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del.icio.usNational Park Foundation Junior Ranger Program Initiatives
The Junior Ranger Program Initiatives were developed to assist the National Park Service in strengthening, enhancing, delivering and promoting Junior Ranger programming to visitors, with impact targeted towards families and underserved youth. These initiatives include the Junior Ranger Challenge Grants and the Junior Ranger Ambassador Program.
From 2005-2007, NPF’s grants have enabled the creation and improvement of Junior Ranger Programs in over 90 parks nationwide. While preference was given towards parks with no Junior Ranger Programs, many of the parks had outdated or insufficient materials and needed significant program support. Through the collaboration of Friends groups and college students with summer internships, the park created or redesigned Junior Ranger Booklets and tested the drafts on children and families who visited the park. Parks received toolkits to use as guides for activity designs and for attracting different age brackets. The grant required community outreach, and volunteer and event coordination for Junior Ranger programming.
Here are a few successes from the Junior Ranger Program Ambassador Program in 2007:
- In Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, a Junior Ranger Ambassador revised the current Junior Ranger Program to incorporate the O’odham people, their connections with Casa Grande, and the importance of the resource to their culture.
- In Pinnacles National Monument, an ambassador translated the new booklet into Spanish and incorporated age appropriate cultural activities to improve outreach with migrant neighbors.
- In Saint Croix Island International Historic Site, an ambassador created the park’s first Junior Ranger Program for youth and families to explore the culture of the St. Croix.
The expansion of these programs enabled new Junior Ranger Booklets and corresponding badges and patches to meet the National Standards of the National Park Service in quality and also in distribution - they are free to park visitors. With refurbished materials, new program design and community engagement, parks are better able to attract families and educate the next generation of National Park stewards.
