What’s in a Name? NPS Centennial

June 24, 2015 Posted by: Marinell Chandler

Next year, the National Park Service is celebrating its 100th birthday. We've spent a century protecting some of the most beautiful and treasured places that this country has to offer; caring for our natural wonders, preserving our history, and inspiring stewardship of nature. We have over 400 units in our care, including parks, wilderness, seashores and lakeshores, scenic river ways and trails, memorials, monuments, historical sites and recreation areas. In all, 275 million people visit a unit of the National Park Service each year. 

 

In preparation for the centennial, the National Park Service has launched a public campaign called Find Your Park to kick off celebrations and encourage everyone; especially youth, to “Get up, Get out, and Find Your Park.” This public movement aims to engage the next generation of Americans to become park supporters and stewards of public places; specifically through storytelling, art, and social media. Finding your park doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be a National Park – it could be one of the many sites in the Park Service system, but it could also be a state park, a memorable experience, or a different state of mind. 

 

 

To mark this exciting effort to engage a new generation of environmental stewards, the theme of the litter was the Find Your Park campaign. Using Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, we asked them to answer the question in one word, “What does your park mean to you?” We received over 600 name suggestions and picked the eight that we thought represented a diverse range of everything our parks have to offer. 

 

The names of the next group of Canine Rangers are: 

 

 

Vista gets snuggled by a Ranger (Photo by Emily Brouwer) 

 

Today Rupee's puppies are over 4 weeks old! Their eyes and ears have opened, and they have begun exploring the world outside of the house they have been in since the day they were born. As our pups get bigger, their world will too – it will extend from the square walls of their house to the corners of the puppy pen, out to the kennel, down tundra trails and beyond. In their very first winter they will see more of Denali than most will ever see in their lifetime, and will find their park here within its boundaries for years to come. 

 

Pups at dinnertime (Photo by Emily Brouwer) 

 

Why it matters at the Kennels 

 

These Canine Rangers found their park, and have devoted their lives to protecting its wilderness character for nearly 100 years; with Denali's centennial approaching in 2017. Each winter they travel thousands of miles to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to find their park in Denali and experience everything it has to offer. Like these dogs, we also need to make a commitment to being stewards of the park idea, so that others can discover Denali and find their park.