Have you heard the buzz? Valentine’s Day is flying this way! But don’t go out and buy cards, make your own instead! Bonus points if you make them out of recycled materials! For today’s Eco-Activity, let’s get crafty and make these BEE-autiful cards to share with the ones you love most!

Instructions:

1. Using your cardstock, make a heart-shaped tracing template. 

2. Fold your yellow construction paper and trace around your heart along the folded side. Cut this out, leaving the folded side uncut. This will give you two joined hearts – ta-da! The head of your bee is also a card! Write a message to your Valentine inside. 

3. Trace and cut out two more yellow hearts – these ones don’t need to be folded.  

4. Trace and cut out two black hearts.  

5. Glue the black heart onto the yellow card so that the black V peeks out from behind the yellow V. Continue with your other yellow and black hearts, alternating colours. This will bee the body!  

6. Trace and cut out two white/light blue hearts. Then glue them onto the back of your bee body, sticking out like wings.

7. Draw a face or add googly eyes to the head/card of your bee.

8. Add antennae by cutting them out of scrap construction paper.

9. Give your Bee Mine card to someone you love!

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!

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and love is in the air at Earth Rangers. Now is the perfect time to show someone how much you love them. We’ve got just what you need: mouth watering, easy-peasy cake cookies! For today’s Eco-Activity, let’s get baking!

Instructions

1. With the help of an adult, preheat the oven to 350°F. 

2. Pour the cake mix into a big bowl and add the eggs and vegetable oil. Mix until you form a dough. If you want to add candies to your cookies, mix them in now.  

3. Take a bit of the dough, roll it into a ball, and place it onto an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat until you’ve used up all the dough. Make sure to leave some space between the balls because they will get bigger as they bake.  

4. If you want to add sprinkles to the top of your cookies, do it now. Make sure to clean up any sprinkles that fall onto the baking sheet so you don’t waste them.

5. Put them in the oven and let them bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on your oven and the size of your cookies.

6. Take them out when they’re done and let them cool.

7. Share your cookies with someone you love!

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!

We’ve got an awesome way to take your outdoor spaces to the next animal-helping level. For today’s Eco-Activity, we’re giving our feathered friends extra food with some wonderful winter decorations. These are a huge help in the winter when food sources may be scarce!

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Cut an orange in half and scoop out the pieces inside. Using just the peel, attach three or four strings through little holes in the side of the orange to create a hanging basket shape. Fill it with bird seed.

• Attach a loop of string to a pine cone and dip it in honey and cover it in bird seed. Then hang it by the loop.

• Thread air-popped popcorn (no salt or other toppings) onto string using a needle. Hang it like tinsel or garland. This one can be very pretty!

• Mix suet bird seed (nice and thick!), squish it into cookie cutters, and push the shapes out onto greaseproof paper. Partly unwind a paperclip and stick it in each shape to create a hole for hanging. Pop your shapes in the freezer to set. Once they’ve set, hang them on string. Voila, edible ornaments!

• Instead of composting, halve and hang up old fruit by attaching string – even if it is bruised or partly rotten! Apples, pears and other fruit will be appreciated by the birds and other backyard buddies!Instead of composting, halve and hang up old fruit by attaching string – even if it is bruised or partly rotten! Apples, pears and other fruit will be appreciated by the birds and other backyard buddies Instead of composting, halve and hang up old fruit by attaching string – even if it is bruised or partly rotten! Apples, pears and other fruit will be appreciated by the birds and other backyard buddies!

Have you ever heard the sound of birds chirping in the winter? We know many birds fly south when it gets colder, but some stay put. For today’s Eco-Activity, see if you can find some signs of these winter-loving birds! 

Instructions

Step 1: Make a chart like the one below so you can keep track of what you see and hear. It’s a good idea to leave some extra spaces so you can add any other signs of birds you see, like a nest. 

Step 2: Grab a pen, and head out into your local forest or nature area. Make sure to dress warmly (wool socks are a good idea)!  

Step 3: Make a note of how many times you hear a bird, see a bird, or see signs of a bird. Bonus points if you can identify what kind of bird you saw! 

Take some photos of your winter bird watching adventure and share them with us on social media!

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!