it, Earth Rangers Headquarters announced an update, and they had great news to share! Over 500 rangers came in to help support the red pandas, and it has helped spread the word, give these cute animals more trees and much more! Check out the full update here: This Red Panda Update is Pandastic

50th years saving animals:

Emma reminded us that there’s a lot to party about. The endangered species act can also show us more reasons to celebrate! In just 50 years, it has saved 99% species that were listed as under threat. That is HUGE! This is proof that we’re making a difference when it comes to saving the planet.

Emma also mentions her list of favorite animals: African Wild Dogs, Elephants, Sea Turtles, Red Panda and Snow Leopards. Were any of these a surprise to you? Wait, let’s not stop there! Why not share your own Top 5 of favorite animals?

Can’t pick a Top 5? You can also celebrate in the comment by sharing any cool rare or unknown animal facts you want more people to know about. Are there any animals you think others don’t know about or deserve more love and attention? There’s no better time than now to celebrate them!

Some of you have already been passing on some sweet messages to Emma and the rest of Earth Rangers headquarters. We love all the sweet jokes, animal encounters, animal facts, and messages you send us! For this special day, I made a small montage of sweet messages you all had to share with Emma. If you want to relisten to it, you can go check it out here:

If you missed that you can do that, you can leave us a voice recording by going to earthrangers.com/podcast and clicking on the “leave us a message” button. Who knows? Maybe your message will end up getting played on the podcast?

How do you celebrate Earth Day? How do you want to celebrate it in the future?

The race continues! Emma finds herself on her next assignment: Exploring one of America’s famous hiking trails. Which one did our intrepid hero pick? The Appalachian Trail! With much ground to cover, and help from a chance encounter with a certain self-proclaimed “grossologist”, will Emma catch up to Ryan?
Let’s tune in and find out.

Hooray! We’re finally getting somewhere, and it’s all thanks to you guys and your awesome suggestions.
Thank you Earth Rangers Bea, Ben, Emma, Luke and Ingrid for this idea!

Emma’s adventures never end! On today’s trail, she very nearly got lost! But thankfully, she was able to make a new friend who helped her find her way. Who is that?

It was Ms. Mallory!

Whether deep in the jungle or in her very own backyard, Ms. Mallory loves learning about the natural world around her. She travels near and far to share the stories of wild and weird creatures, highlights community-science wildlife projects, and help others make a difference for wildlife too! Did you also know she likes eating bugs for snacks? Forget chocolate and candies! Her podcast “8 Minutes of eww” can turn one’s fear into a fascination for animals and much more.

Thanks to Ms. Mallory’s help, Emma learned a lot about various creepy crawlies. With this information, she was able to impress Number 1 with her super-duper millipede facts. Did you know about the Nannaria swiftae? I for one had no idea that bug was named after Taylor Swift! I wonder… Are there any other cool animals named after musicians?

Besides millipedes, Emma was able to learn a lot about spiders and opossums from her new friends! And before bumping into Ms. Mallory, Emma came across yet another fascinating creature: The Wood Frog. Here is the video she was talking about. Check it out:

Now…We can’t forget about Ryan, especially now that Emma has finally caught up to him!

Ryan went to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee.

Thanks to the different elevations at the park, many animals and plants call that place home. In fact, there are SO many different species of insects, plants, trees, birds, and mammals that it was hard to narrow down the ones Ryan sent my way. But one stood out: The Red Salamander.

This tiny critter connects Emma and Ryan’s chosen locations completely. The Appalachian Mountains, where Emma went hiking, is known as a salamander “hotspot”. More than 77 different salamander species can be found there! The Great Smoky Mountains, that Ryan picked, is known as the “Salamander Capital of the World”. What does this mean? Well for one thing: When hiking in both those areas, be careful not to move any rocks as they are important to protect the different species who live under there!

But wait! This is only the beginning. Emma has won her first point in the Quest for the Best, but she’s got still ways to go before she can save her role as host of the podcast. Let’s keep it up! Emma’s next assignment is “to go underground” – so what nearby cave system can she explore? Have any of you gone underground? Drop a comment with some suggestions, and I’ll pass them on to her!

And here is this episode’s listener competition: The first person to type the correct answer to this Trivia question into the comments will win a “keep on ranging” podcast T-shirt for their avatar:

“What class of animals do frogs and salamanders belong to?”

Be the first to guess the correct answer!
Like before, the winner will be announced next episode, after Emma has had a chance to go spelunking!

🎺 Congratulations to Earth Ranger Harry for being the first to comment on the correct answer in the last episode!!  🎺
The solution to the quiz question “What animal is the symbol of the New York State?” is the beaver.
Be sure to check your inbox for the aware code to receive your special t-shirt.

Do you have a great recommendation for a cave that Emma could visit? Let us know in the comments!
Careful – Don’t forget the no airplane rule!

Want to instead try your best with the trivia question? If you don’t have any ideas for either of those, I’m sure Emma would love to hear some cool animal facts to help inspire her! She needs all the trivia she can get to help her win the competition!