| MARCH 2024 |
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| In the month of March, the colour green evokes luck. What better month to explore just how lucky we are to have green all around us! In this newsletter you will find a game about conservation areas, an activity about green animals (and the lack of green mammals) as well as suggestions for other engaging activities like sprouting seeds! A month full of green is a perfect segue into next month, the greenest of all, Earth Month! We’ve got some fun animal activities in store. Your class can even adopt an animal! |
This fun cooperative game helps students the importance of conservation areas and actions that can be taken to support conservation efforts.
In the Greenbelt Game, each student is one of 6 different animals living in the Greenbelt. They will be faced with different threats to their habitats. To win the game, they must act wisely so that at least one representative of each animal is left in the Greenbelt at the end of 15 minutes.
Will your class survive 15 minutes?
| EARTH RANGERS HOMEROOM Did you know that Earth Rangers has a whole site dedicated to ready-to-use resources for educators? Visit Earth Rangers Homeroom to check out our activities! Looking for resources in French? Ma Classe Éco has everything you need. You can also sign up to receive our French Newsletter here. |
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| 1. As a class, review the 6 basic animal groups (Invertebrates, Reptiles, Amphibians, Birds, Fish and Mammals) and the difference between each of them. |
| 2. Ask students to think of examples of each type of animal that is green. Below are some examples: |
| Invertebrates: Leaf bugs, Crickets, Grasshopper Reptiles: Garter snakes, Turtles, Tortoises, Iguanas, Chameleons Amphibians: Tree Frogs, Toads, Crocodiles, Alligators Birds: Parakeets, Parrots Fish: Mahi-mahis (Dolphin fish) Mammals: …? |
| 3. Have students hypothesize about why there are no green mammals. |
| According to the National Wildlife Federation, there is one main reason: Mammals have hair, and there are only two pigments for that hair a brown/black and orange/yellow. There is no way to get green out of that. Some people also think it is because animals which need colour for protection tend to live among dead leaves, so green is not a good colour to keep them safe. |
| 4. Going further: Explore animal adaptations with the Our Peculiar Animal activity! |
| ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ACTIVITY: Sprouting Seeds (Earth Rangers), Students plant their own seeds and witness the appearance of green sprouts. LISTEN AND LEARN: Forests are big eco-systems (Earth Rangers), Learn more about the exciting world of green forests. |
| Would you like to join them? Check out our Earth Rangers Club Hub to sign up! |
| “The strengths [of this course] are the way that things are broken down for educators. I love that the resources provided are very clear and help manage educators’ own anxiety about teaching this topic”, Participant, Jan/Feb 2024 session |
| The next 5-week online sessions run from April 8th – May 10th, 2024 and July 15th – Aug 16th, 2024. Registration for the April session closes on April 3rd. For more information or to sign up, click here! To inquire about group discounts, student rates, or financial assistance, contact Stephanie Doyle at courses@earthrangers.com. |
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| Here at Earth Rangers, Earth Month is for the animals! We‘ll be sharing photos and field updates on some awesome conservation projects from our partner researchers, and you can even choose to adopt a class animal! Make sure to check your inbox at the beginning of April for more information. Environmentally yours, Stephanie Education Programs Manager Earth Rangers homeroom@earthrangers.com |
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