This time on The Children's Hour, we wanted to learn more about how National Parks and Wilderness areas are made. 2024 is the 100th anniversary of the Gila Wilderness Area which was the very first wilderness protected by the US Federal Government. Our first guest represents New Mexico's third Congressional district, and has legislation to add another Wilderness area to the national map. Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez explains the process to create National Parks and National Wilderness Areas, and describes how the community is involved. 

Congresswoman Leger Fernandez is also working to restore the Every Child Outdoors initiative, a program that will allow all US fourth graders a free pass for all National Parks, Wilderness Areas, Monuments, and Historic Sites. She explains how children can have real impact on influencing their representatives by writing hand-written notes to urge Congress to protect the Earth, or any other topic you care about. The Congresswoman told us that every letter written by a child is read, and makes a difference.

Our Kids Crew member Evan D has another way to get outdoors and into these special places. Evan is a Junior Ranger, a program that gives kids badges at each site to encourage kids to learn more about where they are visiting. The Junior Ranger program is open for kids ages 5 to 13 and gives families even more reasons to include visits to National Monuments, Parks, Wilderness Areas, Wildlife Refuges and Historic Sites. 

Evan got his first badge at Aztec Ruins National Monument, which is located in north western New Mexico. Aztec Ruins is one of the many Chacoan era archaeological sites that has been preserved as a National Monument. People lived all over the United States for thousands of years, but in the desert Southwestern United States, some of the original structures people made have endured. It's important to remember that the people whose ancestors made the Aztec Ruins, and other sites, remain among us today.

We also meet biologists and authors, Lily and Barbara Kingsolver. Their first book for children, Coyote's Wild Home tells about a young coyote pup learning the skills needed for growing up. Lily and Barbara explain how they learned so much about coyotes, and why telling this story is so important to them.  

We hope you get inspired get into nature this Earth Day and explore the world where you live.

This episode was produced by Senior Producer Christina Stella and Executive Producer Katie Stone with help from Education Director Lorraine Archibald. Chad Scheer was our recording engineer at Outpost.

© 2024 The Children's Hour Inc, All Rights Reserved

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