There's a Supernatural Park Near You
National, regional, and local parks have long been home to wildlife and the stories that surround them. Park rangers and guides explain the ecosystem of a particular region to those who enjoy hearing legends and tales about the natural world.
The folklore surrounding park inhabitants is limitless. Although it differs by region (snow men, swamp people, etc.), it captures the imagination and deepens our connections with our environment.
How does such folklore do that? To find out, I recently chatted with Supernatural Park Ranger Amy Sturz. A born naturalist, she is a former USDA Forest Service and National Park Service Park Ranger who is also the creator of the Supernatural Park Podcast.
On summer hiatus, it is gearing up to
restart in the winter. The program features familiar as well as intriguing,
researched park-related stories, and submissions by writers around the world.
Q. When did you know you wanted to be a park ranger?
A. I discovered I wanted to work in the
environmental field midway through college. I loved working with nature (I have
a tech degree in horticulture) but when I went to University of Wisconsin-River
Falls where I started in Equine Science, I found field biology is what felt
right.
My love of teaching blended well with my
joy about sharing my love of nature. Being
a national park service and forest service ranger allowed me to give back to
the Earth for future generations.
Q. Why do you think people love to hear
stories about their parks?
A. The land (not necessarily parks which
are a European idea) have been around longer than human kind. The land itself holds
stories and secrets, and we have an innate thirst to know and learn.
In nature, everything interacts with everything
else for a reason. I think people who want to know about those connections find
them relatable. For example, out west there are mountain sections called alpine
that are separate from the sub alpine region. In the alpine, trees don’t grow
because the elevation is too high. There’s not enough water and the winds can
blow them over. Yet, there’s still ample life growing there. The plants that do
thrive there are close to the ground, with deep, deep root systems.
In many ways, for example, this is a personal
metaphor about those times in life when I feel that nothing is growing and,
yet, something in the universe is at work, underground if you will, that can help
me to grow, even blossom.
Q. When and why did you decide to create this podcast? Why this format?
A: I created this podcast while working part time at the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth, Minnesota. It was a way to use my creative energies to help people connect with nature. I loved the idea of a weird park where people anywhere could explore and discover without having to travel. Inspired by Dr. Who (the TARDIS) I wanted a park that existed outside of time and space and could include a variety of ecosystems. As for the format, I wanted listeners to experience a real park program. It’s challenging; I have to describe just about everything they see but I think it helps others realize how beautiful and unique nature is.
Q. You recently added Campfire Stories. Tell us a little about that.
A: I love spooky things and the paranormal. Much of this podcast covers cryptids or creatures from mythology and folklore but because it’s for all ages I came up with the idea for Campfire Stories around Halloween and its mini bonus episodes for an older audience of listeners, some of whom submit spooky poems, flash fiction, or short stories I can read aloud.
More:
one of my favorite Supernatural Park podcasts
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