Great Smoky Mountains National Park IP

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The Great Smoky Mountains National Park IP is an interest project from the Girl Scouts of Tanasi Council.

# Activities

*Requirements: must complete eight activities, including the three starred.*

1. 1. 1. Talk to a Park Ranger about his or her job. Develop five questions and interview one or two park rangers at a Visitor Center or Ranger Station. Also, set up a three hour Shadow Program to spend time with the ranger on his/her job.

2. \*Attend a campfire program during an overnight stay at the park. Several are held at different locations in the park. See "Smokies Guide" for details.
3. \*Attend a ranger-led walk and obtain the ranger's signature. (Can be a cultural or a natural theme, i.e., Tour of Cable Mill or a hike to Laurel Falls).
4. Distribute the "Neighborhood Bears" survey to ten people. Only one adult per house should complete a survey. The survey includes questions about where bears in the community have been seen and about how people feel about bears. Analyze the completed surveys and map the locations where bears have been sighted. "Neighborhood Bears" cumulative information sheets will be provided by request from the Tanasi Council or contact Wildlife Specialist, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, TN 37738.
5. Learn about minimal impact camping (how to select a campsite; how to dispose of human waste, trash, wash water; how to cook food, etc.). Write out a plan for what to do if you or your group becomes lost. In addition, list the supplies needed for a party of four for a weekend backpacking trip. Familiarize yourself with a Park Trail Map and study the topography of the park. Trace out a hiking route on a topographical map. Write a description of what you would see and experience along the way by visualizing the terrain from map symbols.
6. Take a five-mile hike and prepare a ten-minute interpretive talk about the park; deliver it to your group.
7. Visit one of the following historic areas: Cades Cove, Noah "Bud" Ogle, Roaring Fork, Mingus Mill, Pioneer Farmstead, Cataloochee or Little Greenbriar School. Write a short essay on the early life in the Smoky Mountains and deliver it to your group.
8. Vandalism is defined as the willful or malicious destruction or defacement of property. Often it is a simple and thoughtless act, such as carving initials on a picnic table. Find something in the park that has been vandalized. Decide how long it took to vandalize this and why you think it was done. Think about the cost and the amount of time it will take to have the damage repaired, replaced, or removed. Write a letter to the Superintendent of the Smokies with ideas about how to prevent future vandalism, or volunteer to help repair vandalism in the park.
9. Learn about one of the exotic plants or animals in the park. Learn about its native country; how it got here; and how it creates problems for people, wildlife or park resources. Do an oral report on this species for your group or parent(s) and ask them to discuss why exotic species might accidentally be brought into the country.
10. \*Spend a day looking for at least five items from the following list:
1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Find something in nature ready to burst.

b. Find a smooth bud and a sticky bud.
c. Find a rock with things living on it.
d. Find three examples of animal homes.
e. Find a plant or animal in the shape of a triangle, a circle, an oval, or a square.
f. Find at least three different insects with three different numbers of legs.
g. Find a place where there is a plant in front of, to the left of, to the right of, and behind you.
h. Find ways a dead tree is being used when it is still standing and when it has fallen down.
i. Find three plants with the protective parts (for example, a sting or thorns).
j. Find evidence of the presence of earthworms or ants.
k. Find a lichen. Look at it with a magnifier. Describe what you see.
l. Watch a plant for at least ten minutes. Record the amount of times and kinds of insects that visit.
m. Find a shrub or tree with teeth marks on the stem.
n. Be an animal detective. Find evidence that animals have been in a particular spot.
o. Find an animal or plant that is a symbol of a nation, a state, a team or a car.
Once you have completed this task, you must then summarize the information and experience by either: writing a brief description of what you saw; developing a ten minute talk; writing a poem inspired by what you’ve seen; or by making a mural.
11. Participate in a hike, horseback ride, or bicycle tour that is at least five miles long, i.e., ride a bicycle around Cades Cove loop road, a hike to Charles Bunyan, horseback trip to Mt. LeConte, or a similar activity of your choice.

# External Links

Girl Scouts of Tanasi Council, Inc. - Council Patch Program
Great Smoky Mountains National Park IP