{"id":14757,"date":"2024-11-06T17:10:36","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T17:10:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/?p=14757"},"modified":"2024-11-07T15:50:49","modified_gmt":"2024-11-07T15:50:49","slug":"mission-biodiversity-reduce-your-carbon-footprint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/en\/mission-biodiversity-reduce-your-carbon-footprint\/","title":{"rendered":"Mission Biodiversity \u2013 Reduce Your Carbon Footprint!"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Your Mission, Should You Chose to Accept It\u2026<\/h2>\n<p>Welcome back to our year-long operation to engage Canadians in supporting wildlife and habitat conservation \u2014 Mission Biodiversity!<\/p>\n<p>With <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cop29.az\/en\">COP29<\/a> taking place this November, our second mission is to address climate change \u2014 one of the five biggest threats to biodiversity. Climate change is the long-term shift in temperature and weather patterns on Earth, caused primarily by burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.<\/p>\n<p>While climate change impacts all life on Earth, the Arctic is disproportionately impacted \u2014 it is warming three to four times faster than the rest of the planet! Melting permafrost and shrinking sea ice are changing the habitat that many people and wildlife rely on.<\/p>\n<p>Your mission this month is to reflect on why Arctic biodiversity matters, explore the impacts of climate change on Arctic inhabitants, and find ways to reduce your carbon footprint.<\/p>\n<h3>Part 1: Reflect on Why Arctic Biodiversity Matters<\/h3>\n<div class=\"embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Virtual Field Trip to the Arctic\" width=\"1170\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/neqayzgJNpk?start=829&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Let\u2019s get familiar with the Arctic and its inhabitants! Biodiversity refers to the variety of habitats in an area, the variety of species within those areas, and even the variety of genetics within each species.<\/p>\n<p>So how biodiverse is the Arctic? Take a virtual field trip by watching the video above, then use this interactive snowball activity to reflect as a group on what you\u2019ve learned about the Arctic:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Give each learner a piece of paper and invite them to write or draw their reflection. Here are some prompts:\n<ul>\n<li>How do you feel after watching the video?<\/li>\n<li>What do you think is neat about the Arctic?<\/li>\n<li>What is something you learned about the Arctic that you didn\u2019t know before?<\/li>\n<li>Imagine you live in the Arctic. Draw a picture of yourself there.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Have each learner crumple their paper into a \u201csnowball\u201d and throw it across the room. Keep throwing your snowballs until the responses are mixed up. This anonymity ensures learners feel safe sharing their thoughts and ideas.<\/li>\n<li>Each learner should pick up a random snowball and share the reflection with the group.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Part 2: Explore How Climate Change Affects the Arctic<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-14758\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Edward-Busby_Polar-Bear_PC-640x480.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Edward-Busby_Polar-Bear_PC-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Edward-Busby_Polar-Bear_PC-1100x825.jpg 1100w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Edward-Busby_Polar-Bear_PC-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Edward-Busby_Polar-Bear_PC-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Edward-Busby_Polar-Bear_PC-530x398.jpg 530w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Edward-Busby_Polar-Bear_PC.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>To further explore the impacts of climate change in the Arctic, let\u2019s consider the perspectives of the people, animals, and plants that live there. In this interactive role-playing activity, you\u2019ll become an Arctic inhabitant and explore how climate change impacts your well-being.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/education.cwf-fcf.org\/library\/resources\/get\/285938\/Inhabitants%20of%20the%20North.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Get the activity<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Check out these resources from the Canadian Wildlife Federation and Environment and Climate Change Canada to learn more about the impacts of increasing temperatures in the Arctic.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/cwf-fcf.org\/en\/resources\/for-educators\/resource-sheets\/canadas-changing-north.html?utm_medium=referral&#038;utm_source=blog&#038;utm_campaign=we\">Canada\u2019s Changing North<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/environment-climate-change\/services\/environmental-indicators\/temperature-change.html\">Temperature Change<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Part 3: Reduce Your Carbon Footprint<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-14759\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Carbon-Footprint-640x480.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Carbon-Footprint-640x480.jpg 640w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Carbon-Footprint-1100x825.jpg 1100w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Carbon-Footprint-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Carbon-Footprint-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Carbon-Footprint-530x398.jpg 530w, https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Carbon-Footprint.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Now that we\u2019ve investigated why Arctic biodiversity matters and how its inhabitants are affected by climate change, let\u2019s explore how we can reduce our own contribution to climate change.<\/p>\n<p>Climate change is caused by increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which are produced by burning fossil fuels for electricity and cars. Use the following activity to examine your daily actions and explore how you can reduce your carbon footprint.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few ideas:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Use refillable water bottles instead of plastic ones<\/li>\n<li>Walk, bike, or take a scooter<\/li>\n<li>Compost your food waste<\/li>\n<li>Sort plastic, glass, metal, and paper into recycling bins<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/education.cwf-fcf.org\/library\/resources\/get\/264157\/Examine%20Your%20Carbon%20Footprint.pdf\">Get the activity<\/a><\/p>\n<p>You can also support Canada\u2019s arctic wildlife and habitats by adopting one of our polar bear stuffies. Not only will you be helping advance conservation initiatives right here at CWF, but you\u2019ll also gain a very &#8220;cool&#8221; mascot to mark the completion of your mission!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/shopcwf.ca\/collections\/adopt-an-animal\/products\/polar-bear-adoption-kit\">Adopt a Polar Bear<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Mission Complete!<\/h3>\n<p>Once you and your students have completed this mission,\u00a0you can download our printable page of mission badges in recognition of their learning. Pass these badges out to students to mark their progress throughout Mission Biodiversity and celebrate the actions they are taking in support of wildlife! There will be a different badge each month, so be sure to stay on top of the missions to collect the whole set!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Nov_CarbonFootprint_Badge_EN.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Get Your Mission Badge<\/a><\/p>\n<h4>Want to stay up to date with Mission Biodiversity? <a href=\"https:\/\/cwf-fcf.org\/en\/explore\/education\/?utm_medium=referral&#038;utm_source=blog&#038;utm_campaign=we#signup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sign up<\/a> to receive the next mission right to your inbox!<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"post-excerpt\">Your Mission, Should You Chose to Accept It\u2026 Welcome back to our year-long operation to engage Canadians in supporting wildlife and habitat conservation \u2014 Mission Biodiversity! With COP29 taking place&hellip;<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[642],"tags":[959,10018,647,4168],"class_list":["post-14757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","tag-biodiversity","tag-carbon-footprint","tag-climate-change-2","tag-wild-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14757"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14768,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14757\/revisions\/14768"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}