kids and nature

5 Ways to Lure Teens Off the Couch and Outside

As a mom of two teenage girls, I’m more than often hearing the same old excuse,

“There’s nothing to do outside”

“I’m bored.”

It frustrates me to see them on the couch wasting their valuable time watching TV or playing video games when they could be outside enjoying the outdoors, co-existing with nature, getting some exercise, and being with friends. Read more

Get Real, Get Outside

What are you missing when you’re looking at screens? Play Again, a documentary shown as part of DC’s Environmental Film Festival, tackled this question, portraying the changing balance between the … Read more

Parents' Choice Award Gold Medal

Congrats, Ranger Rick!

As the newest editor on the Ranger Rick staff, I can take exactly none of the credit for the magazine’s most recent big award. But I can already see the everyday, behind-the-scenes work that makes these magazines so extraordinary. Potty humor, anyone? Read more

Sportsmen Speak Out: Air Pollution Threatens Hunting and Fishing Traditions

    Findings from a new NWF report are hitting sportsmen and women close to home. The report highlights a number of wildlife species important to hunters and anglers that … Read more

Monarch butterfly

What Does it Take to Become a Certified Community Wildlife Habitat Like Takoma Park, Maryland?

“A Community Wildlife Habitat is a community that provides habitat for wildlife throughout the community–in individual backyards, on school grounds and in public areas such as parks, community gardens, places … Read more

An Afternoon at the White House: Junior Ranger Rick Reporter Chats with Michelle Obama

As we reported last week, 6th-grader junior Ranger Rick reporter Daniel Symons got the AMAZING opportunity to chat with Michelle Obama at the White House on Wednesday about the Let’s … Read more

In southwestern Virginia, redbuds bloom in spring

5 Ways to Tell Spring Has Arrived

National Wildlife Federation Conservation Hall of Fame honoree Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal on March 17, 1857, “No mortal is alert enough to be present at the first … Read more

Lesser Long-Nosed Bat

Wildlife That Move Us: A Week-Long Celebration

IN 1938, PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT helped National Wildlife Federation launch its first National Wildlife Restoration Week. Held annually ever since, National Wildlife Week (as it is now known) is … Read more

Michelle Obama in the White House Garden

Junior Ranger Rick Reporter to Interview First Lady

On March 16, 11-year-old Daniel Symons will chat with First Lady Michelle Obama about her garden and the Let’s Move! campaign — at the White House! Read more

Boy munching on trowel

It’s in the dirt! Bacteria in soil may make us happier, smarter

Dirt can be good for you? That’s what recent scientific research is telling us. So — pass the mud pies! Read more