South Florida Park’s Junior Ranger
Biscayne National Park
http://www.nps.gov/bisc
Completed: November 8, 2013
Everglades National Park
http://www.nps.gov/ever
Completed: November 9, 2013
Big Cypress National Preserve
http://www.nps.gov/bicy
Completed: November 12, 2013
Junior Ranger – Senior Friendly
One booklet provides activities that can be completed individually for each park to receive that park’s Junior Ranger badge. If all three are completed you can show the signature page to a ranger at Biscayne or mail a copy of that page to Biscayne for a patch. I started at Biscayne and finished at Big Cypress so I will mail it in for the patch. I’ll update this page with an image of the patch when it is received.
The booklet is considered Senior Friendly because no age limits are given. Each park requests that you complete at least three activities at their site, plus complete one of the six activities on the back page at their site to receive the badge. Symbols, park mascots, at the top of each page indicate which park is represented. Several pages have all three mascots, some only one mascot.
Peters he Panther – Big Cypress National Preserve
Diego the Dolphin – Biscayne NP
Alleesha the Alligator – Everglades NP
Biscayne NP
For Biscayne NP I completed the Coral Reef word search with a hidden message, Hammock Hideaway which explains the ecology of hardwood hammocks, and Following the Water about watersheds.
Crocodile seen at Everglades
At Everglades NP I completed the word puzzles; Sawgrass Sleuth, Pinelands Detective and Estuary Escape. Each activity contained a lot of interesting information.
At Big Cypress I completed a food web named Mangrove Feeding Frenzy, a pictograph relating to past and present bird populations named, Plume Hunt and an excellent activity to project the future impact of Restoring the Watershed.
Alligators seen at Big Cypress
I found most the activities challenging and thoughtful. I appreciated that pertinent information was provided to either help you complete the activity or provided ‘food for thought’. Additional activities were available to chose from and I completed several of those in addition.
If you plan to do all three to qualify for the patch make sure you get a ranger to sign the back page at each site. One ranger did not sign, luckily it was noticed by another ranger and we were able to visit another of that park’s Visitor Center along our route. Another ranger reviewed the booklet and signed.
Getting just one of the Junior Ranger badges at anyone of these awesome park sites would be rewarding, getting all three plus a patch is even better!White Ibis at Everglades
Junior Ranger - Senior Friendly Programs 