Guest

This is Red Rock State Park in Sedona, Arizona. We are a habitat protection and environmental education park. I'm a park ranger here, my official title is the environmental education park ranger. So in addition to maintaining the park and interfacing with the public, I also run our education program which is called the connection program. So K through 12 field trip program where we get both local and out of state students out here to the park and we do kind of hands on on environmental education. I've always wanted to be a park ranger, I haven't even always wanted to sort of work in natural resources. So I did a biology degree, and I had an opportunity to do some research on wild bird populations. And so we we are going out every morning finding nest sites, weighing eggs and nestlings and then tagging and banding birds and doing some blood sampling. And I just thought that was the coolest thing. So after that I tried to take classes that tied in more with conservation. So just being outdoors is incredibly fun for me, and also anything we have to do with plants and wildlife is really fun. But what I feel passionate about is sort of bringing that enjoyment I have and trying to share it with other people. 

There are endless paths you can take to become a park ranger. I have a degree in biology, which has been a perfect stepping stone for me in my career path, but almost any natural or cultural resources degree is a great way to become a park ranger. You can have a degree in history, geology, forestry, archaeology, wildlife management, parks and recreation, etc. You can determine your own path based on your interests and the type of park or public land area you'd like to work at.

I wear many hats but my main job is to head our environmental education program. I run field trips for students and organize park events. I'm also in charge of our interpretive museum and various education displays around the park. In a typical day I'll work in our entry station booth or Visitor Center. I'll do trail work, lead guided hikes, and do park maintenance. Other days I'll write lesson plans, design displays, update the park's social media, or film educational videos.

Riley Scantlebury

About Riley

Riley Scantlebury

About Riley

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