On July 3, 1936 Shenandoah National Park was dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. There is a long and interesting history behind the creation of the park. Many people made great sacrifices by giving up their homes for the park to be created. The work to create the park also provided jobs for many young men in the Civilian Conservation Corp during the Great Depression.
On June 25th, 2011 a rededication ceremony was held at the park. Working at this event was one of my first official duties. I did not participate in the rededication ceremony, though I did post a few interesting pictures of the event. I worked at the family fun tent and fun it was! I helped to organize the tent and get ready for our visitors. We rangers all circulated around the tent helping families participate in games and nature centered activities. I loved working with the families on the art activities. It was a great experience to watch the rangers in action. I learned so much that day about how they share their knowledge and enthusiasm about Shenandoah National Park to visitors. It is through educational programs like this that they impart their love for nature and preservation of the park to the visitors. I hope by the end of the summer I can hone my skills as a park ranger. I want to share my conservation ethic, love of nature and her restorative effects with others. I plan to do this by helping visitors develop a deeper understanding of the beauty and history of the gifts of Shenandoah National Park.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Day one-self guided orientation tour.
This summer I am very fortunate to be working for the National Park Service in a program called Teacher Ranger Teacher. By participating in this program I will have the opportunity to work in Shenandoah National Park as an official Park Ranger! I am doing this because I want to learn more about Shenandoah National Park. I also want to share my love of the outdoors with my students and other young people. I want to take an active role in helping to preserve Shenandoah. I want to encourage other people to do the same.
Today I began my adventure!
Part of my orientation included a self-guided tour of the park. I drove on Skyline Drive from the park headquarters in Luray, VA to the southern entrance near Waynesboro. I stopped many times along the way to read signage, study the landscape, hear a ranger talk at Byrd Visitor Center and take in all of the beauty of the flora and fauna. One highlight of the day included an adult and cub black bear sighting beside Little Stony Man hiking trail. I stopped at the Byrd Visitor Center where they have an interesting display on the people and history of Shenandoah. I attended a ranger talk at Big Meadows. I learned a lot about the Weakleys, the family that lived at Big Meadows before the park was built. On our short hike we learned about the valuable uses of some of the plants in the meadow. We identified milkweed, yarrow, blueberry, ferns, daisy flea bane and a plant that was new to me called fly poison. Did you know that before people had screens in their windows they used this plant to catch flies? The would crush the plant and put it in a bowl of milk on the window sill and the flies would land in it and die. Our walk got cut short though because a thunderstorm blew in and we had to move out of the meadow to safety. I returned home tired, but feeling a sense of calm and peacefulness from being in the wilderness. When I return to work next week we will be busy preparing for the 75th Anniversary rededication ceremony on June 25th.
Today I began my adventure!
Part of my orientation included a self-guided tour of the park. I drove on Skyline Drive from the park headquarters in Luray, VA to the southern entrance near Waynesboro. I stopped many times along the way to read signage, study the landscape, hear a ranger talk at Byrd Visitor Center and take in all of the beauty of the flora and fauna. One highlight of the day included an adult and cub black bear sighting beside Little Stony Man hiking trail. I stopped at the Byrd Visitor Center where they have an interesting display on the people and history of Shenandoah. I attended a ranger talk at Big Meadows. I learned a lot about the Weakleys, the family that lived at Big Meadows before the park was built. On our short hike we learned about the valuable uses of some of the plants in the meadow. We identified milkweed, yarrow, blueberry, ferns, daisy flea bane and a plant that was new to me called fly poison. Did you know that before people had screens in their windows they used this plant to catch flies? The would crush the plant and put it in a bowl of milk on the window sill and the flies would land in it and die. Our walk got cut short though because a thunderstorm blew in and we had to move out of the meadow to safety. I returned home tired, but feeling a sense of calm and peacefulness from being in the wilderness. When I return to work next week we will be busy preparing for the 75th Anniversary rededication ceremony on June 25th.
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