Portraits of Acadia: James Zordan

James Zordan, education ranger, crouches on the grass at Sieur de Monts after finishing a children’s program on July 25, 2018.

Yehyun Kim, Friends of Acadia

It was my dad's mom who first got me interested in the outdoors. She was a really amazing woman who had a strong appreciation for nature. She wasn't a naturalist. She wasn't a scientist. I don't remember her teaching me the different names of all the different species. But I remember being very young and having her taking me through the forests. I remember her teaching me to get down low and look at things really really closely. She gave me an appreciation for the natural beauty, looking at the different shapes of leaves or turning over rocks and just appreciating the natural world for what it was. She had a huge influence on me and I think about her a lot when I'm working here at the park.

If you don't cultivate that sense of wonder and awe in children when they're young, they're not going to have deep appreciation for nature. That's why I think it's important to work with those really young kids and make those impressions and create a positive experience for them as young as we can. Hopefully, they’ll remember that when they grow up and want to protect these places.

– James Zordan, education ranger

Education ranger James Zordan teaches children how snakes' jaw structure can come unhinged during a "Wild Things" program on July 25, 2018.

Yehyun Kim, Friends of Acadia

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