Time:15 min
Difficulty:Hard
Do you think you can figure out the punchline to these hilariously punny animal jokes? Use the decoder key below to find out!
What do you get from a pampered cow?
Trees are TREErific allies! They give us shade, food, air to breathe, all while absorbing greenhouse gases and helping us fight climate change. Don’t you think they deserve a big thank you? Look for Tree Hugger in the Challenges section in the app!
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.
Time:15 min
Difficulty:Easy
Ice cream, anyone? We’ve got the perfect sweet treat for you, with a… squirmy surprise?! Don’t worry, we’re only talking about gummy worms. Here’s a super easy chocolatey recipe for Worms in Dirt!
First, you’ll need to prepare your “dirt”. Remove the cream from inside your cookies and put the cookie pieces into a sealable bag (bonus points if you reuse it later). Crush up the cookie pieces using a rolling pin.
TIP: don’t have a rolling pin? You can crumble them up with your hands!
Time to assemble your terrarium-style treats! Fill up your cups by layering the ice cream, cookie crumbs, and gummy worms. Of course, you could make one big mud pit for your worms, instead!
Assemble the rest of the cups however you’d like!
If you’re making these ahead of time, place them in the freezer until they’re ready to be enjoyed.
Some animals are experts at hiding. It’s one of the ways they stay safe from predators (and us). But, if you look closely, you can usually see a clue or two that will tell you if an animal has been nearby. Use these tips the next time you’re on an outdoor adventure:
An easy way to find out who was hanging around is to look at the ground. You know how you leave footprints when you’re walking through mud or snow? Animals do too!
If you spot footprints or tracks (lots of footprints) in mud and want to get a better view, stand between the tracks and the sun! It will cast a shadow on the tracks and make them stand out. If you’re lucky, you’ll find a clear footprint and you can look online to find out what type of animal made it.
Lots of broken twigs and damaged plants off the beaten path might mean that a big animal passed by! Little trails in wooded areas that aren’t too close to our bigger human-made ones can show you the routes our woodland friends like to take.
Another way to gather clues is by looking up! Plenty of creatures like to hang out right over our heads. Do you see any nests nearby? Do you hear anyone rustling in the leaves?
Some animals like to snack on tree bark, like mice, squirrels, and porcupines. That might be hard to spot as you walk by, but you might get lucky and see a tree that looks like Swiss cheese—a sure sign of a snacky woodpecker!
Even if there are no trees nearby, you might be surprised to find little homes in unexpected places! Some birds and bees like to settle down on or under balconies, bridges, and lampposts. Sometimes you might even find them in little nooks on tall buildings!
When you’re out exploring, snap a couple of pictures while you’re at it!
I’ve got to come clean. I have a pretty strong bias when it comes to the benefits of spending time outside. If truth be told, it’s always been that way. When I filled out my career questionnaire as a teenager, it came back with a very clear direction for my future. According to the test results, I was destined to be a forest ranger. I was a bit surprised since my heart was set on journalism but there’s a good chance I skewed the results with my love of building forts and my aversion to meetings.
We’ve been hearing a lot about the benefits of connecting with nature these last couple of years. There have been countless news reports suggesting stepping away from our computers and getting some fresh air helps with our mental health. A massive review by Pediatrics found this is also true for children. And just in case anyone wasn’t quite sure, the researchers looked at a whopping 269 studies that all came to a similar conclusion:
Access to greenspaces, nature and parks helped improve children’s overall wellbeing. The review found that in an ideal world, these spaces would be near a child’s home or school.
Researchers also suggested that not all outdoor time is equal. They concluded connecting with nature in a meaningful way was more beneficial than simply running around a parking lot. This is where that pretty strong bias I mentioned earlier comes in. I believe any kind of outdoor time is extremely valuable. Getting a lung full of fresh air and feeling the sun on their face can do a child a world of good. The emphasis on a meaningful connection with nature makes sense, but a more holistic approach could be another way of helping kids feel the benefits of connecting with the outdoors. Let’s look at a range of options:
It’s immensely encouraging to read so many stories talking about the benefits of nature for children’s mental health. There’s value in big and small connections with the outdoors.
As it turns out, I didn’t end up becoming a forest ranger after all. I’ve spent many years tapping away on a computer instead but I spend every spare moment I have in the great outdoors. Nature trails and exploring are a fundamental part of my parenting and so is the driveway lawn chair.
There was no way Sebastian was getting on his bike. The six-year old camper had literally dug his heels into the dirt and was shaking his head frantically from side to side. He had decided bike riding was not a fun thing to learn. He went from defiant to sobbing in the blink of an eye. His motivation to try something new had dissolved and his mind had been made up – this was not happening.
As I dropped off my teenager for her summer camp job, I witnessed Sebastian’s struggle firsthand. Introducing a new skill to a child can be exhilarating or exasperating – often it’s a mix of both. Parents often find themselves in the instructor role as they navigate through the many stages of childhood development. So what to do when a child shows little interest in trying something new?
A common technique is a reward system. Motivating children with external validation has always been a popular go-to for parents and instructors – think sticker charts and popcorn parties. There’s a good reason for this – it works! From potty training to completing homework, rewards and praise can be effective ways to get children to focus and stay committed to a task.
But experts like Alfie Kohn feel parents are going too far. He argues there’s a risk we’re raising a generation of praise junkies. Other experts have chimed in saying the goal should be to encourage children to tap into their intrinsic desire to try something new because that’s how learning works. It’s faster to offer children praise and rewards but nurturing an interest to simply “give it a go and see what happens” is said to be more beneficial in the long run.
There’s no doubt, when kids feel successful and capable, they want to do more. The challenge is to get them to start in the first place and push through when the going gets tough. So what if you’re looking to skip the sticker chart and reign in the praise? Here are four suggestions by Richard Lovie, the author of the Motivation Breakthrough:
Offering to go for ice cream after a big victory is always on the table. It’s just keeping in mind how often we’re relying on the quick and fun rewards. Building a sense of confidence and ability is a long, slow build but there is huge pay-off in the end. Bike riding for example, is one of the best ways to stay active and enjoy being outdoors. Sebastian has a future full of exploring ahead of him. After a few sniffles, he managed to regroup and pictured himself soaring through the sky with his imaginary cape flowing behind him. He wobbled through the obstacle course with a smile a mile wide and promptly declared, “I did it, all by myself!”.
I’ve got to come clean. When I received the news I was losing my job, I sort of freaked out. It wasn’t a huge, messy scene but I would have liked time to regain my composure. The email about funding cuts came in while I was tapping away on my computer in my remote work station known as the dining room table. There was no time to process the news on the commute home before I walked in the door to greet my family. My daughter was upstairs doing homework when she heard my cry of alarm.
I’ve had enough lessons over the years raising three children to know how closely kids watch a parent’s reaction to pretty well everything. They may look distracted when you’re fuming in a long line-up or processing some difficult news, but chances are, they’re tucking away that memory in a long list of daily observations.
Now, you’d be excused if that sounds like a lot of pressure. It’s hard to be scrutinized on most days, never mind when you’re not having your best moment. And of course, as parents, we want to raise happy and emotionally healthy children. Many of us would rather our kids see us with our act together and keep the vulnerability behind closed doors. Problem is, it’s not always a realistic plan.
The good news here is this works both ways! Our children are also watching when we recycle, ask questions about climate change, volunteer our time or share a kind word with a neighbour.
Parent research shows modelling is an effective way to influence child behaviour and life choices. For example, it’s believed the majority of students attending post-secondary had at least one parent who also pursued academics after high school. The same goes for eco-friendly habits. If a parent is an avid composter and let’s say, a fan of green energy, it can impact a child’s worldview.
There’s also an opportunity to tap into the power of modelling when things go wrong. So what to do when you’re grappling with an issue in real time with eyes on you?
Parenting is all about practice. Life is full of curveballs and we can’t hide them all from our children. Sharing vulnerability with as much confidence as we can muster goes a long way in teaching our kids it’s okay to thrive and stumble. Whether you suggest cleaning up the local park as a family or asking for a quick “do-over” when you make a parent misstep, both are opportunities to model an authentic effort at trying our best.
Ice cream, anyone? We’ve got the perfect sweet treat for you, featuring a… squirmy surprise?! Don’t worry, we’re only talking about gummy worms! This super easy chocolatey recipe for Worms in Dirt will be ready in the blink of an eye. Don’t blink too much though—these are sure to be gobbled up just as fast!
Psst: Not in the mood for brain freeze? You can use pudding instead of ice cream. Simply follow the instructions on a pack of instant pudding mix, then follow these same steps for your Worms in Dirt!
1. First, you’ll need to prepare your “dirt”. Remove the cream from inside your cookies and put the cookie pieces into a sealable bag (bonus points if you reuse it later). Crush up the cookie pieces using a rolling pin. TIP: don’t have a rolling pin? You can crumble them up with your hands!
2. Time to assemble your terrarium-style treats! Fill up your cups by layering the ice cream, cookie crumbs, and gummy worms. Of course, you could make one big mud pit for your worms, instead!
3. Assemble the rest of the cups however you’d like!
4. If you’re making these ahead of time, place them in the freezer until they’re ready to be enjoyed.
Grasslands and open forests are one of the most important ecosystems in Canada. In British Columbia they cover only a small bit of the land base, but they’re home to almost one third of the province’s species-at-risk, making it easy to see why it’s so important we restore and protect them. But how? That’s where you – and our partners at Nature Conservancy Canada (NCC) – come in!
NCC has been hard at work restoring the Kootenay River Ranch, a 1,600 hectare property in BC’s Rocky Mountain Region. Home to amazing animals like American badgers and bighorn sheep (just to name a few!), the property used to be an open grassland, but without the natural low-intensity fires that kept new tree seedlings and shrubs from taking over, it’s transformed into young, dense forests. That makes the property at risk to high-intensity wildfire, and it also means less grassland is available for the animals that rely on it. Here’s what NCC has been doing to help!
New restoration: Every year the team on the ground works to restore the most tree-covered areas to a more open forest structure. They work through the winter (when fire risk is lower, and when the soil is less likely to be damaged), and last year alone NCC added 100 hectares of new restoration!
Maintenance thinning: Places where forests have already been thinned need to be “touched up” by hand every few years, just to make sure new trees aren’t growing like crazy – last year, NCC completed this maintenance work on 141 hectares!
Invasive plant removal: Plants like knapweed, sulphur cinquefoil, and yellow hawkweed can make it harder for native grasses to grow, which is why it’s so important the team limits their spread as much as possible – in 2021/2022, this meant completing invasive species treatment at 64 sites on the Kootenay property!
Native species planting: One of the best ways to keep invasive plants from taking over again is to plant native species, and last year NCC planted over 120 native plants to do just that!
Help NCC as they continue their important work with a Wildlife Adoptions Kit, available through the Earth Rangers App or E-Store today!
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