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Partnering with children to Bring Back the Wild.

Science Education and Outreach

Earth Rangers uses its science education and outreach programs to enable youth to become the next generation of environmental stewards by encouraging them to adopt sustainable practices, and by providing them the with the knowledge they need to pursue a career in science, technology, mathematics, or engineering.  This science-based message is present in our school and community shows, on the web, in our LEED Gold certified showcase building, and embedded in our research initiatives.

School and Community Live Shows:

Our in-school program brings students inquiry-based biodiversity education curriculum integrated into a science-rich, multi-media Bring Back the Wild presentation involving our live animal ambassadors.  Content emphasizes science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in a fun-filled manner, and encourages students to pursue science careers.

On the Web (Wild Wire blog for kids):

Earth Rangers’ blog, the Wild Wire, serves as a communication mode for educating young people about interesting animal facts and cutting-edge advances in the scientific literature.  From quick OMG! Facts, to Take Action initiatives, to interviews with real scientists and researchers, the Wild Wire offers kids informative and engaging content.

Project iRestore:  Improving Biodiversity One Habitat At A Time

Life on Earth is in a state of unprecedented mass extinction and anthropogenic change due to habitat degradation, climate change, and invasive plants (Sala et al. 2000, Caro and Sherman 2011). In Canada, 579 wildlife species are at risk of extinction and another 23 species have been extirpated from Canada (COSEWIC October 2010 Report), largely due to habitat degradation.  An estimated 1% of tallgrass prairies and savannas remain (http://www.tallgrassontario.org/).  Approximately 30% of Canada’s at-risk animals are dependent on wetland habitat, yet 70% of Canadian wetlands have been denuded or lost forever.

The purpose of Project iRestore is to improve animal and plant biodiversity in southern Ontario using scientific methodologies, and to educate students, businesses, and local community members about conservation and the environment.  Based at the Earth Rangers Centre, this long-term project focuses on habitat surrounding the Earth Rangers Centre For Sustainable Technology in Woodbridge, ON, Canada.  This area is primarily a landscape-level matrix of old agricultural fields and fragmented mixed deciduous forest. Project iRestore is a multi-partner project that complements local conservation priorities, and offers year-round citizen science opportunities for students, corporate volunteers, and local residents.

Project iRestore has three main objectives:

• Restore three native threatened habitat types (tallgrass prairie, deciduous forest, wetlands) and steward plant and animal biodiversity;

• Use habitat restoration as a long-term education program anchored around at-risk animals, the impact of invasive organisms on biodiversity, and the relationships between abiotic (non-living) and biotic (living) environmental factors; and
• Establish a habitat restoration model that can be replicated by corporations and homeowners wishing to be more environmentally sustainable.

Earth Rangers Centre for Sustainable Technology:  Showcase Site

Earth Rangers has pioneered the integration of the latest “smart” technologies in building sustainability and innovation.  Our Earth Rangers Centre for Sustainable Technology is a STEM showcase for how science, technology, and engineering can innervate in ways that reduce a corporation’s carbon footprint on the environment.

Conservation Education Scholarly Initiatives

Research:

Earth Rangers’ Science Advisor, Dr. Scott Tarof, is actively involved in collaborative research with York University.  The thrust of this exciting research is to gain a better understanding of the breeding biology, survival, and migration ecology of songbirds so as to better inform conservation strategies.  As a taxonomic group, songbirds currently face precipitous declines.

Partnerships:

Earth Rangers works with several like-minded biodiversity conservation organizations and educational institutions.  Our science partnerships empower us to collectively bring back the wild through dynamic and engaging science education and research initiatives.

Publications:

*  A 2011 editor’s choice paper, Earth Rangers’ Science Advisor, Dr. Scott, along with colleagues from York University and the Purple Martin Conservation Association, recently wrote a new study examining ecological factors influencing juvenile survival in a Neotropical migratory songbird, the Purple Martin (Progne subis).  This paper is available online in The Auk and published by the University of California Press.

*  Scientists know very little about how paternity patterns change within the lifespan of individual animals.  This lack of knowledge is due to difficulties in collecting large paternity data sets where actual male age is known for the individuals sampled.  In collaboration with researchers from York University and the Purple Martin Conservation Association, Dr. Scott has published an innovative new paper investigating the effects of known age on male mating success in birds.  This study is accessible online in Behavioral Ecology and has been published by Oxford Journals.