The proposed legislative change follows calls by CWF to amend the Fisheries Act to enable new tools to offset harms to fish and fish habitats. With aquatic habitat loss a major source of biodiversity decline in Canada, this is an important step to promote long-term conservation and habitat restoration, keeping Canada’s waterways healthy. 

At present, the offsetting process in Canada largely relies on project proponents to individually address harms to fish and fish habitats caused by development activities. This approach has been largely ineffective, as offsetting requirements are applied inconsistently, and offsets are typically smaller than habitats harmed or fail to perform as intended. Additionally, thousands of smaller projects result in residual harm that is not offset each year. This is because the amount of harm is too small to address effectively through individual restoration projects. For decades, this has been contributing to a cumulative loss and degradation of fish habitat in Canada. 

Improving Outcomes by Pooling Resources 

Third-party habitat banking and in-lieu fees can make offsetting more effective by pooling resources and enabling restoration projects that are important and effective at large ecosystem scales, providing far greater fish-habitat benefits across Canada. Third parties, including Indigenous communities, not-for-profit conservation organizations, habitat restoration companies, and even local-led and community groups can then lead habitat restoration activities at scale, rather than on a project-by-project basis.  

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due 

Third-party habitat banking enables the creation of credits for ongoing restoration and conservation work, which can then be sold to companies engaged in construction activities. In-lieu fees can generate significant funding to pay for additional habitat restoration. Both mechanisms pool offsetting resources and streamline regulatory decisions, reducing administrative burdens for governments and proponents. This supports rapid economic growth and development in Canada and enables cost-savings from reduced red tape to be redirected to support habitat restoration: a win-win outcome. 

Of the offsetting mechanisms, habitat banking is seen as the most effective because habitats are restored before any environmental damage occurs. This creates habitat benefits upfront while requiring that the restoration is proven to be effective before credits are sold to offset harm from development projects. 

Improving the Fisheries Act 

Enabling third-party habitat banking and in-lieu fees has been a top-priority for CWF’s advocacy work over the past 15 years. The newly introduced amendments will establish the legislative architecture for third-party habitat banking and in-lieu fees by broadening the Fisheries Act. 

In sum, this bill will expand offsetting requirements from the current framework where the developer is the only one who can undertake the conservation offset project. Responsibility for effectively offsetting harm will continue to rest with developers for certain projects where this is the best model, such as when a particularly important habitat is harmed and needs to be restored directly. In other situations, and especially for small projects that cannot be effectively offset directly by developers, these changes will create the legal foundation for independent groups to lead restoration efforts, including restoring habitat in advance to generate certified credits to sell to project proponents requiring offsets, helping to create a new restoration economy for Canada. 

Next steps 

Amendments to the Fisheries Act are an important first step in improving the conservation of aquatic ecosystems. CWF will continue to work with the federal government to develop the third-party habitat banking system once the bill is passed. If done well, improved offsetting will ensure net-positive gains for fish and fish habitats affected by development. 

The focus of my research was on North Atlantic Right Whales (NARW) and the risk of entanglement in fixed lobster fishing gear — specifically within the international grey zone in the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine. This region is particularly interesting from a management perspective because it falls under the jurisdiction of both Canada and the United States, allowing lobster fishing to take place under different regulations and seasons. The grey zone presents a unique challenge when it comes to managing risks to NARW. When these whales are observed in the grey zone, there is a lack of fishing prohibitions in place to protect them from entanglement compared to other lobster fishing areas in Canada that are subject to fishery closures. 

The goal of my research was to better understand the overlap between NARW presence and lobster fishing activity within and around the grey zone over space and time. This project is one of the first studies to combine datasets from both the United States and Canada to develop a better understanding of entanglement risk in this region. Combining data from both countries is particularly important because the grey zone crosses an international boundary and examining fishing activity from only one country would provide an incomplete picture of the potential risk. The research involved using fishing and NARW datasets, as well as programs such as R and GIS, to visualize and analyze patterns in whale occurrence and fishing activity.

The risk of entanglement was evaluated from 2020 to 2025, with a broader study area encompassing Lobster Management Area 1, Zone A in the USA and Lobster Fishing Areas 34 to 38 in Canada. Expanding the study area helped provide a more comprehensive understanding of seasonal migration pathways and movement patterns of NARW, while also allowing for a better assessment of how fishing activity overlaps with areas where NARW are present.

More Overlap Than Thought Between Fishing and North Atlantic Right Whales in International Zone

Although fishing activity within the grey zone was relatively low compared to surrounding fishing areas, approximately 221,000 endlines (the end portion of fishing gear where the tackle is attached) were recorded between 2020 and 2025 on the Canadian side. In 2024 alone, 39,120 endlines were recorded, while eight NARW were observed in the region. These findings highlight the potential for overlap between fishing gear and NARW presence, emphasizing the importance of understanding entanglement risk in an area with limited protection measures.

One of the most valuable parts of this internship has been the opportunity to develop skills that I will carry with me throughout my future career. I have learned how to work with fisheries datasets, troubleshoot and interpret data, create maps, and conduct research. I have also strengthened my communication, organization and problem-solving skills through working with CWF’s marine team and learning from the staff.

My time with CWF has also given me the opportunity to learn from individuals with a wide range of knowledge and experience in marine conservation. Getting to know the marine team and learning about the exciting work CWF is involved in has been one of the highlights of my summer.

I am grateful for my time with CWF and the marine team in Halifax and for the opportunity to contribute to this work while supporting my professional development throughout the summer. This experience has strengthened my interest in marine conservation, and I look forward to seeing my graduate project continue to develop and come to completion in the fall.

Author: Emma Hughes

Emma is a Master of Marine Management Candidate at Dalhousie University expecting to complete her studies in December 2026. Her background includes a Bachelor of Science from Acadia University, with a focus on Biology, and a Graduate Certificate in Oceans Technology from Nova Scotia Community College. She worked with CWF as a student researcher alongside the marine team in Halifax.

To this day, I am obsessed with anything dolphin and whale related. Originally from Ontario, my obsession led me to move to Nova Scotia for school, where I pursued a marine biology degree at Dalhousie University in Halifax and started my Master’s degree immediately after. Which all eventually led me to an internship opportunity at the Canadian Wildlife Federation.

I learned about the CWF internship through my Master’s program, being connected to my (now) supervisor through the program. After several chats, I learned about the exciting opportunities CWF offered to support and encourage my graduate project. When I first started my internship, I met the CWF marine team in the Halifax office. The team welcomed me with open arms, and I got to see all the gear which is lent out to harvesters across the Maritimes. Additionally, I was connected with people who could help me throughout my research and give me meaningful advice.

Study Focuses on Whalesafe Fishing Gear Strategy

The main task of my internship was to work on my graduate project for university. My graduate project examines harvesters’ perspectives on Canada’s recently released Whalesafe Fishing Gear Strategy, including what information they consider important to understand about their fishery and how they want the strategy implemented overall. The Whalesafe Fishing Gear Strategy aims to integrate whalesafe gear (such as on-demand gear and low breaking strength gear), in fisheries with a high risk of whale entanglement.

Ultimately, the goal is to lower entanglement risk, particularly for species like the North Atlantic Right Whale. Harvesters are obviously most affected by this strategy, so my work involves interviewing harvesters by phone across both the Atlantic and Pacific regions to gather their perspectives. The ultimate goal of my research is to find common themes and sentiments amongst harvesters to make recommendations to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) on how best to implement the strategy.

Harvester Input Essential

Throughout the summer I’ve been able to interview a variety of harvesters to gather perspectives on the Whalesafe Gear Strategy. It was sometimes challenging contacting the harvesters, however, using the connections and relationships CWF has built with harvesters, I was able to overcome this challenge and secure the interviews needed for my project. In the coming months, I hope to make my recommendations through further interviews, interview analysis and writing my final graduate paper.

Hearing from harvesters coast to coast has been a privilege that has furthered my research and has gotten me one step closer to making recommendations on how to best implement the whalesafe fishing gear strategy.

Author: Claire Hamer

Claire is a Master of Marine Management Student at Dalhousie University who started working as a marine research assistant at CWF for the summer of 2026. Originally from Ontario, she moved to Nova Scotia to obtain a marine biology degree. Outside of work Claire can be caught on walks by the boardwalk or lounging around playing video games.

Every photograph in the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Calendar tells a story, capturing the beauty, diversity, and wonder of wildlife and wild spaces in Canada. Behind each image is a talented photographer whose passion, patience and dedication help bring these remarkable moments to life.

Explore the calendar photos featured in our annual calendar, distributed to over 600,000 Canadians, and learn more about the photographers who captured them and the moments behind the work. We are proud to showcase these incredible individuals whose creativity and commitment help connect Canadians with the natural world.

Cover Photo

• Photographer: Steven Heipel
• Location: Baffin Bay, NU
• Species: Arctic Fox (Vulpes lagopus)

“This Arctic Fox was spotted on an iceberg stuck in the sea ice of the frozen Baffin Bay. I was positioned luckily enough to see the fox leaving the ‘berg, through the ice rumble at the bottom of the ‘berg. I whispered, ‘please look back!’ and the fox complied. Click!”

January

• Photographer: Karl Patrick Umbriaco
• Location: Gatineau, QC
• Species: Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis)

February

• Photographer: Laurent Silvani
• Location: Québec, QC
• Featured Photograph: Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus)

“Superbe rencontre avec ce lièvre en pelage hivernale.”

March

• Photographer: Doug Gordon
• Location: Perth County, ON
• Species: American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

“Transitioning Goldfinch. American Goldfinches are amongst the most common and beloved backyard birds in North America…”

April

• Photographer: Alexandre Lauzier
• Location: Piedmont, QC
• Species: Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)

May

• Photographer: Brenda Doherty
• Location: Ariss, ON
• Species: Hover Fly (Family Syrphidae)

“I captured this shot of the Hoverfly on an aster flower in my back yard garden.”

June

• Photographer: Jocelyn Praud
• Location: Les Bergeronnes, QC
• Species: Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)

“Minke whale surface feeding in the St-Lawrence River at sunset.”

July

• Photographer: Geoff McDonell
• Location: Richmond, BC
• Species: Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna)

“A small patch of bush near the London’s Landing pier always has some birds passing through…”

August

• Photographer: Shayna Vankoughnett
• Location: Toledo, ON
• Species: Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)

“Black Swallowtail visiting my native plant garden to feed on Spotted Joe Pye Weed.”

September

• Photographer: Kathryn Peiman
• Location: Lynde Shore, ON
• Species: Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

“Walking a path early one morning, I spotted this lovely snapping turtle, who was likely looking for a place to lay eggs…”

October

• Photographer: Cairang Jia
• Location: Grasslands National Park, SK
• Species: Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana)

“On a quiet morning, I was driving on the backroads of Grasslands National Park when I noticed something resting in the tall grass…”

November

• Photographer: Sandra Bourgeois
• Location: Vancouver, BC
• Species: Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)

“Hibou des Marais sur la cote de Vancouver.”

December

• Photographer: Norrie Franko
• Location: West Lincoln, ON
• Species: Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

“So lovely being able to photograph birds in the backyard.”

Additional Calendar Features

Your Connection to Wildlife

Photographer: Theresa Muth, Sooke, BC

“In image of my son as we were walking along a rainforest trail in Sooke, BC.”

Observances Page

Photographer: Shivam Rajdev, Elliston, NL

Species: Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica)

“Enjoying the view! These birds live in some of the most scenic locations. I wonder whether they pause to enjoy any of that…”

Learn more about the Canadian Wildlife Federation Photo Club >

Strengthening not only bat populations, but the communities who commit to conserving them as well.

Traditionally when people reference community, they are referring to a group of people who live in the same area or are grouped together based on some shared interests. But this definition excludes all the other species and living elements that make a community whole. The grass we congregate on, the trees we rest under, the gardens we tend and the plants and animals we admire all contribute to making an area people share feel like a community. These crucial elements are also often doing work behind the scenes to ensure the health and longevity of the environments we share.

Bats are an especially important part of this framework. Not only can they eat thousands of insects each night, making a buggy Canadian summer slightly more bearable, but they also reduce our reliance on toxic pesticides. In fact, in North America, bats save the agricultural industry $3.7 billion annually in insect control. So, not only do they control biting insects (some of which can be vectors of disease), but having a healthy colony of bats can also protect gardens and crops from damaging pests — an essential service in most communities!

Unfortunately, right now, eight of our 18 bat species in Canada are at risk of extinction due directly to human activity, but humans can also be the solution.

How You Can Help

Here are some things that you can do to make your community more bat-friendly:

• Plant pollinator gardens (including night-blooming plant varieties such as evening primroses) to attract moths and other prey for bats.
• Hang baskets and place potted native plants to create food and habitat for insects. This is especially important in urban areas.
• Plant native trees, shrubs and plants to provide food for larvae or adult insects and to provide cover for bats flying between foraging, watering and resting locations.
• Turn off outdoor lights at night, especially in the spring, summer and fall, to encourage bats to use the area.
• Remove invasive plants like burdock that bats can get entangled in.
• Replant native plant species where invasive ones have been removed.
• Decrease pesticide use and convert all (or parts) of your lawn from manicured grass to native plants and cover. This will help to reduce water, pesticide and fertilizer use.
• Help host a native seed and tree giveaway for your community. There may be local organizations/gardening clubs in your area that are already doing giveaways or have connections to local nurseries that could help you organize the event.
• Take CWF’s Pledge for Bats and join a network of Canadians across the country who are helping their communities become bat-friendly. Visit HelptheBats.ca to take the pledge today and to learn more about bats in Canada.

Become Certified as a Bat-friendly Community!

This year, CWF, alongside the Community Bat Programs of BC and Wildlife Conservation Society Canada’s Alberta Community Bat Program, have launched a national Bat-friendly Community Certification to unite communities in the conservation of bats and the habitat we share!

Building off the existing programs in BC and Alberta, the focus of this certification is to:

• Protect, create or enhance bat habitat in communities
• Promote learning
• Provide information about bats that is accessible to community members

Stewardship and management of bats within our communities is critical to their future in Canada. When combined with the efforts of communities across the country, even small-scale actions can have large-scale impacts on bat conservation. So, let’s work together to help local bats!

Visit batfriendlycommunities.ca to learn more about the Bat-friendly Community Certification and how your community can get involved!

I have the chance to manage this program and so I head out in all sorts of different habitats to supervise the process needed to create our videos. Last year, we visited British Columbia’s rainforest, a unique and complex habitat that is kept healthy by the presence of a great diversity of plant and animal species. But as visitors to this habitat, our team had to follow strict rules to help conserve such a special place. And these rules don’t only apply to the rainforest, they are good rules to follow every time you visit a part of the amazing wilderness in Canada.

Have you heard the saying “leave only footprints, take only memories”? This is a great motto to live by when visiting a wild space. In the rainforest, and all other habitats, it’s important to act like a responsible visitor. Here are seven easy ways to do just that:

1. Stay on the marked trails, as wildlife might be impacted when a human strays and walks out.
2. Keep your pet on a leash, as your dog might be interested in having an intimate meeting with an unwilling wildlife species.
3. Keep a safe distance from any other critter, as even the smallest critters like the rainforest’s Banana Slug should not be handled.
4. Never feed wildlife since it habituates animals to the presence of humans and might take away their reflex of fearing us, which is to everyone’s (including the animal itself) benefit.
5. Don’t leave litter lying around even if it’s biodegradable, as who knows how long it takes to disintegrate in the wild and those apple cores could attract animals to areas they wouldn’t normally frequent.
6. Leave natural items where they are, don’t remove them from the area. You have memories to take back with you.
7. Most important of all, please follow fire bans and regulations around having a fire. The fires we see presently raging in our country are often caused by negligent human activity and the resulting disasters, because of climate change, are more intense than regular forest fires. This has a major impact on our wildlife, whether in or out of the rainforest.

Sharing is Caring

Another way to help is to teach others about a place you love, which may inspire them to also act for its conservation. To help you talk about your day in the wild to others, you can take pictures! It’s my own way of safely appreciating any wild space. This enables me to have a look later at all the species I’ve seen and talk about them… and when I’m stuck in my identification of a plant or animal, I upload my picture to iNaturalist.ca. This might give me some answers while helping scientists to figure out where and when a species is in a given space.

This is a bit like what I do at work: I get to share the footage my team has taken! It’s a great way of making others visit the wilderness like the rainforest. In fact, if you want to learn more about this unique ecosystem, watch out for the new Hinterland Who’s Who videos which are coming out this year! They present important species for the rainforest, which include the Banana Slug, the Bald Eagle and the Red Cedar. Go have a look at hww.ca!

From seasoned mycologists (people who study mushrooms and other fungi) to curious naturalists and everyone in between, fungi are in the spotlight.

Mushrooms, slime molds and all their eccentric relatives have long captivated nature enthusiasts, but now hundreds of new fungal recruits are joining this fascination with a shared mission: to build the most comprehensive biodiversity survey of macrofungi ever attempted across North America. Macrofungi are those we often think about then hearing word fungi – like mushrooms with caps, puffballs or bracket fungi.

At the heart of this effort is Mycota Lab, a non-profit dedicated to advancing fungal knowledge across the continent. Through their large-scale DNA sequencing initiative, they are offering free opportunities of finding the exact order of the four chemical building blocks that make up DNA to both professional mycologists and community scientists, an unprecedented chance to illuminate the fungal diversity around us.

Creating a Canada-wide Inventory

Several Canadian provinces have already jumped into the challenge of mapping fungi in their area. In Atlantic Canada, the regional MycoMap project launched in 2024 and spanning New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island has collected over 7,652 dried specimens for sequencing. Alberta recently joined the national effort in 2026, becoming the only non-coastal province currently contributing to this Canada-wide fungal inventory.

The province stealing the spotlight, however, is British Columbia. The MycoMap BC project stands out not only because of the biodiversity in the province but for the remarkable level of community participation driving it forward. The project launched in fall of 2025, and as of the end of July 2026, more than 20,000 dried specimens have been collected and the 200+ dedicated community scientists involved show no signs of slowing down. Among the nearly 10,000 sequences processed, 10 per cent represent new records for British Columbia on iNaturalist (a community science platform where people can record and share wildlife observations). These include already-known species and collections so new they are known only by temporary code names. Such findings reveal just how much fungal diversity remains undocumented and what incredible potential lies within the remaining samples.

Growing the Network

Before MycoMap BC, significant data gaps hampered fungal research in the Pacific Northwest. Only 680 sequenced fungal collections from BC were available on iNaturalist, far fewer than Washington (9,355), Oregon (4,306) or California (19,829), despite BC having more total (sequenced and non-sequenced records) fungal iNaturalist observations than both Washington and Oregon. Limited access to sequencing had been a major barrier to understanding species distributions and regional diversity. Thanks to the Mycota Lab and the MycoMap BC project, those barriers are coming down, opening the door for community mycologists to contribute in ways that were once impossible.

The BC project’s collaboration with the University of Victoria adds yet another layer of impact. Students are gaining hands-on experience in biodiversity science: from guided mushroom walks and bioblitzes to learning to sample fungal tissue to prepare it for sequencing and analyzing DNA barcodes. And this opportunity isn’t exclusive; community volunteers are invited into the lab as well, creating a rare and meaningful space where local enthusiasm directly fuels scientific discovery.

But perhaps the most exciting part of MycoMap BC is that the story isn’t finished, not even close. Every field season, every mushroom walk, every specimen carefully dried and submitted is another piece of BC’s ecological puzzle snapping into place. And because community scientists are leading the way, anyone with a bit of curiosity and a willingness to crouch next to a log after the rain can help rewrite what we know about fungal life in the province.

Fungi are famously good at surprising us. They break rules, defy expectations and pop up in places we least expect. As the MycoMap BC database continues to grow, so does our understanding of the hidden networks that support forests, wildlife and ecosystems in Canada.

So if you’ve ever wondered what mysteries might be waiting under the next rotting stump or along your favourite trail, this is your invitation: grab a hand lens, open iNaturalist and join the hunt. Because the next big fungal discovery could be yours.

You can read more about how to participate at the MycoMap.org network page, where you can click through to a participating province.

Authors: Samuelle Simard-Provincal and Elora Adamson

Elora is a Mycology enthusiast, naturalist and graduate student at the University of Victoria. She coordinates the MycoMap BC project.

This year, our theme is Action. Throughout the school year, we’ll explore ways students can make a difference for wildlife and their communities through different types of actions. Read our WILD Education blog to learn more about the different types of actions.  But before we jump into action, we need to start with something even more important: connection.

The WILD Spaces journey goes through five phases:

1. Connect – Build a relationship with your outdoor space.
2. Learn – Discover the plants, animals, and habitats around you.
3. Plan – Identify opportunities to support wildlife.
4. Act – Put your ideas into action.
5. Reflect – Celebrate accomplishments and think about what comes next.

Every meaningful action begins with understanding and appreciation. That’s why our first step is to connect with the outdoor spaces around us.

Every Space Is a WILD Space

When we think about wildlife, it’s easy to imagine forests, wetlands, or national parks. But wildlife exists everywhere. School grounds, parks, gardens, and even small patches of grass can provide habitat for wildlife.

In fact, the most important thing about a WILD Space isn’t its size. What matters is the role it plays in supporting the plants and animals that call it home.

Take your students outside and encourage them to explore with curiosity. Ask questions such as:

• What do you notice?
• What can you hear?
• What living things share this space with us?
• What surprises you?
• What do you wonder about?

There are no set answers. The goal is simply to start paying attention.

Slow Down and Observe

We often move through outdoor spaces without really seeing them. Connection begins when we slow down.

Invite students to spend a few quiet minutes observing a single spot. They may notice:

• birds calling from nearby trees
• insects moving through the grass
• plants growing in unexpected places
• changing weather conditions
• signs of wildlife such as feathers, nests, tracks, or chewed leaves

Even spaces that seem ordinary can reveal extraordinary details when we take the time to look.

Consider having students record their observations through sketches, maps, or journal entries. These observations will become valuable as your WILD Space changes throughout the year.

Build a Sense of Place

One of the best ways to connect with nature is to return to the same place again and again.

As students revisit their WILD Space throughout the seasons, they begin to notice patterns and changes:

• Which plants appear first in spring?
• Which birds visit during migration?
• How do weather and seasons affect the space?
• What wildlife is present at different times of the year?

By returning regularly, students develop a stronger connection to the space and a greater sense of stewardship for the living things that depend on it.

Try These Connection Activities

Sit Spot Activity – Follow these links to learn about Sit Spots, where you use all five senses to quietly connect with your WILD Space. Sit Spot Webinar , Sit spot resources

Wildlife Search – Look for evidence of wildlife, including tracks, nests, feathers, insect activity, and animal homes. If you find any, upload photos to The Great Canadian Bioblitz (Sept 18 – 27) on iNaturalist to help community science.

Nature Journal – Project Learning Tree has tips on how to teach nature journaling. Use this resource to create a record of observations, questions, sketches, and discoveries throughout the year.

Map Your Space – Work together to create a map of your schoolyard. Use either of these activities found in the CWF Learning Library to map your WILD Space:

• Discover Your Place in Your Habitat
• Map That Habitat

Well-Being through Outdoor Learning – This one-hour virtual workshop through the Outdoor Learning School & Store on September 15 talks about how connecting to nature can support children’s well-being and mental health.

Looking Ahead

This month, focus on getting to know your outdoor space. What wildlife is already there? What makes this place unique? What stories does it have to tell?

In the next blog, we’ll explore our second WILD Spaces theme: Learn, where we’ll provide more resources to help you learn about what is already in your WILD Space.

For now, head outside and start noticing. Sometimes the biggest actions begin with simply stopping, looking, and connecting.

If you discovered this blog on our website, be sure to sign up for the monthly WILD Education newsletter. You’ll receive monthly updates and everything you need to stay inspired and keep your garden growing strong! 

Welcome back to a new school year! This year, we’re focusing on connecting to nature through conservation actions — empowering students to explore, care for, and protect the world around them. Through meaningful actions, students will discover how their choices and actions can support wildlife, strengthen communities, and create lasting environmental change.

There are many types of actions students can take, each offering a unique way to connect with nature and make a difference.

Environmental actions focus on understanding and protecting ecosystems as a whole by exploring environmental issues, investigating human impacts, and taking steps to restore or maintain the health of natural systems.

Stewardship actions focus on caring for the environment through hands-on projects like habitat restoration and species monitoring.

Social actions involve raising awareness and advocating for change on environmental issues that affect communities.

Citizenship actions help students understand their role in decision-making and policy, from writing letters to participating in school councils.

Lifestyle actions encourage personal choices that reduce environmental impact, such as waste reduction or sustainable transportation.

What Inspires Students to Take Action?

Taking action doesn’t happen by chance — it grows from meaningful learning experiences that connect students emotionally, intellectually, and physically to the natural world. Earth Rangers believes there are 5 E’s to drive Eco Action.

Empathy
Empathy is the emotional foundation of conservation. When students feel connected to wildlife and natural spaces, they begin to care more deeply about protecting them. Time spent outdoors, observing plants and animals firsthand, helps build this sense of connection. Learn more about connection to nature in our WILD Spaces blog.

Education
Knowledge gives students the tools they need to understand environmental challenges and think critically about solutions. Learning about ecosystems, species, and human impacts allows students to make informed decisions and take purposeful action.

Excitement
Engaging, hands-on experiences spark curiosity and motivation. When learning is interactive and positive, students are more likely to feel inspired and eager to participate in environmental action.

Environmental Stewardship
This is where learning becomes action. By planting, restoring, building, and caring for habitats, students apply their knowledge in tangible ways and begin to see the results of their efforts.

Empowerment
Perhaps most importantly, students need to believe that their actions matter. When they see the impact of their work, they develop confidence and a sense of responsibility. Empowerment transforms students from passive learners into active leaders.

Teaching Resources

• Need funding for an action project idea? Check out the Learning for Sustainable Futures Action project funding
• Have an action project that could benefit from mapping technology? Check out Esri Canada’s resources for teachers
• Want to learn how you can get out in nature near you with your class? Check out the Canadian Centre for Nature-based Education “Nature Near Me” asset map.

WILD Education activity guides

Did you know that the Canadian Wildlife Federation has three activity guides full of ready-made lesson plans and activities to help you bring Nature-based education

To access the full guide and materials, sign up for a professional development session near you!

Join a WILD Education Workshop

Take action this month

This September (18 – 27), join the CWF Great Canadian BioBlitz and encourage students to document wildlife in their schoolyard or community. Every observation helps improve our understanding of Canada’s biodiversity and gives students an opportunity to contribute to real-world conservation efforts.

Canadian Wildlife Federation: The CWF Great Canadian Bioblitz

For more educational resources, projects, and lesson plans, check out our Online Learning Library and sign up for our monthly WILD Education newsletter.

Most folks know fungi only as fuzzy organisms that grow on forgotten food in your refrigerator. But the fungal kingdom is vaster and more fascinating. From food and medicine to underground ecosystems, fungi quietly support life in ways we are only beginning to understand.

Food

You’ve likely eaten mushrooms like morels, chanterelles or oyster mushrooms. Mushrooms are packed with vitamins and minerals, some protein and fiber. Interestingly, they can also be a source of vitamin D when they have been in sunlight. Wildlife such as deer, bears and squirrels also eat mushrooms, even eating some species that are toxic to humans.

Medicine

Beyond their role as food, fungi also play a surprising role in human health. Humans have used mushrooms as medicine for thousands of years. Many mushrooms have been known to support immunity, aid in healing and support the nervous system. Today, scientists have identified around 900 fungal compounds used in modern medicine. There is more still to discover.

Ecological Role

However, fungi do a whole lot more than just provide medicine and a food source. The part of the mushroom you see growing above ground is just the fruiting body. Below the ground is the mycelium (a vast network of white thread-like structures). You may have seen it under logs or stumps.

Did you know that mycelium support plants to grow through our country and the world?

This mycelium network allows nutrients and water to move around which supports many species of plants. Mycelium use three different strategies to obtain energy:

1. parasitism (stealing food)
2. saprophytic (breaking down dead material)
3. mycorrhization (forming partnerships with plant roots)

Without recycling decaying material, the world would look quite a bit different. You are likely familiar with these first two strategies of fungi.

The third is even more interesting. This life strategy is the symbiotic relationship between the fungi and the roots of plants.

Why Mycorrhizae Matter

Did you know mycelium support the whole web of life underground?

A single mycelium can extend over a surface of 10.36 square km. Most plants can’t move their roots this far. Thus, a plant can trade a surplus of sugar produced by photosynthesis in exchange for increased access to water, nutrients and protection. It’s a win-win situation for the fungi and the plant. This also helps with drought tolerance and fighting off disease. They also interact with other creatures in the soil such as nematodes and arthropods who eat the fungi. These species in turn interact with larger creatures in the soil and above the soil. Mycelium even shares information, similar to a social network, in a term coined as the “wood wide web”, allowing signals to be sent across a forest from plant to plant, for example to warn against an insect infestation.

Did you know that fungi are being used to support agriculture and horticulture?

Many home gardeners are also using fungal products as amendments to support healthy plant growth.

Types of Mycorrhizae

• Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AMF) grow into the cells of the roots and are found in about 85 per cent of plant families.
• Ectomycorrhizal (EMF) grow on the surface of roots and support coniferous and deciduous trees. Some fungi even partner with only one type of tree.

Mycorrhizal amendments are starting to be used in habitat restoration projects, particularly where the soil has been disturbed through development or chemicals. By reintroducing these species, native plants grow better and are more resistant to invasive species and drought.

Thus, it is understood that whenever soils are disturbed, these delicate mycorrhizae can be damaged. Also, where vegetation is removed, mycorrhizal life is wiped out.

Reclaiming Soils

In places where there has been major ground disturbance, like in mining sites, mycorrhizae can be used to reclaim soils. Mycorrhizae produce something called ‘glomalin’ which binds soil particles together, increasing moisture holding and reducing erosion. The mycelium also makes nutrients available that otherwise might not be available. They can also filter out toxic heavy metals like arsenic, lead and cadmium. Of course, they also encourage the early plant growth of these sites.

Overall, these tiny, invisible organisms are working quietly, with many benefits to humans and ecosystems.