Fall Creek Falls State Park launching a new month-long conservation education initiative to engage visitors through hands-on volunteer opportunities and environmental programs.
Park Ranger Savannah Jackson said “Caught up in Conservation” originated from staff discussions at the park visitor center focused on expanding the local volunteer program. Jackson said the June event coordinates existing activities like Free Fishing Day with new volunteer weekends.
“We just really wanted to build stewards here for park,” Jackson said, “And we want to make sure that we are providing opportunities here for people to enjoy our parks as that’s why we’re here and the whole reason that we’re here.”
Jackson said the role of a park ranger includes protecting the land through both law enforcement and the application of best practices for local plant and animal populations. Jackson said the park serves a dual purpose of being a space for public enjoyment and a protected property that requires active management.
“Our park is here for the people, our park is here to also protect the land and the property here,” Jackson said. “And so our role as Park Rangers, you know, we have many different hats that we bring.”
The programming includes a partnership with the TWRA to build and distribute fish habitats within the lake. Jackson said participants will assist in the physical distribution of these habitats while learning why they are necessary for the aquatic ecosystem.
“People really love getting in our parks, getting their boots muddy, getting their hands muddy, you know, doing things to help support the park,” Jackson said. “So one way we’re really doing it in Caught up in Conservation is with these volunteer opportunities.”
Jackson said the schedule features pontoon boat tours covering the history of the park and its wildlife, along with a project to rebuild a Frazier rain shelter alongside Responsible Stewardship. Jackson said the park will also host creative activities such as making fishing lures out of bottle caps to engage the community.
“As, you know, generations have changed, you know, we really need to be connecting our young individuals with the resource because if they don’t have that connection, they won’t understand why our parks are so imperative and important,” Jackson said. “And so while we have, you know, a lot of older generations that have really spent a lot of time in our parks and given to our parks, we really need to start connecting our new generations so that way they will grow up in this environment.”
Jackson said the education efforts extend to the park’s cave systems, which house several species that are currently classified as threatened or endangered. Jackson said the goal is to provide transparency regarding the daily operations and the specific reasoning behind various protection efforts.
“I hope the participants will be able to see how much of our parks are wanting to have people enjoy our parks but also the meaning behind why we do what we do,” Jackson said. “Why are we creating stewards? What our wildlife mean to us, what our, you know, plant populations mean to us and why it’s important to be able to take care of them because if we don’t have these species, then they will start dying out if we don’t start taking care of them.”
Jackson said the event represents the culmination of a “small dream” shared by park staff and multiple outside agencies. Following the June conservation events, the park plans to host its annual Folk Arts event in August, followed by Spook-tacular and Christmas on the Mountain later this year.
