Ask a Ranger Podcast

We say goodbye to the Ask A Ranger Podcast

We chat with Deborah Ferruccio who helped start the environmental justice movement. It all started in Warren County NC. For a full complete story you can check out her podcast she just started called Our Road To Walk Now And Then. 

Ranger Lawson from Eno River State Park joins us to chat about Salamanders! 

Ranger Josh explains what a ranger does working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service!!

We chat with Ranger Daniel again! This time we talk about why he started the Black Park Ranger experience Instagram and why it's important to tell these stories. 

We chat with Daniel about his journey to rangering and what it's like working in an park in LA! 

This month we chat with Jared who works for the NC Forest service! 

We chat with Wildlife Resources Commissions CC King on why place based education is crucial for our children and us as adults. 

Retired Park Superintendent Claude Crews shared with us his experience at the Woolworth Civil Rights sit in and how he got started as a park ranger with NC State Parks. 

Retired Park Superintendent Claude Crews talks with us about the early history of the land that becomes Hammock Beach State Park. 

We chat with one of 2021s NC State Parks interns. 

Jess and Crystal attend the Beetle Summer music fest and chat with some interesting Beetles 

This episode is part of a series that will tell the histories of portions of Mayo River State Park before these tracts of land became the park.  It is a brief synopsis of a larger history of the surrounding area.This is an early release as Fletcher's health is declining and we want to make sure he can hear his contribution.  Thank you to our historians Fletcher Dalton, Bob Carter, and Kitty Williams.  It was such a pleasure to sit and speak with you all.  

We chat about Beetles with Patrick! Join us for fun conversation about what makes a beetle a beetle and how cool the Bess Beetle is! 

Please join us in fan girling out with the incredible Parker! Parker is an outspoken social media diva that focuses on environmental justice and social justice issues. We chat with her about The Inclusive Guide the project she is the COO of. The goal is to help folks identify safe and welcoming spaces.  Please check out the great work being done! Follow her on instagram @KweenWerk and @inclusiveguide

Quick update on what we have been up to over the past year and a half! 

We were lucky enough to chat with Ranger Keith of TikTok fame about how to start birding and his journey to being a ranger. 

We got to do our first ZOOM recording with our friend Luke who is a Ranger in Scotland! He tells us all about the different skills and tasks that are required of rangers there. He gets to work around castles and even the park by the palace that the Queen stays in! 

We chat with one of our faves! Ranger Brian! We have a fun discussion on what it means to introduce your young child to nature. Also a little bit about Crystal's cat Gidget! 

Ranger Jack sits down with us for a chat about the Three Sisters Garden he's growing at his park Historic Yates Mill County Park.  We discuss how to set up the garden and the history behind using the 3 sisters as the foundation of a garden.  If you have questions you can email Ranger Jack at jack.singley@wakegov.comNote: The original interview was done last year.  Since the interview, we have educated ourselves on the preferred terminology of indigenous people rather than the terms Native American or American Indian.    

Last year while in Reno Nevada for the Park Rangers Association of California’s annual meeting we sat down with Ranger David! He’s a park ranger at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park. He tells us what it’s like being a Desert park ranger! 

Ranger Jamie gives us the 101 on birding!

This month we chatted with Carolina Beach State Parks Superintendent Chris Helms. We discuss how unique the park is from the Venus fly traps to the movies that have filmed in the park! Add it to your 2021 travel list.

This month we chat with Jess Taylor who is the Director of the Outer Banks Center for Dolphin Research! They have internship opportunities that will be posted on their website starting in January! Please enjoy this episode learning about Bottle Nose Dolphins and the steps that are being taken to gain more information on their populations off the coast of North Carolina.

We received a wonderful letter from one of the children of the Dr. Walton, someone James Johnson spoke of. Mary provides us another slice of the history into what is now William B. Umstead State Park.

James Johnson grew up in William B. Umstead State Park in Raleigh North Carolina during Jim Crow laws and Segregation. At that there were two separate parks; Crabtree Creek State Park, and Reedy Creek State Park. His father, James Johnson, was one of three African American Superintendents for the three segregated NC State Parks. This is a fascinating conversation on many levels. James Johnson is a great historian and story teller of North Carolina Raleigh/Cary history.

We sit down with Ranger Cindy to chat about being a ranger out West and how hunting can be a useful tool in conservation.

How important are Bees? Should we be scared of Bees? What can you do to be a Bee friend?

Join us for a chat on just how important it is that children get out to explore nature!

Maggie and Meg sit down for a chat about their journeys into environmental education and how they help positively shape the youth of North Carolina.

Zookeeper Stephanie talks about her journey to end up with the Gorillas at the NC Zoo.

Zookeeper Nancy talks about her day working with the Elephants at the NC Zoo!

Zookeeper Alexis talks about being greeted by a Grizzly Bear every Morning and the Red Wolf breeding program.

Zookeeper Audrey takes us through her day at the NC Zoo Cypress Habitat

We sit down with the site manger of Stagville Historic Site to discuss why it’s important to talk about slavery and it’s impact on the country.

Ranger Avery gives us some pro tips for how to get into fishing! Also did you know there was a 143 pound catfish caught in Kerr Lake!

Join us for a chat with Ranger Carla about the mysterious Venus Fly Trap and what makes them unique.

We sit down with North District Superintendent Kristen Woodruff (then Falls Lake State Recreation Area Park Superintendent) and take a closer look at the law enforcement component of the North Carolina State Park Rangers multi-specialist roles.

Rangers Jess and Crystal sit down with NC State Parks director Dwayne Patterson to talk about his journey to parks and his vision for their future.

Ranger Renee is back to sit down with us and let us in on one of NC State Parks coolest opportunities for students- a Sea Turtle Summer Internship! Listen in to find out how YOU can be a part of helping the critically endangered Loggerhead turtles. Photo by Ranger Randy Newman

Ranger Crystal travels to Yates Mill, a Wake County Park, to help Rebeccah get things lined up for the annual Den Owners Association meeting. Listen in as they hike and canoe around Yates Mill and chat with everyone from otters to toads and squirrels to grumpy ole Walter, the groundhog. You will learn some interesting facts about many of the Yates Mill residents and concerns of den dwellers. Thank you to our voice actorsRanger Rebeccah: Rebeccah Cope, Ranger Crystal: Ranger Crystal Lloyd, Dodder the Otter: Jacob Molina, Benny the Beaver: Wesley Smith,Trill the Toad: Bianca Dubé, Wanda the Northern Water Snake: Ashley Martin, Phloe the Pileated Woodpecker: Leslie Meadows, Sammy the Squirrel: Richard Smith, Walter the Groundhog: Bob Davies, Quintin the Trapdoor Spider: Rebeccah CopeThank you to FreeSound contributors for the sound effects:Knock 3x.aif by lth_stp, Bird in cage, flapping wings.wav by ShanayGroen, Woodpeckers Pecking 4.wav by Benboncan, watersmack.wav by tran5ient, 20100523.sitontop.canoe.wav by dobroide, PETTON_Youna_2016_2017_CreepyWhistling.aiff by univ_lyon3 Photo by SBW

Disclaimer: This episode is intended as a brief introduction to edible plants. We do not advise anyone to go out and try plant life without proper and intensive education and technical ID knowledge of the plant life. In this episode of Ask a Ranger, we sit down with Ranger Neil who will chat with us about edible plants.

We sit down with Dr. Kammerer from the NC Museum of Natural Sciences and explore what prehistoric mammals roamed North Carolina BEFORE the age of dinosaurs.

How can an insect no bigger than the period at the end of a sentence take down an entire tree? We sit down with Ranger Mary from Hanging Rock State Park to find out. Thank you Ranger Mary for your wealth of knowledge and your knee slapping jokes.

Yay! Another episode with Lydia Pagel from Franklin Mountain State Park in El Paso, Texas. In this episode Ranger Jess gets to tap into her inner 7 year old and ask Ranger Lydia Pagel "What's that? What's this?" all the way up the mountain. We find out how Franklin Mountain State Park is like our very own Mount Mitchell State Park, some of the different flora you will find on this mountain compared to our mountains, and how little herds of tiny hippo related mammals inhabit Franklin Mountain as their home.