Guides, Infographics & Posters

2025-11-24

Turn your next outing into a journey of scientific discovery. Download your free iNaturalist app at iNaturalist.ca and join a network of hundreds of thousands of people observing wildlife around the globe. Using a smartphone or digital camera, anyone can share sightings of flora and fauna and contribute to a growing record of biodiversity. It’s “citizen science” that’s fun, educational and impactful.

2025-11-24

2025-11-24

How Industry-led Endangered Species Management is FAILING the American Eel in Ontario

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

If you must exclude bats from your property, take a look at this calendar which outlines the most and least desirable times to do so.

2025-11-24

Turn your next outing into a journey of scientific discovery. Download your free iNaturalist app at iNaturalist.ca and join a network of hundreds of thousands of people observing wildlife around the globe. Using a smartphone or digital camera, anyone can share sightings of flora and fauna and contribute to a growing record of biodiversity. It’s “citizen science” that’s fun, educational and impactful.

2025-11-24

2025-11-24

If you must exclude bats from your property, take a look at this calendar which outlines the most and least desirable times to do so.

2025-11-24

A few tips to make your bat house more attractive to bats!

2025-11-24

Eight easy steps to installing your bat house

2025-11-24

Bat-tastic guide to make your Halloween event BOO-tiful!

2025-11-24

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

2025-11-24

You’ve Got an Eel on Your Reel – NOW WHAT?!

2025-11-24

Bioblitz-in-a-box is a lasting legacy from the Bioblitz Canada 150 project that took place in 2017, made possible in part by the Government of Canada, as a Canada 150 Signature Project. These tips and tools for organizing a bioblitz were compiled by the Canadian Wildlife Federation based on various online bioblitz guides, and professional and personal experiences. Feel free to browse around to find something to help with your own bioblitz plans!

2025-11-24

Bird Feeding handout

2025-11-24

Whether you are limited to a small patio or have hectares of land, CWF would like to acknoledge your efforts in welcoming wildlife to your garden.

2025-11-24

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

2025-11-24

Ontario’s turtles are in decline and need all the help they can get!

2025-11-24

How to start a garden Interactive Checklist

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

Handout on pollinators

2025-11-24

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!

2025-11-24

2025-11-24

Canada’s pollinators play a critical role in our ecosystems, food production and economy through pollination. Some are also important in pest control. These tiny allies face many challenges, such as pesticide use and loss of habitat, making it more important than ever to support them. A great place to start is to ensure your outdoor space is pollinator-friendly.

2025-11-24

Pollinators are a priority resource concern for many conservationists and farmers. The Xerces Society conducted field trials throughout the Easter, Midwestern and Western United States to inform best practices.

2025-11-24

Check out the facts for amphibians and reptiles, birds, fish, mollusks, insects, pollinators and mammals! We’ve even got information specific to species at risk, the boreal forest species, and species affected by climate change! So why not learn a little bit more about these Canadian creatures

2025-11-24

Build your own bat house using this easy guide.

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

Create an iNaturalist.ca account by visiting the website or downloading the free app(available on iOS and Android ). Click sign up and create your profile, including a publicusername and short bio. This information can be changed at any time.

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

2025-11-24

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?

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

Whether you know just one species really well or have an in-depth knowledge of taxonomy, you can help improve theconservation value of iNaturalist observations. It’s most easily done online versus the app.

2025-11-24

Tips, tricks, and guides to help get your sightings identified

2025-11-24

2025-11-24

The Monarch Butterfly is a species that doesn’t stay in Canada for the winter — it flies as far as Mexico! That adds up to a migration of over 4,000 kilometres round trip (there and back). Monarchs are also listed as an endangered species on Canada’s species at risk registry, so we thought spring would be the perfect time for you to work on a project to help them! Here’s how to grow a garden they will love.

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

A seasonal guide to native flowering plants that provide important resources for pollinators of the St. Lawrence Lowlands

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

Native plants support diverse insect populations by providing food for adults and larvae. Insects will feed on nectar, pollen or leaves and some will forage on only one species of native plant!

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

Record your wildlife observations and contribute to conservation in Canada

2025-11-24

2025-11-24

13 early blooming plants

2025-11-24

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

Between April 28 and May 1, 2023, Canadians recorded observations of wildlife in their cities as part of the global City Nature Challenge. See the results at: iNaturalist.ca/projects

2025-11-24

2025-11-24

For smartphones

2025-11-24

Learn about some of Canada's birds.

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

Bioblitz-in-a-box is a lasting legacy from the Bioblitz Canada 150 project that took place in 2017, made possible in part by the Government of Canada, as a Canada 150 Signature Project. These tips and tools for organizing a bioblitz were compiled by the Canadian Wildlife Federation based on various online bioblitz guides, and professional and personal experiences. Feel free to browse around to find something to help with your own bioblitz plans!

2025-11-24

How to start a garden Interactive Checklist

2025-11-24

2025-11-24

Canada’s pollinators play a critical role in our ecosystems, food production and economy through pollination. Some are also important in pest control. These tiny allies face many challenges, such as pesticide use and loss of habitat, making it more important than ever to support them. A great place to start is to ensure your outdoor space is pollinator-friendly.

2025-11-24

Check out the facts for amphibians and reptiles, birds, fish, mollusks, insects, pollinators and mammals! We’ve even got information specific to species at risk, the boreal forest species, and species affected by climate change! So why not learn a little bit more about these Canadian creatures

2025-11-24

The Monarch Butterfly is a species that doesn’t stay in Canada for the winter — it flies as far as Mexico! That adds up to a migration of over 4,000 kilometres round trip (there and back). Monarchs are also listed as an endangered species on Canada’s species at risk registry, so we thought spring would be the perfect time for you to work on a project to help them! Here’s how to grow a garden they will love.

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

Turn your next outing into a journey of scientific discovery. Download your free iNaturalist app at iNaturalist.ca and join a network of hundreds of thousands of people observing wildlife around the globe. Using a smartphone or digital camera, anyone can share sightings of flora and fauna and contribute to a growing record of biodiversity. It’s “citizen science” that’s fun, educational and impactful.

2025-11-24

How Industry-led Endangered Species Management is FAILING the American Eel in Ontario

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

An eviction happens when there is an active colony within a structure. A one-way door is installed to allow bats to leave the structure, but they are not able to re-enter the roost.

2025-11-24

If you must exclude bats from your property, take a look at this calendar which outlines the most and least desirable times to do so.

2025-11-24

A few tips to make your bat house more attractive to bats!

2025-11-24

Eight easy steps to installing your bat house

2025-11-24

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

2025-11-24

You’ve Got an Eel on Your Reel – NOW WHAT?!

2025-11-24

Bioblitz-in-a-box is a lasting legacy from the Bioblitz Canada 150 project that took place in 2017, made possible in part by the Government of Canada, as a Canada 150 Signature Project. These tips and tools for organizing a bioblitz were compiled by the Canadian Wildlife Federation based on various online bioblitz guides, and professional and personal experiences. Feel free to browse around to find something to help with your own bioblitz plans!

2025-11-24

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

2025-11-24

Ontario’s turtles are in decline and need all the help they can get!

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

Handout on pollinators

2025-11-24

2025-11-24

Pollinators are a priority resource concern for many conservationists and farmers. The Xerces Society conducted field trials throughout the Easter, Midwestern and Western United States to inform best practices.

2025-11-24

Check out the facts for amphibians and reptiles, birds, fish, mollusks, insects, pollinators and mammals! We’ve even got information specific to species at risk, the boreal forest species, and species affected by climate change! So why not learn a little bit more about these Canadian creatures

2025-11-24

Build your own bat house using this easy guide.

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

2025-11-24

The Monarch Butterfly is a species that doesn’t stay in Canada for the winter — it flies as far as Mexico! That adds up to a migration of over 4,000 kilometres round trip (there and back). Monarchs are also listed as an endangered species on Canada’s species at risk registry, so we thought spring would be the perfect time for you to work on a project to help them! Here’s how to grow a garden they will love.

2025-11-24

2025-11-24

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

Pollinators are a priority resource concern for many conservationists and farmers. The Xerces Society conducted field trials throughout the Easter, Midwestern and Western United States to inform best practices.

2025-11-24

Native plants support diverse insect populations by providing food for adults and larvae. Insects will feed on nectar, pollen or leaves and some will forage on only one species of native plant!

2025-11-24

2025-11-24

2025-11-24

Between April 28 and May 1, 2023, Canadians recorded observations of wildlife in their cities as part of the global City Nature Challenge. See the results at: iNaturalist.ca/projects

2025-11-24

British Columbia’s turtles are in decline and need all the help they can get!

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

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!

2025-11-24

How Industry-led Endangered Species Management is FAILING the American Eel in Ontario

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

You’ve Got an Eel on Your Reel – NOW WHAT?!

2025-11-24

Boscar Lake Creek connects Bosk Lake and Cruiser Lake in the Horsefly River watershed, Cariboo Chilcotin Region, British Columbia. The creek is known to support a range of fish species including Kokanee, Coho Salmon, Largescale Sucker, Longnose Sucker, Mountain Whitefish, Northern Pikeminnow, Peamouth Chub, Rainbow Trout and Redside Shiner.

2025-11-24

Ontario’s turtles are in decline and need all the help they can get!

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

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.

2025-11-24

How can you reduce your plastic footprint in your home? Take it one room at a time

2025-11-24

EACH YEAR THOUSANDS OF SMALL PROJECTS ACROSS CANADA DESTROY AQUATIC HABITAT AND KILL FISH AND OTHER WILDLIFE

2025-11-24

2025-11-24

British Columbia’s turtles are in decline and need all the help they can get!

2025-11-24

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.