James Malay loves the outdoors and being in nature.

And now the eight-year-old Vernon lad has a chance to become a Jr. Ranger with Ranger Rick magazine.

The contest winners are decided by the number of online votes they receive and James is currently in fourth place in his division, with the top five moving on to the next round.

If he wins, James will be featured in Ranger Rick magazine and take home $20,000.

“He’s really into hiking and we do a lot of camping as a family,” said mom, Jocelyn Dickie. “He also really got into skiing and mountain bike riding.”

The magazine features educational articles for children about nature and wildlife, something near and dear to James’ heart.

In association with the National Wildlife Federation, the contest features youths from Canada and the US.

Dickie said the process started several weeks ago, with James making it to the semi finals following several rounds of voting.

On his profile page for the contest, James was asked what his favourite animals are.

He has three favourites: “the peregrine falcon because it’s the fastest animal in the world, the tardigrade because it can survive anywhere — even space — and the blue whale because it’s the biggest animal on Earth. He loves learning amazing animal facts and sharing them with everyone.”

Dickie admitted, she did not even know what a tardigrade was.

Tardigrades, also known as water bears or moss piglets, are a phylum of eight-legged segmented micro-animals and are about .5 mm in size.

“James loves how nature makes him feel free — he can explore, climb, run and discover something new every time. He says nature is full of amazing animals, trees and plants that give us what we need to eat and live. He loves camping, being immersed in nature, and finding adventure around every corner,” his profile says.

Voting to advance to the next round ends at 7 p.m. this evening.

To cast a vote for James, click here.