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| Why Are There No Bears in Rock Creek Park? |
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Eastern National announces the release of “Why Are There No Bears In Rock Creek Park?” The book’s title and the story that follows was prompted by Rock Creek Park’s many young visitors, who upon visiting the 2,000-acre forest and seeing its many animals, often ask park rangers why they haven’t seen any bears.
One hundred years ago, the natural areas throughout the country that we now enjoy as national parks were surrounded by rural fields, woodlands and wetlands. At that time, wildlife thrived in habitats that stretched far beyond the park’s boundaries. Today, our national parks are surrounded by fast-growing communities where resident and migratory wildlife populations are confined by urban and suburban boundaries.
As our desire to live, work, and play in and near our national parks increases, we have inherited a new responsibility to safeguard the wildlife habitat that remains– for each is an oasis for animals, plants and people alike. How to respond to this new responsibility can be found in the pages of “Why Are There No Bears In Rock Creek Park?”
Remarkably, this is the first children’s book about Rock Creek Park. In its pages, readers are introduced to the park’s native animals, plants and trees. The story’s setting highlights the broad dimensions of our nation’s oldest urban national park from the defining waters of Rock Creek to its forest, wetlands, meadows and historic structures. Based on universal themes of habitat loss and stewardship behavior, “Why Are There No Bears In Rock Creek Park?” is a 21st-century fable that children with their families, teachers and friends will delight in reading time and again.
With rhyming prose, Ranger Dwight Madison crafted this tale to encourage outdoor exploration and model stewardship behavior that serves to safeguard the park’s plant and wildlife habitat. Artists Robert Hynes and Michele Foshee bring this story to life with breathtaking illustrations. Detailed color paintings of Rock Creek Park’s animals, plants and people are punctuated with photographs of the park’s most visited sites.
“Why Are There No Bears In Rock Creek Park?” is available at the Rock Creek Park Nature Center and Planetarium located at 5200 Glover Road NW, Washington, DC 20015, near the intersection of Military Road and Glover Road and at the Old Stone House located at 3051 M Street in Georgetown and at www.eParks.com the online bookstore of America’s National Parks operated by Eastern National.
Join us to celebrate the release of Rock Creek Park’s first children’s book and kick off National Park Week on Saturday, April 19, from 2 – 4 PM at the Nature Center and Planetarium.
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