YouTube video: Falling in love with the Grand Canyon
I have a confession to make. I didn’t want to work as a ranger at the Grand Canyon National Park. I put it right at the bottom of my choices on the application form. Too busy, too commercial, too well known…it seemed a world away from the remote places I like. But boy, was I wrong.
When water runs out
There is one very important non-renewable resource we are depleting which is very rarely alluded to: water. This recognition of the problem is slowly changing; the last James Bond film had as its villain someone trying to control this most precious resource. Critics of the film scoffed that it seemed a strange manifestation of megalomania compared with previous Bond villains, but this displays a lack of appreciation of the impacts of water supply.
Powell: the first explorer of the Grand Canyon
Major John Wesley Powell was a one armed civil war veteran (he lost his arm at the Battle of Shiloh in 1862) who went on to become a director of the United States Geological Survey. He was also an inveterate adventurer and in 1869 he led the first successful European American river expedition down the Grand canyon. He was also a great naturalist and geologist. Read more
Environmental education: why every country needs a Grand Canyon
Many of the visitors who come initially to wonder at “the Big Ditch” can also learn about the fragility of it. The Park’s interpretive rangers are encouraged to address environmental and Park issues in the daily free ranger programs. Visitors can join any of these walks and talks which aim to enhance the visitors appreciation of the Park and introduce them to the challenges which it faces. Visitors are introduced to a range of environmental issues which they may not have thought impinged on their lives, including pressure on natural resources, disruption of wildlife, and the speed of species extinction. Read more