Junior Rangers

The National Park Service has a Junior Ranger Program. At each park, participating kids are given a workbook to complete. To complete the workbook, the kids need to do things like: learn the park rules, complete a scavenger hunt checklist, go on a hike, go to a ranger talk, watch an educational video, pick up litter (gloves provided) complete some puzzles or draw pictures of their park experiences, etc.

Once the workbook is complete, they make the Junior Ranger Pledge (with a park ranger present), which usually goes something like this: "As a Junior Ranger, I promise to learn all I can about this park and to teach others to love and respect its beauty, its plants, and its animals". Then they are awarded a badge or patch.

We promised the girls that we would buy them each a Junior Ranger vest (for sale in the visitor centers) after they had each earned 10 badges. Here are the badges they earned (in order):

1. Carlsbad Caverns National Park
2. White Sands National Monument
3. Saguaro National Park
4. Montezuma Castle National Monument
5. Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
6. Walnut Canyon National Monument
7. Grand Canyon National Park
8. Bryce Canyon National Park
9. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
10. Dinosaur National Monument

:) Connie