PARKS: You’ve heard of Flat Stanley? How about “My DCNR Park Ranger?”
The Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation has released a learning adventure booklet highlighting the important role played by rangers in Pennsylvania’s state parks and forests.
The PPFF created the activity book in order to educate children and engage them in the role of DCNR park and forest rangers. The coloring and activity book includes outdoor activity ideas, maps, word games and educational material.
Children are encouraged to pick one of the rangers in the booklet to color and name. Then children can take them on an adventure and write or draw about it. Those completing the activity book will receive a prize and a certificate.
Participants are also encouraged to share images of their ranger adventure. The My DCNR Ranger booklet is free and available for download on the PPFF’s website
http://bit.ly/PPFFMyDCNRRanger2019
Marci Mowery, President of the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation, said, “Inspired by the popular children’s book Flat Stanley, we hope to engage children and their families in an exploration of the career of a ranger while exploring our state parks and forests. Rangers play an important role in the safety and education of visitors to our public lands, and we want to be able to celebrate this role with the public.”
The book project was funded through a grant from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Bureau of Recreation and Conservation Community Conservation and Partnership Program and through the donations of members and donors to the Foundation.
The release of the My DCNR Ranger book corresponds with World Ranger Day, celebrated around the world on July 31 each year on the anniversary of the founding of The International Ranger Federation (IRF), an organization that supports the work of rangers as the key protectors of parks and conservation.
World Ranger Day also remembers rangers who have been injured or killed while protecting national and state parks.
Hashtags for the day and for the book include #ThankARanger, #WorldRangerDay and #DCNRrangers
