Nature Conservancy of Canada, Earth Rangers, and SFI Want to Make Life Less Scary for Amphibians

Slimy, slithery creatures take centre stage at Halloween, but they fascinate children all year round. Kids are onto something because these animals are important to the health and biodiversity of Canada’s forests. That’s why the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is proud to support important conservation research on amphibians and their habitat led by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and the Earth Rangers’ School Assembly Program, which leverages kids’ love of nature — even the slimy and slithering kind.

“Amphibians have been declining worldwide for nearly two decades, and little is known about the causes of these declines,” said Peter Kendall, Executive Director of Earth Rangers. “SFI’s support of this important research and of our
School Assembly Program helps increase students’ understanding of the key role amphibians play in forest ecosystems, and inspires optimism in our children for what’s possible when we all work together to protect the environment.”

Through the power of live animal demonstrations and exciting audience interaction, the Earth Rangers cross-Canada school tour helps students learn about the importance of protecting and conserving biodiversity, while highlighting important conservation initiatives across Canada. This year’s show features, among other topics, an engaging look at NCC research sponsored by SFI into vernal pools. Vernal pools are temporary water bodies that form during periods of high precipitation or spring snow melt. They provide important habitat for a variety of plant and wildlife species of concern, including frogs, salamanders and other amphibians. A key feature of vernal pools is the absence of fish, which means amphibians’ eggs don’t get eaten. An SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant is supporting research in these important ecosystems, in partnership with the NCC and Kenauk Canada.

Read more/source: http://www.sfiprogram.org/media-resources/news/nature-conservancy-of-canada-earth-rangers-and-sfi-want-to-make-life-less-scary-for-amphibians-at-halloween-and-all-year-round/

Related Posts

Groundbreaking study confirms FSC standards are vital for thriving wildlife in tropical forests

A new study reveals compelling evidence that forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) in Gabon and the Republic of Congo harbour a higher abundance of larger mammals and critically endangered species, such as gorillas and elephants, compared to non-FSC certified forests. The research was led by Utrecht University with support from WWF and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and was published in Nature on 10 April 2024. It underscores the effectiveness of measures implemented in FSC-certified forest concessions to safeguard wildlife. By meticulously counting individual animals and strategically positioning camera traps, the research conducted by Joeri Zwerts confirmed that certified concessions notably harbor a larger population of large mammals – 2.7 times more for mammals over 100 kg, such as gorillas and forests elephants, and 2.5 times more for mammals from 30–100 kg, such as leopards and chimpanzees – when compared to non-FSC-certified areas. In addition, the encounter rates observed of large mammals in FSC-certified forests were comparable to published data from recently monitored protected areas in the Congo Basin region.

SCA: Ortviken reduces carbon emissions from fossil fuels by 60%

SCA is aiming to become completely fossil free. The Ortviken paper mill has taken a major step in the right direction and last year reported the lowest level ever of emissions from fossil fuels. In conjunction with BioCoop, Ortviken invested in a new combustion unit which made it possible to replace oil and LPG with wood powder. In 2012, Ortviken emitted 43,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, a figure that dropped to 17,000 tonnes in 2017. "This is the lowest level of emissions of fossil carbon dioxide from oil and LPG ever. In 2017, we emitted 26,000 tonnes less carbon dioxide compared with five years ago. This is equivalent to 283,000 journeys in a Volvo car between Sundsvall and Stockholm," says Charlotta Lindberg, environmental engineer at the Ortviken paper mill. Click Read More below for additional information.

Asian members top growth in PEFC certified hectares

Every year, we award our PEFC members that have achieved the biggest increases in PEFC-certified forest area and PEFC chain of custody certificates. In 2020, the awards for highest growth in certified hectares all went to Asia! The Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) took gold, thanks to an increase of over 950,000 hectares, following the certification of 10 forest management units in Johor, Sabah and Sarawak. This is an increase of over 20%, taking the PEFC-certified forest area in Malaysia to over 5.2 million hectares. Second place went to the Network for Certification and Conservation of Forests (NCCF), our member for India. This award was particularly special, as their increase of 450,000 hectares represented the first PEFC-certified forest area in the country – this time last year, there were no certified hectares. In bronze position was the Korea Forest Certificate Council (KFCC), who also saw an extremely impressive increase, growing their certified forest area by more than 150%, up to 706,000 hectares. The Republic of Korea achieved their first PEFC-certified forest area in 2019.
Back To Top
×Close search
Search