By Judy Wagonfeld, Friend of the Fund

“Those cold and miserable days are the days you never forget,” laughs Annie Kilby, Education Park Ranger at Mount Rainier. And, indeed, she slogs through an abundance of them on field trip days. Nudging her hesitant student charges along, she keeps them as close as pre-schoolers grasping a rope.

Most of these children hail from high Title 1 (poverty designation) population schools. Their visit constitutes a first venture to a national park or outdoor experience. They’ve studied lessons sent to teachers by Mount Rainier’s education staff. They’ve watched Annie’s nurturing video detailing layered clothing, hats, gloves, sunscreen, sunglasses, and the sturdiest shoes they own. On an early morning they clamber aboard buses. Excited but nervous, they settle in for the 2 to 2 1/2 hour journey from school districts such as Tacoma, Yakima, Spanaway, Federal Way, Puyallup and Eatonville. During the 2017-2018 school year, 4300 students embarked on this journey.

“They may or may not have proper clothing and shoes,” says Annie, wishing she could provide more than the occasional hat and gloves. “The weather is always a challenge but we keep them moving; they’re real troopers.” She adds, “If they’re underdressed, we focus on the new experience, the snow, and movement.” And fun.

Annie’s charismatic personality hooks the kids. Gentle coaxing courts the trust of these mountain novices who cluster around her like a school of hungry fish. Passion oozes from Annie, transforming a foreboding event into a magical adventure. It’s why Visit Rainier tapped her for their marketing video. It’s why she captivates students in her filmed preparation talk. And it’s why her video antics enchant WNPF Auction donors who open their wallets for bus services that cost $600 -$1200 depending on distance.

(Like many government programs, schools receive bus scholarships based on the percentage of Title 1 (free and reduced lunch) students in each school. Thirty percent Title 1 results in 30% of bus expense. A school with 70, 80 or 90% receives 70 to 100% funding.)

Rainier brought Annie on full-time in 2017. Like most rangers, she arrived via a meandering path. As a child in Washington D.C. Annie relates, “We couldn’t watch TV and were sent outside to play.” With family she visited the myriad nearby National Parks and Monuments. Enamored with science, she majored in Field Studies at the University of Maryland. During a semester abroad in the South Caicos, she studied marine predator-prey dynamics, fish nursery grounds, coral, and the conch and lobster industries. “I was in the water almost every day…but now I don’t think I could live without mountains.”

After college Annie joined AmeriCorps, shifting to the other Washington’s Vancouver area. There, she dove into riparian restoration, student tree planting projects and a Fish and Wildlife shorebird education program. Later, she found seasonal work at Crater Lake National Park and wrote grants for a local non-profit. Desiring more human contact, she did a stint at Oregon’s Lewis and Clark National Historical Park.

“It was the best job I’ve ever had,” she gushes, “I had to wear buckskin and shoot rifles and made black powder.” During that time, she also bounced between Rainier’s forests and touring people on swamp walks in SW Florida.

“With park services you’re in places set aside to belong to all of us,” Annie says. “One of the things that is so special and unique at Mount Rainier is that every time I set foot on a trail there’s a sense of wonder. You can’t help but marvel at the stories this mountain has to tell,” Annie effuses. “I am fortunate and grateful to call Rainier home.” And, she admits, she found her soulmate, now fiancé, on an Emerald Ridge hike while they spent a summer as seasonal rangers. When her fiancé served as Indian Henry’s backcountry ranger, Annie loved meeting him there and delving into the historic log books. Other favorites hikes include Pyramid Park, Summerland, Indian Bar, Klapache, St Andrews and Spray Park.

“I’m continually blown away by how beautiful the Park is. I love this place. Of all the places I’ve been to Rainier pulls on my heart strings.” Annie opines as if chatting about a frisky puppy. “It feels like home. When I go to town or on a field trip, I look to see if the if mountain out. Crossing Tahoma Bridge, I always look for it.” She’s climbed it twice, summiting both times. On days off, she hikes, often leaving Ashford with her dog, heading to the Goat Rocks Wilderness where dogs are allowed.

With students, no matter the day’s curriculum, Annie ignites their curiosity. Eschewing the “Ranger in a hat” staid talks, she challenges students with fun-filled hands-on-learning. Elementary programs meet below snow levels, delving into ecosystems and geology. Students hike, collect rocks, examine bark, tell a marmot from a bear, a cedar from a hemlock, a lupine from a paintbrush. They practice rope knots and ponder mountain history. They clamor to ask and answer questions as Annie guides them to analyze, interpret and draw conclusions.

Middle schoolers explore higher altitudes at Paradise. Clamping on unwieldy snowshoes, these novices trudge across snowfields. Trailing behind Annie, they work together, cutting a trail. They labor uphill, squinting in the blinding sun or shivering during a snowfall or blustery winds. Far from video games, they glean lessons only nature can dish out.

Explaining mountain terrain, Annie guides the building of miniature snow mountain-volcanos. Explosions of bottles of carbonated soda or vinegar and baking soda simulate volcanic action, delighting the kids. Cold and changing mountain air leads to explanations of precipitation and weather patterns. In an exercise demonstrating glacial movement and carving, kids slide downhill headfirst, wearing gleeful expressions of sheer joy.

“When we wrap up and reflect,” Annie explains, “they admit they were nervous at first. They thought it would be hard and are amazed at how they were able to do it.” As a grande finale, their reactions fulfill her goals to instill an interest in nature and empower youth while making kids happy. Aware of the difficulty to measure group learning or the long-term impact of her lessons, she gains satisfaction from students’ thank you notes and teachers’ relating continuing interest expressed by students.

During summers, Annie and Park Service Trail Crews mentor young adults in the skills and rugged labor of trail maintenance, especially along the 100-year old Wonderland Trail. Without force feeding, the students absorb Annie’s passion for nature and incorporate the Park’s mission of preserving and protecting the mountain’s terrain.

Obviously, not every student can get to the mountain. There’s no public transportation; not every family can make time or afford the car trip and fee. Thus, rangers travel to classrooms where they work with 7,200 students. During November, January and February, Annie says, “We also reached over 5,200 students in their classrooms via virtual and distance learning programs, adding up to 12,064 student contacts.”

Annie loves all the programs she teaches as each is unique. She hopes students take the lessons into nature and our world. Of course, she’s well aware that her student encounters depend on funding beyond the National Park Service, a critical need she knows depends on the WNPF’s support.

“I have been fortunate enough to attend the past two auction dinners,” Annie emphasizes. “It is so wonderfully overwhelming to see the support and love and how passionate people are about our parks and the relationships we (rangers) have with the WNPF. I’m in awe and it’s really inspiring. Sometimes you lose hope and then (at the auction) you realize there’s hope.”

Her advice to everyone mimics her personal philosophy: “It is important to try new things even if they’re challenging. The rewards are often bigger than you expected.”