We wish we could spend every moment kayaking among the glaciers of Alaska or trekking the savannas of Tanzania.  But since most of us have day jobs that require a different sort of landscape, we plan many weekends around how to make the most of exploring wilderness closer to home.  However, even backyard wilderness adventures need an excellent guide. Here are some skills you can learn to lead your own local safari:

Only 2.3% of the world’s oceans are protected. That’s why WWF works to create Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). An MPA is an area designated to protect marine ecosystems, processes, habitats and species as well as promote positive social impacts. They include marine reserves, no-take zones, marine parks, and sanctuaries around the world. MPAs preserve the marine biodiversity we enjoy in our travels, and ecotourism is an important tool keeping MPAs financially sustainable.

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“I love their eyes,” said Gavin Lautenbach, Natural Habitat Adventures guide. “To capture a photograph of any cat in the wild, it’s about their eyes. I love their power and their strength. I love their relationships with their cubs and with other cats. I love their speed, power, precision and playfulness.”

The Pantanal is the largest wetland in South America and the largest wetland in the world that has not been substantially modified by humans. The sheer abundance of large birds, reptiles and mammals mark its importance as a huge reservoir of biodiversity.

Cassie O’Connor’s commitment to conservation deepened after college when she co-managed a forestry station in Indonesia.  The pristine Indonesian environment and rich culture have since brought her back repeatedly and have inspired her in various conservation roles she’s played over the years.

Islands evoke feelings of relaxation, not death, torture and imprisonment. However, Coiba Island off the coast of Panama was actually used by the country’s former military dictatorship as a prison. Now, Coiba Island Prison has undergone a unique transformation into Coiba National Park. The park encompasses 38 islands and their surrounding reefs in the Gulf of Chiriqui. A bio-diverse paradise now replaces memories of imprisonment.

The Panama Canal is an engineering innovation integral to modern shipping, international travel and trade. Surrounding the canal is the Panama Canal Watershed, a 1,300-acre area with significant biodiversity. The Panama Canal Authority works to ensure that development of the Panama Canal has a minimal effect on the ecosystem, so that local wildlife flourishes. The watershed is inhabited by 112 species of reptiles, 80 species of amphibians and 546 species of birds.

A white rhino isn’t actually white and a red panda isn’t even related to the black and white, giant pandas we know and love. So what’s with their names? To help with the confusion, here’s a primer on nine animals who have been seemingly misnamed.

Thanks to your handy smartphone, you can contribute to scientific endeavors while you’re traveling or exploring natural areas near your home. More and more smartphone users are becoming so-called “citizen scientists” using their phones to capture photographs, sightings and other data about the natural world and submitting it through scientific websites and apps. This is a great way to feel like you are contributing to the study and protection of wildlife and natural places. How to get started? Download these four apps to kick start your amateur science career.

What is your ideal way to explore the Galapagos Islands? Is it to kayak against the tide, warming your muscles as you cruise past lava rocks covered in marine iguanas? Or carefully photograph every marquis species that left Charles Darwin wide eyed? Or snorkel among green turtles and sea lions?

Go on a safari in Africa and you’ll hear plenty about the “Big 5.” The term originally referred to the top five species that hunters sought on their bucket list but has now evolved to mean the top five big mammals in Africa—those being the lion, elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard and rhino.

While all of the animal lovers among us want to observe those species in their natural habitats in Africa, there are also some really cool little animals to look out for. We call this our “Little Five.”

One of WWF’s newest members, Elsa Bailey, just accomplished her dream of seeing polar bears in the wild—at 100 years old.