International Women & Girls in Science Day
In honor of International Women & Girls in Science Day, we want to give a shout out to one of our locals @sarahmclear who works in the National Park Service! Please enjoy the following description on what working for the National Park Service is like, and what kinds of projects Sarah is involved in directly.
“There are a variety of different science careers that women hold within the NPS, as well as the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, CO State Parks & Wildlife, etc. Most park ranger jobs fall into:
1) Law Enforcement – “nature cops” handling DUI’s, traffic, & protecting resources through wildfire prevention, littering, etc.
2) Interpretation – Making emotional & intellectual connections & linking the parks to the people. Educating visitors on the historical, natural, & ecological features of the park.
3) Wilderness/Trails – Maintaining trails, clearing paths after a storm, etc.
Other jobs within the NPS include: Cartographists, hydrologists, geologists, naturalists, wildlife biologists, & more. These people monitor the park resources & gauge the impact that humans & structures (parking lots, buildings, overflow tourists from high volume visitation) have on the natural environment. They decide how much is too much without damaging the ecosystem.
My position was Interpretation. This involves spending time at the visitor’s center, answering questions & directing folks to appropriate campsites, hiking trails, & river access points. I also led several programs a week with both children & adults. I led programs in astronomy that involved stargazing. The night sky is a huge scientific & cultural resource & the levels of light pollution in the parks are so low.
I led guided hikes exploring the geology & formation of caves, bluffs, and hills. We explored the flora & fauna & discussed the types of trees, plants, & animals present & how they all interact.
My favorite “Junior Ranger” program was based on river water quality. The kids helped me search for macroinvertebrate larvae in the river & we used this info to estimate water quality based on the pollution tolerance of critters that we found.”