Red pandas are awesomely adorable. They weigh about the same as a medium-sized dog, and spend most of their time in trees. Their long fluffy tails keep them balanced as they walk from branch to branch, and act like a warm cozy blanket when they’re chilly. 

Wouldn’t it be cool to be a red panda? While we can’t turn into one like Mei Lee from Turning Red, we can certainly dress up like one! For today’s Eco-Activity, become a red panda by making your own red panda mask! 

Click here to download the template!

Instructions:

1. Colour in your red panda mask. Use the picture above to help guide you.

2. Use scissors to cut along the dotted lines. Make holes in the circles on either side of the mask.

3. Put the ends of your string through the holes and tie a knot. This will make a band that goes around your head and holds the mask in place.

4. Put on your mask and become a red panda!

We want to see your red panda mask! Share it with us on social media or send a photo to 
membership@earthrangers.com!

The Earth Rangers App is where kids go to save animals! It’s free to join and you’ll have access to real-world Missions like this one. Plus, you can adopt an animal to support conservation projects, and learn all about animals in the Wild Wire Blog. Find activities like this, and so much more in the App!

Every year, monarch butterflies make the incredible migration from Canada to Mexico, where you can see thousands of them rest on a single tree! Lots of butterflies absolutely love our trees in Canada too! They are the perfect place to get a snack, lay eggs, hide from bad weather and, of course, to rest. 

For today’s Eco-Activity, we’ll be talking tree planting tips that will help you make an amazing butterfly habitat right in your own backyard!

Trees need lots of space, light and water. Make sure you pick a spot with all of these and room for your tree to grow. 

Trees need to be planted in the spring or the fall when it’s not too hot or too cold.

Look up native tree species in your area. This will help you make the best possible habitat for butterflies and all the other animals that will be hanging out in your tree. Some butterfly favourites are oaks, elms, cherries, and hackberries

1. Dig a hole 3 times as wide as the root ball of your baby tree and only as deep as the top of the roots. 

2. Carefully remove any container and loosen the root ball by squeezing it and pulling it apart with your hands.

3. Place the tree in the hole.

4. Fill the hole back in with the dirt and add some water!

5. Starting 5 centimeters from the trunk, add lots of mulch all around your tree, more is better. Now your tree is good to go!

Water every day for the first two weeks then continue to water frequently after. Watch it grow into a perfect home for butterflies!