For children aged four to 12 years old, the Jr. Ranger Competition is a way to show their love of nature and allows this passion to grow into something real. Hosted by Colossal and Jeff Corwin in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation, the Jr. Ranger competition is a recent initiative that gained popularity after crowning a champion in 2025. Now this year, more eager animal loving kids are fighting for that crown for the 2026 competition that is currently underway.
This competition calls on young adventurers and nature lovers to come compete in this nationwide opportunity; it’s a fundraising campaign for the National Wildlife Federations mission of protecting wildlife and inspiring future conservationists. The 2026 Jr. Ranger winner will get $20,000, an incredible wildlife experience with Jeff Corwin himself and a special appearance in the Ranger Rick Magazine. The competition involves public voting to select the winner all the while encouraging each young participant to truly showcase their passion for the outdoors as their community members vote and cheer them on the whole way.
One such young adventurer is right here in our community. Seven-year-old Jackson Medio is currently in the quarterfinals of the competition.
“It’s really exciting getting messages from the Jr. Ranger people and Mr. Corwin. They send my mom videos about animal conservation every week so we can learn about what they’re doing to help the animals,” he said when asked about his favortire part of the competition.
Jackson shared that he wants to be in this competition and share his knowledge with his community. He loves animals and getting to be a part of this and knows that the money being raised is going to people who will continue to help and protect all animals.
“Jackson’s greatest interest and passion has always been animals. He reads animal encyclopedias when he wakes up and when he goes to bed, and seeks out animal documentaries, all the while absorbing information about the behaviors, special skills, and environments of animals. He’s always “looking for creatures”, and usually finds some type to observe, interact with, or sometimes rescue,” Jackson’s mother Jane Medio shared. “When I discovered the Jr. Ranger competition and its connection to conservation through the National Wildlife Federation, I knew Jackson would be excited to participate.”
Now as her son battles through, her thoughts were exactly right. Not only is the competition creating excitement for Jackson, it’s also helping every child involved to grow more independent, learn things, grow this passion they have and become excited to teach others and share their experiences with the world.
“While Jackson has always been excited to share what he knows about animals with friends and family, he has become more confident and started reaching out beyond his circle to share information about nature and creatures,” Medio said. “He told me that last week at school, a girl said she hated bees. Jack says he asked her if she likes fruit and flowers and plants and then told her how important bees are for keeping all those things alive and healthy. He was proud to tell me she said, “maybe I do like bees, actually”, after their conversation.”
Through this competition Jackson has not only became more confident in his ability to communicate with others about his passion, but he was also excited to learn that there are kids all over the country who are interested in animals and nature just like he is.
His mother shared that it made him, ‘feel more connected to other nature-minded kids when he hasn’t seen that type of a connection so far in person. It’s as if participating in this competition has given Jack an extra sense of community.’
In addition to his new community Jackson has joined amongst like-minded Jr. Rangers, the positive response from his community right here has been just what he needed to make it far in the competition.
Jane Medio shared that families and neighbors have started asking Jackson various questions, checked in on his progress within the competition, quiz him on what he knows about animals, and just overall boosting his confidence and love for all of this.
“If I win, I’m going to have fun at an animal experience with Mr. Corwin. My parents told me I’m going to put the money away for college, but if I win, I want to get a pet bearded dragon or a Jackson Chameleon.”
To help Jackson connect with the local community and share his journey in the competition, his mother started a “Jr. Ranger Jackson” social media page on both Instagram and Facebook. There, she shares information about animals they’ve encountered, local activities they’ve explored and updates on the competition to help attract voters while giving Jackson another platform to share his passion.
Jackson is currently in the Quarterfinals which began May 11 and will run through May 21. Here competitors from across the country will once again rely on public votes to continue advancing toward the Finals at the end of May.
“It means the world to me that Jackson is taking such an interest in animals and spreading awareness about conservation at such a young age. I hope that his efforts inspire other kids to respect and protect the natural world around them,” Medio said.
Supporters can vote for Jackson throughout each round of the competition by visiting his official Jr. Ranger Competition page here: Jackson Medio Jr. Ranger Profile. Public votes help determine which young conservationists advance closer to the finals and ultimately compete for the 2026 Jr. Ranger title.
