Tuesday, June 17

Our Mediasphere students took a trip to Shenandoah National Park today and met with one of their rangers, Emily Nelson, to explore Fox Hollow Trail, do some citizen science with iNaturalist, and learned all about public outreach from Ranger Nelson.

Today, we went to the Shenandoah National Park to take a nature hike on the trail. We met a park ranger that was our guide for the day, and while she was with us she described what a national park is, and what rangers do there. She said that the goal of the national park is to preserve the park and the animals in it for future generations to see and experience. Along with that, she also told us about the history of the park, which was that the park used to be a collection of farms that were sold and repurposed to be a national park. An interesting fact she told us is that Shenandoah National Park had the Shenandoah Salamander, an endangered species that was found only in the park. 

 - Jeremiah Wallace

Today in mediasphere we went and hiked at the Shenandoah National Park. On the hike we searched for different plants and wildlife while also enjoying a nice outdoor experience. My personal highlight of the hike was finding a red salamander, (see picture 2) even though it was dead, it was still very cool to see this creature in the wild.

 - Charles Krupica

The Shenandoah National Park is a park close to Skyline Drive where you can hike and learn about what they do there. The main purpose is to protect the environment and wildlife as well as sharing its importance with the community. It was an enjoyable experience, especially crossing the spring.

 - Galen Pierce

Today we went to the Shenandoah National Park, talked to a ranger, and asked what they do there. They said that the national park and all national parks exist for the same reason, to preserve nature. She also said that each part of the national park logo means difrent things, for example the trees mean the plants, the buffalo means the wildlife, and the arrowhead means the history.  All of these things are what they protect. 

 - Ryan Ure

Today we went to Shenandoah National Park. We learned about citizen science, the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), and how they help preserve the park and the history behind it. We learned the history of Fox Hollow, the Fox family history, and how the land came to be a national park.

 - Silvia McCleary

Today we went to the Shenandoah National Park and we saw lots of animals and plants. We also took some pictures of the landscape and scenery which is very beautiful. The Shenandoah National Park rangers focus on protecting the environment, the animals and the geographical formations. The best part about the trip was that there were some bits of history along with nature.

 - Osias Luna

Today we hiked the Fox Hollow Trail at Shenandoah National Park and learned about what the NPS does. The mission of the National Park Service is to preserve and protect the natural beauty of our national parks. This includes the plants, animals, geographical features, and heritage. They also keep the air and water clean. A couple things that I saw were some cool plants such as wild black raspberries and American cancer root (or bear corn), a sparrow, and a red salamander which was sadly found dead near a spring box. Another really interesting thing we saw on the hike was the cemetery of the Fox family, with a couple graves that, judging by the dates, belonged to four-year-olds. National Parks protect the environment, plants, geography, and the wildlife in the park. This includes conserving endangered plants and animals in the park. In the park, I saw lots of wildlife. I also learned about the history, of the park.

 - Harshith Manyam

Today at the Shenandoah National Park, we explored the Fox Hollow Trail and learned about what the Shenandoah National Park does to protect and preserve incredible species that can be only found in the Shenandoah Valley like the Shenandoah Salamander. They protect the land from settlement.

 - Emily Polk