TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE-FOREST SERVICE
News Release
Julie Speegle
Asst. Public Affairs Officer
jspeegle@xxxxxxxxx
Work: 907-789-6246
Cell: 907-723-3304
For release: June 7, 2010
50 Local students become Junior Rangers
Juneau, AK— Juneau has 50 new Junior Rangers, thanks to a partner program between the Juneau Ranger District and Floyd Dryden Middle School.
Students from Rebecca Farrell’s sixth grade class were awarded their junior ranger badges in a special ceremony in the school’s library on the last day of school, Thursday, June 3.
Juneau Mayor Bruce Botelho also attended the event, which was the largest number of junior rangers awarded badges at one time in the city’s history, as well as on the Tongass National Forest.
Farrell asked U.S. Forest Service Conservation Education Specialist Karen Maher for help in tailoring the outdoor education science curriculum to be Tongass-specific. That’s when Maher introduced Farrell and her students to the Junior Ranger program.
“I wanted the students to learn more about the outdoors than just hunting and safety,” said Farrell. “What about the scenery, culture and history? I wanted the students to be able to describe the Tongass to someone who has never been here before”
Students began the program in January, participating in a historical scavenger hunt at the city museum, a field trip to North Douglass to view petroglyphs, and then a class project making their own petroglyphs. Native elders also played a large role in the cultural studies portion of the program. Elders told stories and taught the students about totem poles, the Tlingit names for plants and their purposes, and how to make devils club salve. Students also had to attend at least one scientific presentation in the community, such as the Fireside Chats at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center.
The purpose of the Junior Ranger program was to teach students how to be good stewards of the Tongass because, in the words of Mayor Botelho, “This is the most wonderful place on Earth.”
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Photos:
Photo credit: Julie Speegle, U.S. Forest Service Public Affairs
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Daisy Belleza cheers as she receives her Junior Ranger badge from Forest Service Conservation Education Specialist Karen Maher. Belleza was one of about 50 sixth grade students at Floyd Dryden Middle School who were awarded the badge on the last day of classes, after completing a Tongass-centric science curriculum for the past semester.
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