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Wild About Winter Poster
Description: Winter is a big deal for our wildlife. Snow covers the plants and soil, and it decreases mobility for many species. The days are shorter, leaving less solar energy for plant life. Temperatures are lower, decreasing available thermal energy (heat) for all lifeforms. Since growth and activity are at lower rates, less nutritional energy (food) is produced and available to both plants and animals. These deficiencies have caused winter to be an evolutionary challenge: to survive, successful organisms have had to balance the impacts of the cold season on their energy supplies, even if much less energy is around to sustain them. Even so, some wildlife has adapted and evolved in unique ways to survive seasonal changes, while still calling Canada home.
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Wild About Wildflowers Poster
Description: Our native wildflowers should not be considered weeds. In fact, many sport gorgeous blooms that add a bril-liant and welcome splash of colour to any garden. Since Canada boasts such an incredible diversity of native flowers, you’ll inevitably find a species that fits, whether you have a sun, shade, bog, or rock garden.
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Wild About Whales Poster
Description: Cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) are marine mammals that have fully adapted to life in water. Unlike other mammals, they do not rely on land for any part of their life cycle. There are about 33 species of cetaceans observed in Canadian waters.Cetaceans can be divided in two groups: toothed whales (Odontocetes) and baleen whales (Mysticetes). Both types of cetaceans share the many characteristics that enable them to survive solely in marine habitats. They can, for example, hold their breath for long periods of time while underwater. However, there are a few key features that make them strikingly different. Dive in and discover them!
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Wild About Turtles Poster
Description: Turtles have been around for over 200 million years and look nearly the same today as they did then. They are unique creatures - the only living vertebrates with a bony shell which is their main line of defense against predators.Currently, twelve turtle species live in Canada or off of our coasts. Eight are found inland, in wetland areas and the remaining four are at sea. In the past an additional species, the Pacific pond turtle, lived in British Columbia but is now Extirpated and can no longer be found in Canada.
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Wild About Snakes Poster
Description: Snakes are a very useful addition to any garden. Red-bellied and garter snakes are major predators of slugs. Snakes also prey on grubs, mice, rats, snails, leeches, centipedes and other invertebrates. In this way they play an important role in keeping pest populations under control.Most of Canada’s snakes are non-aggressive and shy. They will avoid encounters with humans whenever possible. However, like most wild creatures, snakes may bite in self-defence if handled, so it is best to leave them in peace.
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Wild About Pollinators Poster
Description: This illustration shows native pollinators from all over Canada interacting with their environment and foraging among cultivated and native plants at various times of the year. Some are favourites, others are less known or feared, but all are extremely important.Pollinators are animals that transfer pollen from one flower to another, mainly while drinking nectar and gathering pollen.
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Wild About Butterflies Poster
Description: The brilliance of our many butterflies adds beauty to any garden. The vibrant orange and black of monarchs or the dazzling tiger stripes of swallowtails add contrast among the blooms. Other species may lack some of this glamour but are welcome visitors none the less for the gentle cheer they bring.
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Wild About Birds Poster
Description: Learn about some of Canada's birds.
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Wild About Birds Poster, 2
Description: Learn even more about some of Canada's birds.
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Wild About Bees Poster
Description: Approximately one-third of all human food is prepared from plants that depend on animal pollinators — and bees make the biggest contribution. The most familiar bee is the honey bee (Apis mellifera), which was introduced from Europe almost 400 years ago. Although we may first picture the honey bee when we think of pollinators, our native bees, such as the bumble bee or the mason bee, are often actually more effective and efficient pollinators. Unlike the social honey bee, which shares labour and caretak-ing of its young, most of our native bees are solitary. This means that each female prepares her own nest, provisions it with food (nectar and pollen) for her offspring, lays her eggs and provides little further care.
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Small Mammals Poster
Description: Scampering from one shelter to another, small mammals can sometimes incite a seemingly irrational fear in people. For others, these critters’ food choices and burrowing habits stir up anger. And yet, these furry little creatures are an essential part of many healthy habitats. Their abundance makes them a valuable food source for many of our more popular predators such as owls, bobcats and wolves. In fact, some wildlife, such as the lynx, depend on many of these small mammal species for their very survival.Canada has a great variety of small mammals and although we couldn’t incorporate all of them here, we have managed to include representatives from each of our rodent families, with the exception of the already well-known porcupine.
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Wild About Bats Poster
Description: Contrary to popular belief, bats are not blind, do not get caught in your hair and are definitely not flying rodents. Despite these negative associations, bats are important world-wide for a variety of reasons including insect control, pollination and seed dispersal. Canadian bats are nature’s night patrol, scouring the evening sky for moths, beetles, mosquitoes and other nocturnal flying insects. Our bats are particularly beneficial for agriculture as they consume tons of insect pests that devastate crop yields. So gaze up at the night sky and give silent thanks to the small winged wonders hard at work. White-nose syndrome (WNS), a disease c
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Gardening for Wildlife Handouts and Posters
Description: Download a variety of handouts including Gardening for Pollinators and Natural Insect Control. Or order a poster on Canada’s birds, bees, butterflies and much more!
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posters
Description: Embrace the beauty of wildlife with a variety of posters and handouts from the Canadian Wildlife Federation.
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Wild About Grasslands Poster
Description: rasslands are an incredible and diverse ecosystem — they cover more than 40 per cent of the Earth’s surface. Although most grasslands in Canada have been largely converted to produce crops and, importantly, to support livestock, they are home to a vast array of plants and animals found only in North America. In Canada the Prairie provinces contain most of our grasslands. But there are also significant grassland habitats in British Columbia, Ontario and even Quebec. In the Atlantic provinces, salt marshes that contain species that dry grasslands do are considered grassland “adjacent”. The same could be said for alpine and Arctic tundra. No matter where you live in Canada, you can get out and experience the wonders that natural grasslands have to offer in all seasons.
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Wild About Peatlands Poster
Description: In the past, peatlands were considered soggy, barren wastelands. But to those who learn more about them, they become beautiful, unusual, fascinating and complex ecosystems.
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WILD About Peatlands Poster
Description: In the past, peatlands were considered soggy, barren wastelands. But to those who learn more about them, they become beautiful, unusual, fascinating and complex ecosystems.
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Wild About Winter Poster
Description: Winter is a big deal for our wildlife. Snow covers the plants and soil, and it decreases mobility for many species. The days are shorter, leaving less solar energy for plant life. Temperatures are lower, decreasing available thermal energy (heat) for all lifeforms. Since growth and activity are at lower rates, less nutritional energy (food) is produced and available to both plants and animals. These deficiencies have caused winter to be an evolutionary challenge: to survive, successful organisms have had to balance the impacts of the cold season on their energy supplies, even if much less energy is around to sustain them. Even so, some wildlife has adapted and evolved in unique ways to survive seasonal changes, while still calling Canada home.
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Bird Feeding handout
Description: Bird Feeding handout
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What Do You Do If You Hook a Turtle in Quebec
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The Basics of Wildlife-friendly Gardening
Description: Gardening with wildlife in mind is a fantastic opportunity to not only help your garden flourish but to also support wildlife and ecosystems which provide us pollination and pest control services, among others. Best of all, it’s easy to do and beautiful too! The Canadian Wildlife Federation’s Gardening for Wildlife program has webinars, articles, tools, posters and more to help you discover, appreciate and support your local and migratory wild neighbours. CWF also has a Garden Habitat Certification where we give official recognition to those whose efforts are supporting wildlife.
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The Basics of Wildlife-friendly Gardening (printer-friendly version)
Description: Gardening with wildlife in mind is a fantastic opportunity to not only help your garden flourish but to also support wildlife and ecosystems which provide us pollination and pest control services, among others. Best of all, it’s easy to do and beautiful too! The Canadian Wildlife Federation’s Gardening for Wildlife program has webinars, articles, tools, posters and more to help you discover, appreciate and support your local and migratory wild neighbours. CWF also has a Garden Habitat Certification where we give official recognition to those whose efforts are supporting wildlife.
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STOP Habitat Loss NOW! Infographic
Description: EACH YEAR THOUSANDS OF SMALL PROJECTS ACROSS CANADA DESTROY AQUATIC HABITAT AND KILL FISH AND OTHER WILDLIFE
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Simple, Fun Ideas to Get Kids Outside
Description: It feels good to slow down and savour the moment, especially as our lives become ever busier. Here are some of the simplest things you and your children can do to make your time outside fun and special, many of which are time-honoured Canadian favourites.
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Routes to Pollinator Habitat Restoration
Description: This document is designed to help rights-of-way (ROW) managers consider multiple approaches to restoring pollinator habitat including public engagement, passive restoration, and active restoration
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Reduce Plastic in Your Home Checklist
Description: How can you reduce your plastic footprint in your home? Take it one room at a time
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Natural Insect Control Handout
Description: A garden is more than just plants. It may be tempting to reach for chemical pesticides. But while these products can be an effective short-term answer, they don't contribute to the long-term health of your garden.
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Native Seed Selection
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Native Seed Infographic
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Native Flowers of the St. Lawrence Lowlands Guide
Description: A seasonal guide to native flowering plants that provide important resources for pollinators of the St. Lawrence Lowlands
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Monarch Roost Data Guide
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Monarch Point Count Data Guide
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Monarch Butterfly Activity Sheet
Description: Did you know that Monarch Butterfly caterpillars can only eat milkweed leaves, the adults pollinate flowers, and in the fall they migrate thousands of kilometres to Mexico for the winter? See if you can spot an adult butterfly sipping nectar from a flower or a caterpillar on a milkweed plant in your garden or local park this year.
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Milkweed Species of Canada
Description: A guide to the distribution of milkweed species across Canada that provide important food and habitat for monarchs.
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MANAGING RIGHTS-OF-WAY FOR POLLINATORS: A Practical Guide for Managers
Description: This guide is designed to help managers of rights-of-way (ROW) in southeastern Canada begin taking a different approach to managing and restoring habitat. Roadsides, utility corridors, industrial lands, solar installations, wind farms and pipelines could all be managed to create and maintain a network of thousands of hectares of pollinator habitat. This guide aims to outline best practices for improved management of ROW to benefit pollinators, as well as practical methods of habitat restoration suitable for road and ROW use. By changing our management and increasing habitat restoration on ROW, the survival and recovery of pollinators and other wildlife can be supported at a broad scale.
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Leave No Trace
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How to Take Identifiable Photos of Arachnids
Description: It can be difficult to take photos of wildlife. It is not essential to photograph every point on this diagram to get an identifiable observation. Just try your best! Although some people may find arachnids frightening at first, they play an incredibly important role in the ecosystem by keeping down the populations of pest insects that would otherwise feed on crops or trees.
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How to Take Identifiable Photos of Bees and Wasps
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How to Take Identifiable Photos of Fish
Description: Taking photos of wildlife can be challenging. It is not essential to photograph every point on this diagram to get an identifiable observation. Just try your best! When photographing fish, minimize air exposure by taking an underwater photo whenever possible, allowing them to breathe freely. If taking a picture outside the water, keep the fish near the water and lift it briefly for the photo, limiting air exposure to 10 seconds or less. Be sure to follow local fishing guidelines and regulations.
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How to Take Identifiable Photos of Butterflies & Moths
Description: It can be difficult to take photos of wildlife. It is not essential to photograph every point on this diagram to get an identifiable observation. Just try your best! Both butterflies and moths can be pollinators as well as food for other species, such as birds and bats. Some species cocoon over winter in fallen leaves. Why not leave the leaves this fall to help wildlife?
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How To Build a Turtle Nesting Site
Description: Sometimes turtles nest in problem areas like gardens, driveways or compost piles. To encourage turtles to nest elsewhere, or to create nesting habitat if it is lacking, consider building a nesting site. Keep in mind that turtles will often return to sites where they have nested before, so it may take a few seasons before a new site is used. We also recommend having nest protectors ready to protect any nests laid.
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Great Canadian Bioblitz Observation Guide
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Wildlife-friendly Gardening Guide
Description: Gardens come in all shapes and sizes, from small urban spaces to large country expanses. How we tend these spaces is affected by many factors including our time, lifestyle needs and budget. No matter the situation, all Canadians can benefit from incorporating some wildlife-friendly elements in their outdoor space. This guide will show you how to include these versatile features while still meeting your own needs and preferences.
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Gardening for Pollinators
Description: Handout on pollinators
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Gardening for Butterflies Handout
Description: Nearly 300 species of butterflies inhabit Canada, some cloaked in brilliant colours, others less noticeable. The presence of these graceful creatures in our gardens is a blessing of vibrancy and beauty.
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Gardening Basics - How to start a garden
Description: How to start a garden Interactive Checklist
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Creating Monarch and Pollinator Habitat
Description: Private landowners are increasingly interested in restoring areas of their property to provide improved habitat for Monarchs and other pollinators. While there is abundant information on small-scale gardening with native plants, there is much less on planting at larger scales, such as on one acre or more of land. Here is a brief introduction for landowners in southeastern Canada interested in restoring an area of an acre or more in a cost-effective way. Establishing Pollinator Meadows from Seed*, a document developed by the Xerces Society, is also available online
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BAT ROOST MONITORING
Description: oin our “Help the Bats” project on iNaturalist.ca. You can participate as a citizen scientist by using iNaturalist.ca or the iNaturalist app (Android and iOS) to monitor your roost. The information allows us to track roost preferences and assist in a study to determine what bat house designs are optimal for Canada’s bats. To help you along, check out our step-by-step “How to Monitor Your Bat House Using iNaturalist.ca or the iNaturalist app” documents available at HelpTheBats.ca
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Bat Party Fundraiser
Description: Bat-tastic guide to make your Halloween event BOO-tiful!
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Are you sure you want a pet Red-eared Slider?
Description: Please don’t release unwanted pet sliders into the wild. A slider can spread disease to native wildlife and may not survive in the wild. If you see a turtle in the wild that may not be native, please report it to iNaturalist Canada (inaturalist.ca) to get the species identified. Please don’t remove native species from the wild.
