Re: Nearly 23,000 Junior Rangers Sworn in at Yosemite National Park

Record Number of Junior Rangers a Highlight of the Park’s Educational Programs

Yosemite National Park Rangers have sworn in 22,600 Junior Rangers so far this year. This sets a record for the most number of Junior Rangers in a year. Each of these young people completed their duties, either by attending a Junior Ranger program or completing a booklet, and took an oath to continue to “Explore, Learn, and Protect” Yosemite National Park. Each of the Junior Rangers received a Junior Ranger badge. The Junior Ranger Program in Yosemite aims to engage children as stewards for one of America’s most beloved national parks.

The origins of the Junior Ranger program began in 1930 with the Junior Ranger Nature School. An article in Yosemite Nature Notes published in June 1937 states “The 1936 summer meeting of the Yosemite Junior Nature School showed an increase in the numbers… with a total enrollment of 410 children.”

The Junior Ranger Program is one of many educational programs in Yosemite National Park designed to reach out to young people to create the next generation of park stewards. Yosemite partners with the University of California at Merced and NatureBridge on many innovative and groundbreaking programs. Many of these programs are designed to reach out to young people with diverse backgrounds in underserved communities who have never had the opportunity to visit Yosemite National Park. These programs include Adventure Risk Challenge, Yosemite Leadership Program Summer Internship, and Parks as Classroom. The park also offers distance learning programs utilizing video conference technology for schools that are unable to arrange a field trip to the park.

The National Park Service will celebrate its 100th Anniversary in 2016. The Centennial focuses on youth and connecting new visitors to national parks. Yosemite National Park joins other parks across the country in reaching out to the next generation of park stewards.

That's a great program. Our kids did it years ago at Lassen, Yellowstone...

---

Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963

My 16 and 17 year old sons still insist on completing the program when we visit a new National Park or many other monuments, etc (places like Alcatraz, fort in Puerto Rico, etc have the same program). Their collection of badges is awesome.

"We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinkin' badges!"



But I will!

My son is 19 and still does it when we go to a new park. Several park rangers I have talked to have said that they do it too when they go to a park they have not been to.