The 3 S's

"Do you know what the three "S's" are?"  Well, I do and this is part of the intro for all of the Junior Ranger Junior programs, (JRJ). For the older Junior Rangers, (JR's) the same ideas are emphasized but not on the elementary level of, "Who can tell me what the three S's are?" They are- Special, Shared, and Safe. These are three words that describe the CVNP and the NPS in general. With 397 sites, the NPS is pretty diverse. Some of the national "parks" are actually monuments or forests or battlefields, or even seashores! And CVNP is especially exceptional because it is the only national park in Ohio and happens to be wedged between two major metropolitan areas- Akron to the south and Cleveland to the North.

I'm proud to put on the "green and grey," when I think about the noble cause behind the national park system mission. Preserving the natural landscape of the nations for future generations and honoring those historic and cultural sites that define this nation and remind of milestones that shape our national heritage. Goosebumps.

The first JR program I was fortunate to observe was Ledges Ramble. Ranger Phil is awesome and he really set the bar. How he spoke to the children and parents, guided us on the hike, making every attempt to make sure the TRT's "got it." To be an established worker-employee- team member who remembers what it was like to be the new kid on the block, - in any field, anywhere and be able to welcome and share with the "newbies" in a respectful and kind way-- is special.

Other programs followed, A Very Busy Forest, Ultimate Junior Ranger Challenge, After the Chores and Meet the Unhuggables. A funny thing happened when I tried to go the extra mile and got the keys to the Octagon maintenance room area. I was attempting to help out by making sure we had water on-site so we could fill up the large water jugs for one of the exploratory stations for A Very Busy Forest. I unlocked the room and spotted the large water basin right away but also heard this, "bup, bup, bup.." in the background. I wondered what it was. I think my exact words were, "What's that noise? Hey, Jack you hear that?" Promptly followed by a glaring alarm sound that was deafening. Turns out that Maintenance didn't expect us to come set-up so early and hadn't got their yet to disable the alarm! In the meantime, TRT Jack had called Ranger Pam for codes to disable the alarm but once we had the codes we couldn't find the alarm panel. It just so happens that it was through the basement door that required a key we did not have. Drama, trauma, embarrassing. I learned some lessons in there somewhere. Hopefully I handled myself gracefully enough because inside I felt raddled. I do know how to check to see if the alarm is "armed" and ready or not...now! 

Helping fellow TRT's with the A Very Busy Forest day camp program.

Anyway, the other TRT's are great though. Each of them had me tag along for at least one of the programs they led while I observed and helped out when I could. I learned so much from them, so might say it was like, the blind leading the blind but I appreciated the modeling that they did and to be able to collaborate and see experienced teachers take a subject that is fairly new to them and be able to "interpret" in such an effective way was inspiring to me.  Each one of them has that special something that makes them shine. My hope is that I will too!