SACRAMENTO, Calif. – If day-to-day burdens have caused you to forget the simple joys of nature, consider this delightful cure: thank-you notes written by elementary school students to park rangers in the U.S Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District.
Rangers always seem to have favorite letters and artwork from young student visitors proudly displayed at their workstations, so we asked the rangers to share a few of their favorites.
Some of the most memorable presentations to elementary classes featured water safety tips, ecosystem education and even a few American history lessons.
“Thank you for coming to our classroom and telling us about the Lewis and Clark expedition. My favorite part was when I got to carry the treasure box. I learned that you must work together to get through danger.” – Alexandra
“Dear Park Ranger Tom: I learned you must work together even though he or her is not your friend.” – Megan
“It was very hard for Sacajawea because she had to carry her baby on her back the whole journey.” – Nicholas
Water safety is a priority when rangers address elementary school classes.
“Thank you for teaching me about water safety. You are very cool. Also, I bet you could save any buddy.” – Ben
“Dear Ranger Amber: Thank you for coming to our community Read-In. Is your job fun or boring? How do you save people from animals or drowning? Is it cool being part of the U.S. Army Corps?” – Matthew
“Black Butte Lake is fun and the water safety cups are cool. I didn’t get to use my sticky ruler because my dog ate it.” – Xavier
“Thank you for teaching me what to do and not what to do.” – Aiden
Rangers take every opportunity to teach kids about protecting the environment.
“I really enjoyed it when you showed us the tools for water sampling and I also enjoyed it when you showed us the water through that black tube. It was awesome!!” – Natalie
“It was fun to see you demonstrate how you sample the water. I am new to this class and everybody loves you so now I know how you are. I love you, too.” – Dejahe
“Ranger Tom, you are the best. I can’t believe that you spent all of your time with us. You have inspired me to look up all different things about salmon.” – Andrew
The 20th annual celebration of National Public Lands Day, Sept. 28, 2013, is a great opportunity to share time outdoors with family and demonstrate how we value our parks and lakes. To find a park near you, visit the Sacramento District Park Events Calendar online at http://www.spk.usace.army.mil/Locations/SacramentoDistrictParks.aspx.