Ask a Ranger Podcast: Recent Episodes
Cohosts Rangers Jessica and Crystal
How far can a jumping spider jump? DOES a woodchuck chuck wood? What does a Park Ranger do all day? All these questions and any you may have will be answered through this podcast series! So come, join us, listen and write Ranger Crystal and Ranger Jess all your questions about park and other natural science careers
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 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!
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.
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
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.com
Note: 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!
Lake James State Park Superintendent Nora talks to us about what daily life is like running a park!
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 Alexis talks about being greeted by a Grizzly Bear every Morning and the Red Wolf breeding program.
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 actors
Ranger 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 Cope
Thank 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.
We sat down with Ranger Austin Paul who has been fortunate enough to have experienced being a park ranger in both state parks and national parks. He takes us on the journey that led him to both state parks and national parks as well as some of the similarities and differences between state and national parks.
Welcome to the start of our third year and third season for the Ask a Ranger Podcast. For this episode we return back to the beginning when Ranger Jess was just starting to fuss with the recording and editing equipment. Ranger Jess has been hanging onto this interview from her trip to Japan for a couple of years, wanting to release it because Naoki was such a great guest with wonderful information, but holding onto it because, well the quality of the recording was not great. So because this is a reflection on how far we have come, we thought our listeners, who have been loyal and patient from the start, would be willing to bare with the quality of the recording in order to listen to this wonderful park ranger from Japan.
Thank you for coming on this journey with us! -Ranger Crystal and Ranger Jess
And a huge thank you to Naoki for your warm welcome and willingness to conduct an interview with a newbie to the podcasting world. Thank you Naoki!
Let's go back in time, to a time where prehistoric sharks swam the ocean, some with a spiral of bottom teeth, some with bony protrusions off the top of their head, and one that was 30 times larger than a Great White Shark! We sit down with Dr. Christian Kammerer from the Museum of Natural Sciences and pick his brain about all the wonderful and wondrous prehistoric sharks that lived in the ocean well before our time.
Hank the hognose snake asked us to do a quick podcast release to set the record straight on the rumors of "Zombie Hognose Snakes" in North Carolina. So for this #factcheckfriday; we chat with Hank the hognose snake and find out about this misnomer and the TRUTH about Hank and other hognose snakes like him.
Ranger Jess took a trip out west and was able to explore Franklin Mountains State Park with Park Ranger Lydia Pagel. After, they sat down and Ranger Lydia talked about her journey into becoming a park ranger at Franklin Mountains State Park as the Education Ranger.
Join us for a discussion with Ranger Scott about what prescribed fires are and why they are so important to the forest.
In this Ask a Ranger episode, Rangers Crystal and Jess sit down and chat with David Rogers, Director of UNC's Carolina Outdoor Recreation Center. David helps us explore not just the idea of recreation, but the relevance and connection to the human soul recreation provides us.
Rangers Jess and Crystal take a deep dive into women’s roles in NC State Parks to celebrate Women’s History Month.
*You will need to turn this episode all the way up, we had some technical issues with this recording.
In this episode, Ranger Jess is out in the western United States exploring BLM (Bureau of Land Management) Lands with BLM Park Ranger Daniella Barazza. Join Ranger Jess as she sits down with Ranger Daniella and delves into the beauty and intrigue of New Mexico's Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument and Prehistoric Trackways National Monument.
Thank you Joe and Jacob for the music.
After you take your First Day Hike, come with us on our virtual hike with Ranger Carla at Mt. Mitchell. You’ll learn about some of the winter residents that call Mt. Mitchell home.
Thanks to: Joe, Jacob, Xeno-canto, and Freesound.
Tune in with us this month and sing-a-long with this musical Ask a Ranger Podcast episode; Music and Environmental Education. Ranger Keith shares with us how to connect outdoor education and music.
Thank you to Keith, Joe, and Jacob. Photo credit and thanks to Dave Cook.
Lucky us! We get to sit down and chat with Ranger Kim from Eno River State Park again! This time she makes sure Ranger Jess, who is about to head out on a hike, is prepared for a safe and fun hike at Eno River State Park. Listen in and find out all the hiking safety essentials so your next hike will be safe and fun!
Thank you to Ranger Kim, Ben Casey (photo), and Ranger Joe (music)
In this episode we chat with the affable Ranger Kevin about his favorite animal — SNAKES! Ranger Kevin delves into the wonderful world of snakes and helps demystify some of the myths and fears that sometimes surround these wonderful creatures.
Thank you to Rangers Kevin, Jacob, Joe and Nancy.
Listen in as Ranger Crystal, Ranger Kevin, and Ranger Jess sit around a campfire and demystify the often misunderstood coyote.
In this episode Ranger Crystal and Ranger Jess delve into the wonderful and mysterious world of the American Eel. Listen in as Ranger Crystal and Ranger Jess explore the research history, ecology, and behaviors of this awesome species of fish!
Thank you to Ranger Joe , Jacob, Rebeccah, and Archifa for your help with this episode!
Dig into this episode as Ranger Jess learns the difference between archaeology and paleontology with Assistant State Archaeologist Mary Beth Fitts. Ranger Jess had the opportunity to help with an archaeology survey area down at Lumber River State Park and speak with Mary Beth about all things archaeology.
Many of our North Carolina State Parks were affected by gristmills and the millponds that were created in and around our North Carolina communities. We do not have any working gristmills in NC State Parks so we traveled to a Raleigh county park, Yates Mill Pond, to talk all things millpond and gristmill. From how a gristmill works, the community aspects of a gristmill and millpond, to the nature that is in and around a millpond, our guest Ranger Rebeccah Cope educates us on it all!
Ever wondered what to do with your tree after the holidays? The families around Fort Macon have a time-honored tradition of gifting their tree to the dunes around the fort. Join us as we discuss this program with Park Superintendent Randy.
In this episode of the Ask a Ranger Podcast, Ranger Nick tells us all about renewable energy and, in particular, the power of solar energy.
Thank you to Ranger Nick, Joe, Keith, and Jacob.
Ranger Renee talks about her discovery of a dolphin that washed up on the shores of Bear Island and the steps her and others are taking to use the dolphin's skeleton as an educational tool for Hammocks Beach State Park. Thank you to Ranger Renee, Joe, and Keith, M. Wall A big thanks to you, our listener! Thank you for hanging in with us as we adjust our sound equipment. This is the last episode with fuzzy sound, as we have new and improved recording equipment now!
Take a road trip with Ranger Crystal and Ranger Jess as they bring Terrance the Turtle and Snooty the Snapper down to the 50th birthday party for Wave the Loggerhead. Meet a few different types of species of turtle native to North Carolina and laugh at the antics of Snooty and her cousin Shirley.
Thank you to: Joe, Keith, Jacob, Christina, Lady D, Aaron, Randy, James, Thomas and Shari
Our guest for this episode of the Ask a Ranger Podcast is the stupendous Ranger Jake from Hammocks Beach State Park. In this episode we cover the basics of what you need to have a safe and fantastic trip on your next canoe, kayak, paddle board excursion.
In this episode of Ask a Ranger, Ranger Paul Terry lets us in on the secret to the cannons at Fort Macon — teamwork! Learn all about the various cannons at Fort Macon State Park and how the replicas went from an idea to a reality.
During this episode we discuss the North Carolina State Parks education theme for 2018 — the year of the FISH!!! We talk with Ranger Brian about fish and fun crafts you can do with — you guessed it — FISH! Who knew there were crafts you can do with actual fish?
Thank you to Ranger Brian Swanson for speaking with us, as well as our other contributors for this episode, Ranger Joe Shimel and Ranger Jacob Fields for the music intro and exit.
The peace of the woods, the crackle of the campfire, trying different s’mores recipes — who amongst us doesn’t love camping? From its past as a necessary part of exploration to its present status as an excursion and break from our daily lives, camping is something that is held near and dear by most people who do it. Whether you enjoy camping in a van or living out of a backpack for a week, camping is personal and treasured by us all.
In this podcast, we discuss everything from wearing socks while sleeping to a perfect camping environment. Join Rangers Jess and Crystal and guest Ranger Brian as we discuss the finer side of camping and maybe even share a couple of our favorite camping hacks to help make your experience even better.
Please bear with us as we are trying different audio equipment this episode. Special thanks to Joe and Keith for the music.
Learn the basics of herpetology with our guest educator Mike Ramano. Thank you to Umkar for the Ask a Ranger question this month. Music by Joe Shimel and Keith Nealson.
Ranger Crystal is out in the winter bluster interviewing a few of our animal friends to find out how they survive a North Carolina winter.
Thank you to Joe, Mike, Val, Jeanie, Aaron and Autumn for help with this month's Ask A Ranger Podcast!
In this episode, we wrap the year up talking with our Piedmont Region Education Specialist Brian Bockhahn about the North Carolina State Parks theme for 2017: spiders!!! Brian helps us dispel spider myths, expand our minds about the wonderful world of spiders and help us develop an even greater curiosity about these wonderful arachnids!!
Thank you to our guest Brian Bockhahn, as well as Keith Nealson, and Joe Shimmel for their wonderful music.
Ranger Jess is a little nervous hiking at night, but NEVER FEAR, Ranger Crystal is here! Ranger Crystal is taking Ranger Jess and you on a night hike to demystify the sounds and the animals that make them. Come, join us and take a virtual night hike! To gain a visual understanding about the animals we talk about in this episode, hop on over to our Ask a Ranger article. You can find this episodes coinciding article as well as past Ask a Ranger articles at: https://www.ncparks.gov/ask-ranger. Just copy and paste.
Thank you to Keith and Joe for their intro and exit music!!!
In this episode of Ask a Ranger Podcast, join Ranger Crystal and Ranger Jess as they recount personal ghost stories and tell spooky North Carolina ghost stories. This is perfect for your camping trip to a North Carolina State Park- ready to be played or retold around your campfires. Special thanks to all of our helpers for this episode: Pete, Noah, Laurie, Wes, Keith, Joe, and Erica.
This is our mid-month "Naturally Wonderful" moment in which we introduce you to one of our coworkers. Listen in and find out why Sean Gough enjoys working for North Carolina State Parks.
In this episode we visit with Ranger Kim from Eno River and pick her brain about invasive plant species of North Carolina.
A special thanks to Keith and Joe for the intro and exit music, as well as Joe Mickey for the photograph.
Would you like to take a peek into the job of a Park Ranger? In this episode we will delve into all the things a North Carolina Park Ranger does. Our guest today is Superintendent Joe Shimel from New River State Park in Laurel Springs, N.C. We hope you enjoy! A special thanks to Keith and Joe for the intro and exit music.
If you would like to see Ranger Joe's "Ranger in the Park" video copy and paste the link below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g1-gcHvSqA
This episode introduces the podcast series as well as gives the Park Ranger podcast hosts an opportunity to introduce themselves to you. Special thanks to Keith and Joe for the intro and exit music.