Help keep wildlife safe

There are things you can do to help keep wildlife safe. These things can help you stay safe too. Keep wild animals safe Food can attract wild animals. It can be dangerous for both people and the animals. Here’s what to do: Store garbage indoors or get a bear-proof container. Pick up fruit that falls…

Tick season

Spring is tick season. Ticks are small bugs that suck blood. They live in many places in B.C. Ticks can spread disease to people and animals. Getting bitten by a tick can make you sick. WildSafe BC has tips on how to avoid ticks and tick bites: Avoid areas where there are ticks. Walk on…

Make a milk jug greenhouse

A milk jug greenhouse is a great way to reuse empty and clean milk jugs. When it is too cold to plant seeds in the ground, you can start growing them in a milk jug greenhouse. What you need: clean, plastic milk jug knife seeds soil duct tape water What you do: Cut around the…

B.C. food from the sea

B.C. farms and sells many types of food from the sea. Have you tried any of this food? Geoduck clams The geoduck clam is the world’s largest burrowing clam. It can weigh over two pounds. Geoduck clams are salty and sweet. They are expensive. They can cost as much as $30 per pound! Sea cucumber…

Be prepared

  Winter driving can be dangerous. Roads can be slippery. It can be hard to see the road when it is snowing. Sometimes cars get stuck. You might have to wait for help. A winter emergency kit can help you stay safe and warm. Your winter emergency kit doesn’t have to be big. You can…

B.C. Wildfires

Every year, there are hundreds of wildfires in B.C. Wildfires destroy homes, buildings and land. They can kill people and animals. What causes wildfires?   Lightning strikes cause 60 per cent of wildfires. People start the other 40 per cent. How do I stay safe during a wildfire? Listen for instructions from the B.C. Government….

Be Kind to Animals Month

May is Be Kind to Animals Month. It celebrates our love for animals and brings awareness to animal welfare. Being kind to animals includes taking care of your pets and treating local wildlife with respect. What if you find a wild animal? If you find a wild animal alone, sick or injured, they might need…

Secret climbing tree

There’s a big tree in Vancouver. The tree has many branches. Some people climb this tree. Up high, they can see downtown. They can see the mountains, too. The tree is a giant sequoia. Giant sequoias are very wide. They live for hundreds of years. Where is this tree? That’s a secret! Only local people…

Make a bird feeder

  Birds have trouble finding food in the winter. You can help birds by making a bird feeder. Pine cones fall from pine trees in the fall and winter. You can use a pine cone to make a bird feeder. What you need:   pine cone string – 8 to 10 inches long peanut butter…

Regrow vegetables from scraps

When summer ends you can still grow food. Many vegetables can easily be regrown indoors. Common regrown vegetables are green onions, celery and greens like bok choy. The easiest vegetables to regrow are green onions. Here is what you do: 1. Buy some green onions with roots. 2. Cut off the green tops of the…

ShakeOut – Drop, Cover and Hold On

International ShakeOut Day is on October 20. On this day, millions of people around the world practise how to stay safe during an earthquake. In B.C., the Great British Columbia ShakeOut will take place at 10:20 a.m. People from across the province will take part in a “Drop, Cover and Hold On” drill. To join,…

What to do in a heat wave

A heat wave is a period of very hot weather that lasts for two or more days. To be called a heat wave, the temperatures must be above the historical averages for an area. Staying in the heat for a long time can be dangerous. It can cause heat-related illnesses like heat stroke. What to…

Rattlesnake gets a ride in sports car

In June, employees at a car dealership in Vancouver got a surprise. They found a snake in a Ferrari. The dealership called the Wildlife Rescue Association of B.C. Support Centre Helpline. “To our surprise, a photo determined it wasn’t a local Garter snake, but a Northern Pacific Rattlesnake,” Wildlife Rescue posted on Facebook. Employees had…

Plant a herb garden

Do you like to use fresh herbs in your cooking? Plant a herb garden in a container. You can put it in a sunny window. Or, you can put it on your deck or patio.  Enjoy fresh herbs all summer!  What you need:  pot with holes in the bottom  potting soil  herbs  trowel  water  What…

How to pack a picnic

One of the best ways to enjoy the summer is to eat outdoors. You can go on a picnic with your family and friends. You can picnic at a park, a beach, a campground or by a lake. What to bring on a picnic: a blanket a picnic table cover a picnic basket or tote…

Take a “forest bath”

Some parks in BC offer “forest baths.” You can book a walk in the woods with a guide. The guide teaches you how to relax by enjoying nature. You use your senses to: feel the leaves smell the trees listen to sounds in nature A “forest bath” is meant to reduce stress and improve your…

Haiku poems

The LINC 6 class from MOSAIC English Language Centre learned about the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival. They celebrated what they learned by writing haiku poems. A haiku is a Japanese poem. It has a special number of syllables in each line. The first and last lines have five syllables. The middle line has seven syllables….

Be prepared for winter storms

Are you ready for a winter storm? What will you do if you lose power to your home? There are dozens of winter storms in BC. Most families think they are prepared. They have extra food and toilet paper. But they do not have a plan or an emergency kit. What do you do if the power…

How to make the perfect snowball

A friendly snowball fight is a great way to have fun with your family in the winter. You can learn how to make the perfect snowball. Make sure the snow is wet Good snowballs need to be made from clean snow that is a little wet. Test the snow before making a snowball. Give it…

Hayden goes camping

Hayden likes to spend time outdoors. This summer, he is going camping across BC. He is reserving campsites from the BC Parks website. Why does Hayden like camping? Hayden likes to explore nature. He feels relaxed when he is away from the city. “When you are camping, you get to see nature in a new way,” he says. “I…

Haida Gwaii

Haida Gwaii is a group of islands. It is off the west coast of British Columbia. Haida Gwaii means “islands of the Haida people.” It used to be called the Queen Charlotte Islands. Haida art is famous. Many people have seen Haida totem poles. Haida Gwaii is beautiful. It is a good place to travel….

Frost flowers

Special flowers are growing on lakes in the Cariboo and Central Interior. The flowers are made of ice. They are called “frost flowers.” Frost flowers are rare. Frost flowers only grow when the air is very cold and calm. The ice on the lakes must be thin. How do frost flowers grow? The air is…

Wreck Beach

Wreck Beach was named for shipwrecks in the water. What is Wreck Beach? Wreck Beach is the largest nude beach in Canada. It is 7.8 km long. People started swimming naked at Wreck Beach in the 1920s. Wreck Beach became an official nude beach in 1991. It was the first nude beach in Canada. How…

Fort McMurray is on fire

Level 2 The forest around Ft. McMurray is on fire. Large parts of the city are on fire. Ft. McMurray is Alberta’s fifth largest city. This is the largest wild fire in Alberta history. This is the largest evacuation in Alberta history. Map of the fire zone It all happened in a few days. The…

Surprise! We saw bears

LEVEL 2 Newcomers to Canada enjoy learning about camping and wildlife. Last year we went camping. We camped in a national park. We woke up very early. We went bird watching. We didn’t see any birds. We saw a black bear and her cubs! We were very surprised. The bears were far away from us….

Wildlife returning to the city

Story adapted from The Vancouver Sun by Patty Bossort LEVEL 2 Black-tailed deer left Vancouver 30 years ago. Elk disappeared from the False Creek area a century ago. The last cougar in Vancouver was shot in Stanley Park in 1911. People in Vancouver did not want large wild animals to live in town. Parts of…

Wilbur the pig

Wilbur the pig Adapted from The Province by Nila Gopaul Level 1 Listen to “Wilbur the pig” – Level 1 Reading by Nila Gopaul Wilbur has a good life now. He lives at a dog day care in Vancouver. The day care is called Canine Adventure Den. His owner, Kirsty MacGregor, found Wilbur on the Internet. Wilbur lived in Edmonton, Alberta….

Two paws in the ocean, and two paws on the land

Two paws in the ocean, and two paws on the land The fish-eating gray wolves of B.C.’s coastal islands Adapted from CBC News by Nancy Carson Level 2 The Heiltsuk* people of Bella Bella knew something special about B.C.’s gray wolves. For 6,000 years the Heiltsuk have lived in that area. They have always known…

Tips for a short camping trip

Campers roast marshmallows Photo by the Government of British Columbia/CC, Flickr Tips for a short camping trip Adapted from Wikipedia by Patti-Lea Ryan Edited by Nila Gopaul Level 3 NOTE for campers: Click here to find current fire bans in BC  Checklist of things to do before leaving home If you plan on taking a pet…

Dyeing brown grass green

Dyeing brown grass green Adapted from The Province and The Vancouver Courier by Nila Gopaul Level 2 The weather is very dry this summer. Lawns are turning brown. There are water restrictions all over B.C. These lawns are not dead. They will turn green again in the fall with the rain. Some people do not like brown…

An octopus “sees” with its skin

An octopus “sees” with its skin Adapted from cbc.ca by Nancy Carson Level 2 Cover the eyes of an octopus with your hands. Or put a blindfold over its eyes. It will not be blind! New Study Researchers studied pieces of skin from a California two-spot octopus. Octopus skin is different from its eyes. The…

The beautiful rings of Saturn

The beautiful rings of Saturn Adapted from NASA by Patti-Lea Ryan Level 3 Saturn is the second biggest planet in our solar system. Only Jupiter is bigger. Saturn is much larger than Earth. You could fit 700 Earths into Saturn. Being the sixth planet from the sun, Saturn is very, very far away. It is about…

Eagle count in B.C. – January

Counting the Brackendale eagles Adapted from The Province by Nila Gopaul This year is the 29th annual Brackendale eagle count. Every year in January, wintering eagles gather in Brackendale, B.C. Brackendale is near Squamish (see the map below). Volunteers count the eagles. The volunteers work in teams. They walk. They hike about 40 kilometres. And they go out on kayaks and…

Bear cubs need help

Adapted from The Province by Nila Gopaul In Smithers, B.C., 30 hungry bear cubs* play and live at an animal shelter. The cubs are orphaned. This means each cub has lost its mother. Most mothers were killed by accident – by cars and trucks. *cubs – a young bear, fox, lion

Elephants know the voices of their enemies

Level 3 Adapted from The Vancouver Sun by Nancy Carson Can you recognize different languages? Do you say, “Oh, that sounds like Spanish,” or “That sounds like French.” Can you do it when you do not understand the words? Elephants can! Listen to the story Elephants know the voices of their enemies. Reading by Nila Gopaul-Level 3 Read…

Get to know BC: rain

Did you know? The Canadian record for the most rain on a single day was set on October 6, 1967: 489 millimetres fell in Ucluelet, BC that day! In BC, we love to talk about the weather, especially about the rain. Each region in BC has its own climate patterns. So many rainy days can…

Salute to Salmon (Oct 3 – 26)

Adapted from CBC News by Nila Gopaul Celebrate the salmon run in October The salmon run is the time when salmon return to the rivers and lakes to spawn (lay eggs). Salmon swim. Why do we call it a “run”, you ask? A run means a route or a journey, especially on a regular basis. The biggest salmon…

Lighthouse Park is worth a visit

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 The lighthouse Point Atkinson lighthouse is a national historical site. It was built 130 years ago. The lighthouse overlooks Burrard Inlet. It protected ships on the Strait of Georgia. The federal government of Canada owns the lighthouse. They want to sell the lighthouse. The community loves the Point Atkinson…

How many bald eagles?

Adapted from The Province Level 1 Volunteers count bald eagles. They count them every year. It is an annual event. The birds gather near Brackendale, BC. Seventy people looked for the birds. Read the PDF and do the exercise Bald Eagles Visit the links See the bald eagle photo gallery from The Vancouver Sun. Watch…

Be-leaf it!

Adapted from The Province Level 1 January 2011 Eve Steel has the world’s biggest maple leaf. This leaf is 44 centimetres (cm) wide and 34 cm long. Eve’s mother says, “With the stem, it’s 59 cm. It’s just a huge leaf.” Eve found the leaf near her Vancouver home. Eve says, “It was really windy,…

Start a container garden

Level one April 2011 Save money Grow your own vegetables. It is a great way to save money. Start your garden You don’t need a big space. You can grow many things in a pot or a container. Plant vegetables You can plant some herbs, lettuce, tomatoes, radishes and peas this month. Put in a…

A tiny bird is big news

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun / burnabybirdguy.wordpress.com / Wikipedia Submission by: Patti-Lea Ryan A tiny bird is big news in B.C. these days. A young Red-flanked Bluetail has come to Queen’s Park in New Westminster. It is far from home. Not a Canadian bird Our tiny visitor is not from Canada. It has come from…