Be a Wildlife Ranger in Your Own Backyard

By Mary Kay Carson

This one is for the birds—literally.

You may think of wildlife as being African elephants and Antarctic penguins, but there’s wildlife all around you. How can you save the wild animals, like birds, foxes, butterflies, and turtles, that live in your neighborhood?

Become a backyard ranger and make your own yard more wildlife friendly! You can do this by creating habitats—places where butterflies find food, frogs seek shelter, nuthatches nest, or deer drink water.

storey-Be a Wildlife Ranger in Your Own Backyard-01 — Backyard habitat illustration © Jada Fitch excerpted from the Wildlife Ranger Action Guide

Start small. Nothing brightens up tree branches like a collection of birdseed ornaments. You can smear nut butter on pinecones or toilet paper rolls and coat with wild birdseed, or thread oat cereal loops onto pipe cleaners. For an extra special treat, try making these homemade cookie cutter birdseed ornaments as featured in the Wildlife Ranger Action Guide. Your feathered friends will thank you!

storey-Be a Wildlife Ranger in Your Own Backyard-02 — Birdseed ornaments © Tom Uhlman excerpted from the Wildlife Ranger Action Guide

What you will need:

Water
Microwaveable mixing bowl and spoon
2 packets of unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons (35 mL) corn syrup, molasses, or honey
2½ cups (600 mL)wild birdseed mix
Several large cookie cutters or molds
Scissors
Plastic drinking straws cut into short pieces
Yarn or string

Steps:

Pour ½ cup (120 mL) cold water into the bowl. Add both packets of gelatin and stir. Heat ½ cup water in the microwave until boiling. Add it to the mixture and stir until all the gelatin dissolves.

storey-Be a Wildlife Ranger in Your Own Backyard-03 — Birdseed ornament mixture photo © Tom Uhlman excerpted from the Wildlife Ranger Action Guide

Add the sweetener and birdseed. Mix well. Set the bowl in the refrigerator to cool down for about 30 minutes.
When the mixture has firmed up, spoon it into the molds or cookie cutters. Press the mixture in firmly.

storey-Be a Wildlife Ranger in Your Own Backyard-04 — Birdseed ornaments in progress photo © Tom Uhlman excerpted from the Wildlife Ranger Action Guide

Poke a straw into each mold to create a hole near the center. Let the birdseed ornaments set up overnight in the refrigerator.
Carefully pop the ornaments out of the molds and remove the straws. Thread yarn or string through the holes and tie to make loops. Hang them outside and see who comes to visit.

storey-Be a Wildlife Ranger in Your Own Backyard-05 — Birdseed ornaments and cookies photo © Tom Uhlman excerpted from the Wildlife Ranger Action Guide

Once you’ve tried this, move on to more advanced wildlife rescue actions. The Wildlife Ranger Action Guide is jam-packed with projects and activities that help protect the animals around you.

And speaking of birds, pop over to Twitter and say hi to us @marykaycarson and @storeypub. We’d love to hear from you!

EXCERPTED AND ADAPTED FROM THE WILDLIFE RANGER ACTION GUIDE © MARY KAY CARSON.

Wildlife Ranger Action Guide

by Mary Kay Carson

As concern for the welfare of species like honey bees and monarch butterflies grows alongside awareness of the impact of climate change, inspiring the next generation of citizen scientists is more important than ever. With Wildlife Ranger Action Guide, kids can make the world better for the animals and insects they love, starting right in their own backyards. Dozens of hands-on activities and habitat creation projects, such as making a frog pond from a kiddie pool, planting a pollinator garden for bees, painting a bat house, and building a lodge for lizards, encourage children to learn about and take an active role in protecting local wildlife. Lively photographic field guides covering 78 North American wildlife species teach kids about the habits and habitats of each and include tips for providing the plants and food needed for their survival.

$18.95

$23.95 CAD

Format

Also available from:

Mary Kay Carson

About the Author

Mary Kay Carson is the author of Wildlife Ranger Action Guide. She has written more than 50 books for young people about wildlife, space, weather, nature, and history, including six titles in the acclaimed Science in the Field series, Weather Projects for Young Scientists, and more. She has served as associate editor of Scholastic Super Science magazine and developed student and teacher guides for Audubon Adventures.

Learn more about this author

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