Ten-year-old boy becomes an Earth Ranger

 While other kids are playing dress-up, one Windsor boy is playing Earth Ranger but in his case, it is anything but a game.

Earth Rangers, which was founded in 2004, is a charitable organization allowing kids to actively protect threatened animals and the environment. Children sign-up online and get involved in two ways: through missions and through taking on a Bring Back the Wild campaign, where kids raise money for one of four threatened Canadian animals.

In schools, children are often taught about the environment. But according to Amy Cross, the public relations officer for the organization, Earth Rangers provides children a more engaging way to learn.

“We’re educating kids about protecting animals and the environment, but then we’re also giving them the resources to do so whereas some other education programs don’t have that as part of their program,” said Cross.

In more than a year, River Michalczuk has completed one mission, collecting and recycling batteries and has completed one Bring Back the Wild campaign, raising money for the Western Screech Owls during his Bring Back the Wild-themed birthday party.  

A typical children’s birthday party usually consists of presents, cake and a few party games, but at Michalczuk’s party, no presents were seen. Instead there was a table of cards, each overflowing with wads of cash amounting to over $500.

His most recent campaign is to save the Little Brown Bats who suffer from a deadly disease known as white-nose syndrome.

No animals are off limits for Michalczuk. Regardless of scales or fur, he said they need us.

“There’s a lot of animals out there that may need our help,” said Michalczuk. “We’ve taken their habitats so I think they need a little bit of room for themselves.”

There are over 100,000 children decked-out in green running door-to-door and shore-to-shore in the hopes of raising money and taking action across Canada. Ontario children make up for a little less than half of that number and in Windsor-Essex County, there are about 550 of these earth-guarding warriors.

Michalczuk’s parents Joli and Ryan remember well when their son came to them after watching an Earth Rangers’ commercial. As a boy who has loved the outdoors and animals since he could run, it was as though Earth Rangers was created just for him.

Even though his parents consider themselves knowledgeable about the Earth, they learn more from Michalczuk every day.

“He knows the difference between endangered and threatened which I think is incredible because I didn’t know that myself until River taught us,” said Joli.

In the far away future, Michalczuk said he will be a conservation officer and if he has enough time, maybe a football player. In the immediate future, Michalczuk will be taking on the missions of cleaning up a shoreline and building a bird feeder.

For children wanting to get involved, Michalczuk encourages it because he said the more people, the more help that can be given.

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