Junior Rangers on Patrol

Summer Camp at the Crissy Field Center offers an experience full of fun and adventure—imbued with environmentalism and excitement for our national parks. One program that conveys these values is Junior Rangers.

What makes Junior Rangers different from other offerings? It’s all off-site! The program centers on the idea of teaching kids in 5th and 6th grades to be good stewards of their parks through adventure, exploration, education, and hard work.

Junior Rangers visit park sites such as Muir Woods, Alcatraz, the Presidio Plant Nursery, and Mori Point, to name a few. At these sites, the kids are engaged in activities such as hiking the trails, learning about the history of Alcatraz and restoring native habitat. Junior Rangers even have an overnight camping trip at the Presidio’s Rob Hill Campground!

While most of the Junior Ranger program is spent in our national parks, lead instructor Francis Taroc made sure to leave time for the Junior Rangers to visit local parks as well. At least once per session, the Junior Rangers as a group will choose one of their favorite local parks to explore and enjoy. They will also perform a stewardship activity, such as a litter cleanup, in this park. The hope is to bring the values of the national parks into the Junior Rangers’ home communities.

This summer, Junior Rangers will also be working on reflective art pieces and a video project that the kids will appear in and shoot! At the end of each two-week session, the Junior Rangers will present on their personal experiences and share some of their favorite memories they’ve made during the program.

Francis hopes that the Junior Ranger program will continue not only to instill a sense of ownership for their national parks, but also evoke a spirit of adventure and exploration that will last long after the program ends.

For more information or to register for our Junior Rangers programs, please visit www.crissyfieldcenter.org/summercamp. To see what activities Junior Rangers did last summer, visit our interactive map created by Francis!