Menu
Johnson includes Fort Scott in nationwide tour
Many teenagers across the country may be spending their summer vacation playing video games, swimming, or simply relaxing and enjoying the break from school.
Thirteen-year-old Chandler Johnson, of Rome, Ga., is spending her summer traveling across the nation with her parents, visiting the 391 national parks overseen by the National Park Service. The reasons? According to Chandler, to learn about the country's national parks and to complete her growing collection of more than 200 Junior Ranger badges, patches and pins that she has earned since she was 6, when she first discovered the NPS Junior Ranger program.
"I think it's good to promote awareness of our nation's history and our national parks," she said Thursday during a visit to the Fort Scott National Historic Site, where Chandler earned her most recent Junior Ranger badge.
During her visit, Chandler was wearing a vest covered with golden Junior Ranger badges, patches and pins that she has earned over the years during her visits to NPS sites nationwide. Her goal is to complete Junior Ranger programs at each of the national parks. Chandler and her parents travel to the sites each year when she is not in school.
The first program she participated in took place at Florrisant Fossil Beds National Monument in Colorado, and she has been involved with the programs ever since, Chandler said.
Chandler said she has visited about 320 parks in 48 states since starting her journey more than seven years ago. Nearly 300 NPS sites currently have Junior Ranger programs.
"I'll have been to every state by next year," she said, adding that she and her family plan to travel to Hawaii and Alaska soon so she can participate in Junior Ranger programs in those states and finish up her award collection.
"I want to visit as many (parks) as I can and learn," she said.
The experiences and knowledge she has gained from her travels has also helped her academically, Chandler said.
"I can usually help the teachers out," she said. "When they need help, I can point out somewhere I've been in a brochure ... It's really helped me in school."
Chandler said the most unusual and fun national park she visited is the Dry Tortugas National Park in Key West, Fla., where she was able to snorkel and view the colorful scenery of the Florida Keys. Chandler said she was also very interested in watching costumed re-enactments at various sites and how they "brought the fort to life."
"I hope it gives them (youth) initiative to come," she said.
Chandler's mom, Carmen Johnson, said she is proud of her daughter for her accomplishments at such a young age and the example she is setting for today's youth.
"It takes a lot of work and dedication," Carmen said. "For the rangers to acknowledge her work, she's really learning from it."
During her Thursday visit to the FSNHS, Chandler was able to visit with park superintendent Betty Boyko and NPS Ranger Kelley Collins, who both certified that Chandler had received her latest badge and certificate after completing the site's Junior Ranger program.
"You could be the ambassador for your generation," Boyko told Chandler during her visit.
The goal of the NPS Junior Ranger program is to connect young people to their national parks through a variety of in-park activities that are designed to introduce them to the national park system and cultivate future generations of park stewards. Programs range from simple scavenger hunts for younger children, to multi-day ranger-led activities, according to the NPS.
Chandler said her favorite park and Junior Ranger program is Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. She also added that she would someday like to volunteer at FSNHS and eventually become a park ranger.
For more information about the Junior Ranger program, visit www.nps.gov. Another Web site, www.nps.gov/webrangers, is available for children who are not able to make it to a national park to participate in Junior Ranger activities. At that site, children can participate in a variety of online activities to earn Junior Ranger certificates.