Abdomen: the last of the three parts of an insect’s body. There you can find their heart, digestive system, and reproductive organs.

Acid: A water-soluble chemical compound that tastes sour or bitter, irritates skin and eyes, and reddens litmus paper.

Acidic: You would use the word acidic when you are talking about an acid. For example: "The vinegar was very acidic." The word acidic is also used to describe something that has acid in it.

Acid Rain: A harmful type of precipitation that occurs when airborne chemicals like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide dissolve in rainwater.

Adaptation: A special feature or behaviour developed by organisms to help them survive in a particular environment.

Agriculture: The process of preparing the land to grow food, producing crops, and raising animals.

Alpine: Relating to high mountains.

Amphibian: An animal that typically lives partially in an aquatic habitat (breathing by gills) as young and primarily in a terrestrial habitat (breathing by lungs and through moist skin) as an adult, e.g. frogs.

Arctic Tundra: Found in northern Canada, this habitat is an area characterized by cold temperatures, few, if any, short stunted trees and soil that is frozen for most of the year.

Atmosphere: A thin layer of gases above and around the Earth. It is between outer space and the Earth.

Biology: The study of living things. When scientists study frogs it is a kind of biology.

Biome: A large area with similar plants and animals that can live in a certain kind of environment.

Bioregion: A bioregion is a land area that shares similar plant and animal species, water, climate, rocks, soils, landforms [topography] and human culture.

Bioregionalism: Means being aware of the ecology, economy and culture of the place where you live.

Biosphere: The part of the Earth’s crust, water and atmosphere where living organisms can survive.

Bog: Wet, spongy ground, often surrounded by water; rich in plant matter.

Boreal Forest: It is a kind of forest found across Canada's north. It has coniferous trees, lichen, mosses and bushes. See Coniferous Trees.

Bacteria: Very tiny (microscopic) living things that are found everywhere. Some bacteria do useful things, some bacteria can cause disease.

Barbel: A slender, whiskerlike organ extending from the head or chin of certain fishes.

Bark: The tough, corky, outer skin that covers tree trunks, branches and twigs.

Biodegradable: The property of a substance that permits it to be broken down by bacteria and other microorganisms into simple, stable products that will not harm the environment.

Biodiversity: The variety of life on Earth. "Bio" means life and "diversity" means difference.

Biological control: the use of natural enemies (predators, parasites, etc…) to control a pest population.

Biologist: A person who studies living organisms and their relationships to one another.

Calving Grounds: An place or area where caribou give birth to their babies.

Camouflage: The way in which an animal hides itself from an enemy, changing its body shape or colour to blend into its surroundings.

Canopy: The layer formed by the leaves and branches of a forest’s tallest trees.

Caption: Words used to describe a picture or drawing, like in a comic strip.

Carbon: A chemical element that is found in all plants and animals. Carbon is found in fossil fuels - coal, oil and natural gas. When fossil fuels are burned the carbon is released into the air and can join with oxygen to make carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

Carbon dioxide: A colourless, odorless, tasteless gas that is produced when animals exhale and when fuels burn, and is used by plants to make food. Carbon dioxide is a "Greenhouse Gas." See Fossil Fuel and Greenhouse Gas(es).

Carbon Sequestration: The capture or long-term storage of carbon in forests/soils/oceans, preventing it from collecting in the atmosphere as CO₂

Carrion: Dead and decaying animal matter.

Carnivore: An animal that eats other animals and is nourished by the plants and smaller creatures these animals have eaten.

Certified: Means that the food has been grown according to strict standards
(e.g. no pesticides), verified by an independent organization."

Chlorophyll: A green substance that enables the leaves of plants to use solar energy, carbon dioxide, water and organic nutrients from the soil to make the sugars and starches they use as food.

Climate: The pattern of weather in a region year round.

Climate Change: When climate is different from its past. The Earth's climate could be changing really fast because of human activities. See Climate.

Commensalism: A relationship in which one species derives food or shelter from another species without seriously harming that organism or providing any benefits in return.

Commodity: Something of value that can be bought or sold, usually a product or raw material (lumber, wheat, coffee, metals, etc.).

Decay: To break down or rot. Plant and animal remains decay naturally.

Decompose: To rot or decay; to break down into simpler parts or elements.

Decomposers: Organisms (bacteria, fungi, worms) that feed on dead decaying plant and animal matter and break it down (mechanically or chemically) into a form that can be used as nutrients by plants.

Deciduous Tree: Generally, a tree that loses all of its leaves for part of the year. Sometimes called a broad-leaf tree or a hardwood tree. Example Maple, Beech, Birch and Oak.

Deforestation: The complete destruction and total clearing of all forests within a region.

Depreciation: This occurs when the value of an object decreases as it is used over time. For example, the wear and tear (age, mileage and condition) on a car over several years lessens (or depreciates) its value.

Diurnal: Active during the day.

Dormant: Lying asleep or as if asleep; inactive.

Drought: A long period of dry weather.

Equator: An imaginary line around the Earth that is half-way between the North and South Poles.

Extinct: A plant or animal that no longer exists anywhere on Earth.

Evergreen: A plant that does not lose all of its leaves at one time. Most North American evergreens are coniferous.

Exemption: Special permission to be free from requirements that others must meet.

Export: To send goods or services to another country for sale or trade.

Extinction: The condition of having been removed from existence. An animal or plant facing extinction is one in danger of vanishing from our world.

Extirpated: Something that is no longer found in a wild area where it used to live (and where it belongs), but is found somewhere else.

Fertilizer: A substance that is put on the ground to help crops and other plants grow better. Fertilizers give plants nutrients. Fertilizers can be man-made chemicals or natural materials such as manure.

Flock: The name used for some groups of animals of all the same kind. For example, birds, goats, sheep, geese, etc.

Food Chain: A food chain shows how each living thing gets its food. A food chain always starts with plant life and ends with an animal. (e.g. grasshopper eats plants like corn, shrews eat grasshoppers, hawks eat shrews.)

Food Miles: The distance food travels from where it is grown or raised to where it is ultimately bought by consumers.

Food Web: A complex, interconnected pattern of food chains.

Forest: A complex community of plants and animals in which trees are the most prominent members.

Geothermal Energy: The natural heat energy of the Earth. Also called Earth energy.

Global Warming: An overall increase in the Earth’s temperature, which may be caused by reduced numbers of trees and increased levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. See Greenhouse Effect.

Grassland: Large areas of land that are flat, grow different kinds of grasses and other plants and get less than 100 cm of precipitation each year. They also do not have many trees. Some grasslands are called Prairies.

Greenbelt: A large area where recreational parks, farmland and natural land surrounding communities are protected against building.

Greenhouse Effect: The warming of the Earth's surface. Gases (See Greenhouse Gases), trap heat between surface of the Earth and the atmosphere. See Atmosphere.

Greenhouse Gas(es): Gases that suck up the energy coming from the Earth and send most of it back to the Earth. They are apart of "the Greenhouse Effect." Examples: Carbon dioxide, Nitrous oxide, Methane, water vapour, CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons).

Habitat: The place where any plant or animal naturally lives and grows; a place that provides food, water, space to live and shelter for an interdependent community of living things.

Hatching: Breaking out of an egg.

Herbivores: Animals that rely on plants and plant parts for their nourishment.

Herd: A group of animals of the same kind, together in a group feeding or traveling together. For example, cattle, buffalo, caribou.

Hibernation: The act of passing the winter, or part of it, in a state of deep sleep. Some animals do this to avoid the cold temperatures and lack of food during winter months.

Hydroponics: The science of growing plants, especially vegetables, in water containing essential mineral nutrients rather than in soil.

Import: To bring goods or services into a country from another country for sale or trade.

Indigenous: A naturally occurring species.

Inorganic: Not living.

Invertebrates: Animals that do not have backbones.

Insulin: It controls how much sugar is in an animal's blood.

Kilowatt: A unit of measure for electricity that equals one thousand watts

Kilowatt-hour (kWh): The amount of energy present in one kilowatt of electricity supplied for one hour of time. Electricity is sold as kilowatt-hours. People pay for electricity by the number of kilowatt-hours used.

Landfill: An enormous pit where trash is buried under shallow layers of dirt.

Lichen: Its not a plant. It is one living thing made up of two organisms - algae and fungi. It looks like a dry plant. It grows in places where plants can't like bare rock and tree bark.

Livestock: Domestic animals, such as cattle or horses, raised for home use or for commercial purposes, such as a farm.

Mammal: Animals that give birth to live babies and feed them with milk.

Methane: A gas. It can be made by nature or by humans. It is a "Greenhouse Gas." Methane is made when organic stuff, like plants are eaten by bugs and other creatures. Humans make methane when they burn gas and oil.

Migrate: To go live in another place.

Migration: Moving to another home. When birds migrate, they fly away to live in another place that has more food and warmer weather. Frogs migrate between spring and winter homes.

Naturalist: A person who studies or is interested in natural history.

Nitrous Oxide: A gas. It can be made by nature or by humans. It is s "Greenhouse gas". Forms of moisture; rain, snow, sleet, and hail.

Nocturnal: Active during the night.

Nonbiodegradable: Incapable of being broken down naturally into substances that will not harm the environment.

Nonrenewable: Nonliving resources (such as rocks and minerals, petroleum, coal, copper, gold…) that cannot be replaced, replenished, or renewed by natural processes or by human planning and practices.

Nutrients: Substances that are taken in by plants and animals to help them grow.

Nymphs: Baby bugs

Obesity: A condition describing excess body weight in the form of fat. Obesity is associated with many illnesses and can cause early mortality.

Omnivorous: Eating both animal and plant foods.

Organic: Related to living things; made by or gotten from plants or animals.

Organism: A living thing; a form of life, plant or animal.

Oxygen (O₂): A colourless, odorless, tasteless gas that is produced by plants and needed by animals, including people.

Ozone Layer: A layer of oxygen formed naturally, high above the Earth, which acts as a screen to protect plants and animals for the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays.

Pesticide: A chemical poison that is used to kill pests, such as insects, rodents or weeds.

pH: A measure that indicates the relative acidity or alkalinity of a substance. The pH scale ranges from 0 (most acidic) to 14 (most basic), with a pH of 7 being neutral.

Photosynthesis: The method whereby plants use the energy of sunlight to change carbon dioxide and water into food (sugars) for themselves.

Plastic:The name given to a large group of substances made chemically from such materials as coal or oil mixed with water and limestone.

Pollutant: Any substance that can make air, land or water dirty or impure.

Porous: Full of or having holes.

Predator: An animal that hunts and kills other animals for food.

Prey:Any animal that is caught and eaten by another animal.

Processed:To change something with a series of steps. Example: crude oil has to be processed into different oil products before it can be used.

Produce:Fresh fruits and vegetable grown for the market; same as "crop."

Recycle: To process and treat discarded materials so that they can be used again.

Resources: Substances that support life and fulfill human needs, including air, land, water, minerals, fossil fuels, forests and sunlight.

Restoration: To work on changing something back to the way it was before.

Rural: Refers to the countryside or people who live in the country.

Sedge: A kind of plant that looks like grass. The stem of grass is round but sedge has a stem shaped like a triangle. It doesn't grow very high.

Shed: To let something fall off.

Species: A distinct kind of animal or plant that mates and has young with another of its kind.

Solar Energy: Energy from the sun that can be used for heating or to make electricity.

Socially Responsible: This term usually describes businesses. Being socially responsible means that businesses operate in ways that do not harm the environment, provide good salaries and benefits for its employees and generally contribute to the welfare of their communities.

Steward: A person who takes the responsibility of making decisions that will allow resources to be maintained for future generations.

Sustainable: The ability to continue/maintain into the future.

Sustainable Development: Environmentally friendly forms of economic growth activities (agriculture, logging, manufacturing, etc.) that allow the continued production of a commodity without damage to the ecosystem (soil, water supplies, biodiversity or other surrounding resources). Meets the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Swamp: A wetland partially covered by water, and often dominated by trees.

Taiga: Another name for Boreal forest. See Boreal Forest.

Temperate: A region with moderate climate.

Threatened: A plant or animal that is in danger of becoming endangered if nothing is done to help it. See Endangered.

Thorax: The middle part of an insect’s body, between the head and the abdomen.

Topsoil: The rich organic layer of dirt from which plants get the nutrients they need.

Transmitter: A device used to send or pass radio signals from one thing, or person or place to another.

Transplant: To grow a plant indoors and then plant it outdoors. Or to dig up a plant from one place and then plant it somewhere else.

Tree: A woody plant four to six metres tall with a single main stem (trunk) and a more or less distinct crown of leaves.

Tropical: The hot region around the equator between two imaginary circles that run around the Earth and are known as the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

Urban Sprawl: An unplanned and unexpected expansion of development in an area where homes, strip malls and roadways take over natural areas.

Vegetation: The mass of plants that covers a given area.

Vibrate: Something is vibrating when it moves back and forth very fast.

Vulnerable: A plant or animal that is in danger of becoming threatened if nothing is done to help it. See Threatened.

Wetlands: Low-lying areas, (including bogs, deltas, marshes, swamps, ponds, or lakes), that are saturated with moisture and provide food-rich habitats for a wide variety of plants and animals.

Wildlife: Describes all native, non-domesticated animals and plants living in the wild.