Great Smoky Mountains National Park is offering high school and college students an opportunity to join a Park Ranger for a behind the scenes experience while helping the park. Each week during the summer of 2012 a different hands on work project, led by a park ranger, will be available to interested students.
Parents, guardians, and teachers are not required to participate with the students but are welcome to attend. Registration for each day is required so please contact the appropriate park representative.
July 19 and August 9 – North Carolina Citizen Science
The Citizen Science days will have students in the field conducting scientific project such as salamander monitoring, water quality assessments, tree mapping or taking forest inventories. These hands-on projects will provide participants with a specialized field experience and an opportunity to get involved in science in their national park in a fun and interesting way.
For more information or to register for the Citizen Science day in North Carolina, please contact Beth Wright, Park Ranger-Education, at 828-497-1907.
July 24 and August 23 – Trails Maintenance Day
During the Trail Maintenance Days, students will have the opportunity to work alongside park trail staff on the reconstruction of popular park trails. The hands-on work performed helps to contribute to the public’s enjoyment and safety of the Park’s trail system. Students may help install drainage structures, rehabilitate trail surfaces, construct staircases and remove vegetation.
For more information or to register for a Trail Day, please contact Christine Hoyer, Trails Volunteer Coordinator, at 828-497-1949.
July 10 and August 14 – Service Day
Projects for the Service Days will focus on much needed work around the park. Days may be spent performing historic preservation, seed collection, graffiti removal or even invasive plant removal. These ongoing park wide projects go a long way in making a big impact on day to day park operations.
For more information or to register for a Service Day, please contact Dana Soehn, Volunteer Coordinator, at 865-436-1265.
– NPS
