Board the virtual bus for a live-streamed visit to one of Washington’s national parks
It might sound strange, but restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus have made Washington’s national parks more accessible than ever.
Since March, Washington’s National Park Fund, a nonprofit supporting Mount Rainier, North Cascades and Olympic national parks, has been streaming Virtual Field Trips, inviting people from all over the world to the parks while they were closed.
The trips have been a big hit, said Laurie Ward, chief executive officer of the fund. In fact, they have been so popular that they’ll be continuing every other week as long as people keep watching.
“They just kind of took off,” she told The Olympian. “It was wild. The third one we did, we had 1,000 people sign up. It’s been really terrific.”
That field trip — in which Mount Rainier ranger Annie Rund read the book “If I Were a Park Ranger” — was among the ones aimed at children, or “Junior Rangers” as the fund puts it.
Topics of other past programs have ranged from an update on fishers, fierce catlike mammals, to a profile of “musical mountaineers” Rose Freeman and Anastasia Allison, classically trained musicians who play in the parks.
The aim is to educate as well as have fun, Ward said.
The June 24 excursion, a look at the natural history of Mount Rainier, was hosted by Jeff Antonelis-Lapp, a naturalist and emeritus professor at The Evergreen State College. For that program, Ward kicked things off with a fanciful invitation for those watching.
“Do you have your boots on?” she asked. “Are you ready to board the virtual bus and travel with Jeff and me up to Mount Rainier National Park?”
Apparently, lots of people are. Attendance at the live programs has typically been in the 100-150 range, Ward said, and many more have been watching later.
She attributes the shows’ ongoing popularity to their wide accessibility: People who can’t visit the parks due to physical, financial or geographic limitations can get a sample of their splendors any time.
Among the biggest fans of the field trips are Enid Crowe and Ian McDonald of Belfast, Ireland.
“They have been coming from day 1, and they just love the programs,” Ward said. “They’re just the sweetest couple, and they write to us every week.”
Crowe praised the program in an interview with KING 5’s “Evening Magazine.” “It has really helped me personally deal with the impact of isolation because it’s gone to such fantastic places with inspirational people,” she said.
Virtual Field Trips
- What: Washington’s National Park Fund offers people all over the world the opportunity to virtually visit Mount Rainier, North Cascades and Olympic national parks with live lunchtime programs.
- When: Noon-12:45 p.m. every other Wednesday. Next up are programs on wildflowers and meadow restoration at Mount Rainier on July 22 and preventive search and rescue at North Cascades. Past trips, including ones developed for kids, are available to watch anytime.
- Watch: http://wnpf.org/field-trips/