Gorges promotes education, stewardship
It’s 10 a.m. as morning rain showers begin to dissipate into fields of thick fog.
A group of young elementary school students are led down a trail, splashing as they go in their little mud boots and enthusiastically pointing out every new shape of leaf, puddle of frog eggs and trailside critter that comes into view.
They pause as their group leader, a local ranger adorned with her signature flat cap, huddles them around a shiny bright red salamander.
“Pseudotriton ruber,” she said, referencing the very scientific name that sounds a bit like a magic Harry Potter spell in their young ears.
The children look on in amazement that a living thing of such vivid color exists right under their boot steps.
The small army of young hands reach in toward the salamander but are cautioned when the ranger explains how salamanders “breathe” through their skin and are incredibly sensitive to being touched.
She explains how picking up the salamander can really hurt it and potentially kill it.
While the concept may be too complex for their young minds to approach, the children walk on down the trail happy they avoided killing their little salamander friend.
This, in essence, is how stewardship happens.
Students participating in a ‘Arts in the Park’ field trip. (Courtesy photos)
Transylvania County isn’t alone in experiencing the nationwide influx of visitors to public lands. The numbers are skyrocketing above any projection we have developed, and this means those of us in outdoor spaces have been presented with an opportunity to share our passions for protecting these wonderful places with an entirely new generation of enthusiasts.
Gorges State Park is very excited to welcome these folks to the mountains with a swathe of guided hikes and public education programs.
Melanie Briley, the Gorges State Park ranger tasked with promoting and scheduling new programs, speaks fondly about her role as an experiential educator.
The official goal of the N.C. State Parks system here is “to provide educational opportunities that promote stewardship of the state’s natural and cultural heritage,” Briley said.
The stewardship component of this mission speaks very deeply to her.
“I would have to give credit to my own father for establishing a strong need to care for the natural world around us,” she said.
Briley shared stories of learning to identify plants with her father and safely collecting and relocating snakes from her property. She attributed these first-hand moments in the outdoors as integral experiences for her as a steward of public lands.
“I believe and hope that if park visitors and students, no matter what their background, have that same chance to experience the simple wonder and beauty of our natural world that I have been lucky enough to experience, they will then start to form a connection with Gorges State Park and all public lands,” Briley said.
Increased visitation, a fuller staff and a new superintendent, Kevin Bischof, have influenced the park’s operation with a capacity to provide more events for the public to enjoy.
“Gorges is currently establishing new relationships with local schools, teachers and agencies to create more regular field trip opportunities that offer firsthand experiences with the natural world relating to what the students are already learning about in the classroom,” said Briley.
Students will be able to attend guided hikes alongside the rangers who taught then concepts such as the water cycle via a real world experience while visiting Gorges’ innumerable waterfalls and experiencing its frequent rains. Bischof is enthusiastic about the focus being placed on development and education within the park. He told the Friends of Gorges State Park (FOG), the park’s number one philanthropic support group, that he is looking to expand access to waterfalls and other scenic vistas within the park.
These new trails will enable Gorges to provide a greater variety of education and conservation programs in an array of engaging and beautiful locales, he said.
A park ranger leads a guided hike in Gorges State Park.
Beyond the opportunity for sharing natural sciences with the local schools, Gorges is also excited to announce the addition of local high school artists in their “Art in the Park” series. Local art program attendees will be invited to take tours of the park, speak with the park staff and engage in the natural world around them for inspiration in their various artistic projects.
Some of the art pieces will be displayed on the visitor center’s walls for everyone to enjoy.
“This is an opportunity to bridge the subject gap in the park and give the community more opportunities to be a part of Gorges,” Bischof said.
In addition to children programs through schools, Gorges has also established a series of programs for the public to enjoy.
“These general programs can cover a broad range of topics and activities, but all directly relate back to what’s in the park,” said Bischof.
Educational tours of the park, which are open to the public, will operate on a regularly scheduled basis allowing visitors to engage with the natural world.
The tours will include learning to identify plants and animals, conservation efforts, ‘Leave No Trace’ principles and a wide range of other stewardship-based lectures.
Among the upcoming events are an “Invasive Species of Gorges State Park,” lecture and field talk to be held at the visitor center at 11 a.m. on April 20.
On April 22, the annual Earth Day celebrations will occur, which will include guided hikes, a community park cleanup, and other events. For moe information, visit www.NCParks.Gov and look for the “Events and Programs” link under Gorges State Park.
Jacob Myers is an Appalachian-based writer, thru-hiker, and conservationist who believes deeply in the growth benefits of outdoor experiences and the American Forestry ethos of public lands serving the greatest number of people in the greatest variety of ways for the greatest length of time.