# We become Junior Rangers at Shenandoah

*2025-05-27 — note*


What might a Dame of the Realm, a Fellow of the Royal Society, the latest member of the UK Joint Nature Conservation Committee, and me all covet? That's right: a [Junior Ranger](https://www.nps.gov/kids/become-a-junior-ranger.htm) badge from [Shenandoah National Park](https://www.nps.gov/shen/index.htm)!  After an [intense](https://anil.recoil.org/notes/nas-rs-biodiversity) few days, [Bill Sutherland](https://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/directory/bill-sutherland), [Julia P.G. Jones](https://www.bangor.ac.uk/staff/sens/julia-patricia-gordon-jones-010356/en), [EJ Milner-Gulland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._J._Milner-Gulland) and I headed into nature to experience the spectacular landscapes of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia and do some birding.

The National Park Service in the US runs a wonderful program for anyone aged 8+ (which we just about qualified for) to introduce people to nature, and Shenandoah [is no exception](https://www.goshenandoah.com/activities-events/national-park-service-programs). We visited the local ranger lodge in the park, and picked up a program booklet. They're full of activities for kids to do, but of course adults also pick up a lot of random knowledge (such as the [endemic salamander species](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenandoah_salamander) in the region).

<figure class="image-center"><img src="/images/shen-1.webp" alt="EJ and Julia hard at work on their junior ranger books" title="EJ and Julia hard at work on their junior ranger books" loading="lazy" srcset="/images/shen-1.768.webp 768w, /images/shen-1.640.webp 640w, /images/shen-1.480.webp 480w, /images/shen-1.3840.webp 3840w, /images/shen-1.320.webp 320w, /images/shen-1.2560.webp 2560w, /images/shen-1.1920.webp 1920w, /images/shen-1.1600.webp 1600w, /images/shen-1.1440.webp 1440w, /images/shen-1.1280.webp 1280w, /images/shen-1.1024.webp 1024w"><figcaption>EJ and Julia hard at work on their junior ranger books</figcaption></figure>


The activities are rigorous: in addition to crosswords and drawings about the park, we had to compose poems and haiku, and also experience nature. First, we had to dance like butterflies... (I was a Monarch, so I occasionally had to respawn while migrating).

<div class="video-center"><iframe title="" width="100%" height="315px" src="https://crank.recoil.org/videos/embed/42b85cbd-a5e3-4211-9e3c-1e0970e08e1f" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-forms"></iframe></div>

...and then hug a tree, of which there were many around, and they told us their stories...

<figure class="image-center"><img src="/images/shen-2.webp" alt="" title="" loading="lazy" srcset="/images/shen-2.768.webp 768w, /images/shen-2.640.webp 640w, /images/shen-2.480.webp 480w, /images/shen-2.320.webp 320w, /images/shen-2.1024.webp 1024w"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

...and try not to fall off sweeping overlooks as we clambered around...

<figure class="image-center"><img src="/images/shen-3.webp" alt="" title="" loading="lazy" srcset="/images/shen-3.768.webp 768w, /images/shen-3.640.webp 640w, /images/shen-3.480.webp 480w, /images/shen-3.320.webp 320w, /images/shen-3.2560.webp 2560w, /images/shen-3.1920.webp 1920w, /images/shen-3.1600.webp 1600w, /images/shen-3.1440.webp 1440w, /images/shen-3.1280.webp 1280w, /images/shen-3.1024.webp 1024w"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

And once that was done, we returned to the ranger lodge to swear our ranger oaths, with a delightful Ranger who knew lots about the local area, the forest/meadow management, and where we might spot more of the salamanders (which are apparently under some threat from an invasive look-a-like that is not endemic but outcompeting the local salamandar).

<div class="video-center"><iframe title="" width="100%" height="315px" src="https://crank.recoil.org/videos/embed/cb5199b9-1a05-49e9-8bdd-9f2e7f96834b" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-forms"></iframe></div>

## Bill's Conservation Concepts

During our hikes to the various lovely sites, we also took some time to record the 101st video for [Bill Sutherland](https://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/directory/bill-sutherland)'s wonderful [Conservation Concepts](https://www.youtube.com/@Bill_Sutherland) video series, about the work [Sadiq Jaffer](https://toao.com) and I have been helping out the [Conservation Evidence Copilots](https://anil.recoil.org/projects/ce) team on.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/anM8GVxa3Lo?si=B3h0bN6L_bfmlF46" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I highly recommend watching [Bill's whole channel series](https://www.youtube.com/@Bill_Sutherland) as it's full of endlessly fascinating facts, and congratulations to Bill on reaching the century mark on the number he's done\!

<figure class="image-center"><img src="/images/shen-4.webp" alt="I'm never taking my badge off, best day ever" title="I'm never taking my badge off, best day ever" loading="lazy" srcset="/images/shen-4.768.webp 768w, /images/shen-4.640.webp 640w, /images/shen-4.480.webp 480w, /images/shen-4.320.webp 320w, /images/shen-4.1600.webp 1600w, /images/shen-4.1440.webp 1440w, /images/shen-4.1280.webp 1280w, /images/shen-4.1024.webp 1024w"><figcaption>I'm never taking my badge off, best day ever</figcaption></figure>
Synopsis: Earning Junior Ranger badges at Shenandoah National Park and recording Conservation Concepts video series episode.
Words: 386
DOI: 10.59350/d27v1-5tk68

## Related

- [Visiting National Geographic HQ and the Urban Exploration Project](https://anil.recoil.org/notes/natgeo-urban-wildlife) (note, 2025-06-07)
- [What I learnt at the National Academy of Sciences US-UK Forum on Biodiversity](https://anil.recoil.org/notes/nas-rs-biodiversity) (note, 2025-06-06)
- [Dancing like butterflies in Shenandoah](https://anil.recoil.org/videos/42b85cbd-a5e3-4211-9e3c-1e0970e08e1f) (video, 2025-05-27)
- [Junior Ranger oath at Shenandoah National Park](https://anil.recoil.org/videos/cb5199b9-1a05-49e9-8bdd-9f2e7f96834b) (video, 2025-05-27)
- [Conservation Evidence Copilots](https://anil.recoil.org/projects/ce) (project, 2024-01-01)

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Canonical: https://anil.recoil.org/notes/junior-rangers
Type: note
License: CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/>
Tags: conservation, usa