News Release

Junior Ranger Day at Big Thicket This Saturday

Earn your badge at Junior Ranger Day!

NPS Photo / Scott Sharaga

News Release Date: April 19, 2022

Contact: Megan Urban, 409-554-9016

KOUNTZE, Texas – Come celebrate Junior Ranger Day at Big Thicket National Preserve on Saturday, April 23, 2022! This FREE family-friendly event will take place at the visitor center, located at 6102 FM 420 in Kountze, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Visitors of all ages and abilities can learn about the different types of park rangers at Big Thicket while exploring these different stations and completing a scavenger hunt:

• Check out the awesome vehicles and tools it takes to protect the preserve, including a fire truck, air boat and other big trucks.
• Make seed balls to help restoration of the longleaf pine ecosystem and take a tour of our new greenhouse.
• Get to know some of the animals and plants that call Big Thicket home.

Cracklin Kings will be selling Cajun food during the event and American Sign Language interpreters will be on-site throughout the day. Visitors that finish the scavenger hunt become certified Big Thicket junior rangers and take home a certificate and a badge or patch.

Get more information about Junior Ranger Day and other ranger-led programs on our calendar of events.

Big Thicket National Preserve is located in Southeast Texas, near the city of Beaumont and 75 miles northeast of Houston. The preserve consists of nine land units and six water corridors encompassing more than 113,000 acres. The Big Thicket, often referred to as a “biological crossroads,” is a transition zone between four distinct vegetation types – the moist eastern hardwood forest, the southwestern desert, the southeastern swamp, and the central prairies. Species from all of these different vegetation types come together in the thicket, exhibiting a variety of vegetation and wildlife that has received global interest.

-NPS-