Ep. 14 - Connecting Campus to Nature: The Journey of National Park Ambassadors

On this episode, host Dr. Joy James sits down with Madi Heater and Nick Perkins, two passionate students from Appalachian State University who serve as National Park Trust College Ambassadors. As leaders of the App State National Park Trust Club, Madi and Nick share their journeys into outdoor recreation, their love for nature, and their mission to make the outdoors accessible to all students. From birdwatching and fishing to trail stewardship and caving expeditions, their experiences highlight the transformative power of outdoor engagement. Through their work, they not only foster a deeper appreciation for national parks but also build a thriving community of like-minded adventurers. This episode delves into their personal connections with nature, the challenges and joys of outdoor recreation, and the impact of their roles as ambassadors, inspiring others to step outside and explore the world around them.

 

 

Show Notes

Madi Heater, heatermp@appstate.edu
Nick Perkins, perkinsng@appstate.edu

 

National Park Trust Club
Taught members how to fish (Price Lake), stewardship events, clean trails, caving expeditions (Worley's cave)
https://parktrust.org/asu-college-ambassadors/
https://www.worleyscave.co/ (Bluff City, TN)
https://www.exploreboone.com/listing/price-lake/881/ (Blowing Rock, NC)

Congaree National Park- Madi 
https://www.nps.gov/cong/index.htm

Shenandoah National Park- Nick
https://www.nps.gov/shen/index.htm

Birding apps. Merlin & eBird
Merlin is based off of the calls that the birds give
eBird has a larger database 
https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/
Merlin asks three questions about the bird (Size, Main Colors, and Behavior) It also can use the microphone on your smartphone to listen to and ID the bird's call as well as take a picture using the camera to ID the bird based on a photo.
https://ebird.org/about/ebird-mobile/
eBird makes it easier to log the locations of birds seen and shows hotspots of bird sightings by region and species. It seems to be less of an “identification” app and more of a GPS and locator app.

Fishing 
App state health physical activity for fishing and fishing club 
https://engage.appstate.edu/organization/fly-fishing-club

Some of the activities discussed in this episode like caving, hiking, and fishing are offered as classes here
https://rmpe.appstate.edu/academics/pe-activity-program/course-descriptions

How to join clubs is through “Engage” also remember that the National Park Trust Club is free and has no dues 
https://engage.appstate.edu/

 

Transcript

Becki Battista:

Welcome to Appalachian Outdoorosity, where we encourage you to get outside and keep going outside. Here, we will share Appalachian state stories that entertain, inspire, and inform listeners about living an active outdoor lifestyle. Each episode features a story, the goal to get you outside and keep you going outside to improve your overall wellness. This podcast is presented by the HOPE Lab, where our purpose is to investigate the role of outdoor physical activity, exercise, and play on the health, the environment, and human development. The vision of the HOPE Lab is to continue developing the foundation for promoting and supporting outdoor physical activity, exercise, and play through interdisciplinary research. Feel free to check us out at hopelab.appstate.edu.

Hi, my name is Becki Batiste and I'm a professor in exercise science at Appalachian State University, and a self-proclaimed outdoor physical activity addict. I'm your host for today's episode of the Appalachian Outdoorosity Podcast. In today's episode, Dr. Joy James, a professor of Recreation Management, is joined by Madi Heater and Nick Perkins from the App State National Park Trust Club. They share their journey to becoming National Park College ambassadors, highlight some of the exciting activities they've organized as club leaders, and reflect on their experiences as ambassadors and their passion for engaging fellow students with the outdoors.

 

Joy James:

All right. Welcome to Appalachian Outdoorosity Podcast. Today we have two guests here, Nick Perkins and Madi Heater. They're going to be talking not only about their outdoor experiences, but their work here at Appalachian State University as the National Park College Ambassadors. What I'm going to do is have each of you introduce yourself, if you'll tell us your major and your favorite national park.

 

Madi Heater:

All right. Yeah. My name is Madi Heater. I am a double major here at App State. I am majoring in recreation management and environmental science. My favorite national park would probably have to be maybe Congaree. I've grown up around Congaree because I'm from South Carolina, so spent a lot of time in Congaree National Parks.

 

Joy James:

Side note, I got the lottery for the synchronous fireflies at Congaree. In two weeks I'm going to be down there.

 

Madi Heater:

That's so cool.

 

Joy James:

How about you, Nick?

 

Nick Perkins:

Yeah. My name's Nick Perkins. I'm a recreation management major. And I guess my favorite national park would be Shenandoah. I've worked there and I spent a lot of time there.

 

Joy James:

Awesome.

 

Nick Perkins:

Yeah.

 

Joy James:

Awesome. How did you first get interested in the outdoors?

 

Nick Perkins:

I would say my family. They're not big outdoors people, it's not like they go camping and hiking all the time. But I would say just playing in the woods outside my house, that's where I wanted to be. That was my comfort place. So, I just ran with that. I'm happy doing this. So, I want to continue being outside.

 

Madi Heater:

Yeah. For me, I remember as a kid we used to go to this thing called BirdFest that was actually celebrating some random donkey named Bird. But you would go out and it was like this three-day festival where you just set up tents. And then, there was just always bluegrass music playing to celebrate Bird, the donkey. That was my first experience. But I think also my experience at YMCA Camp Greenville, going there as a camper and then being there as a counselor was really where I first did my deep dive into the outdoors.

 

Joy James:

Awesome. All right. So from those activities, what is now your favorite activity to do in the outdoors?

 

Madi Heater:

I think, for me personally, I've taken up birdwatching lately. I have a little wooded area behind my house here and I will sit outside for hours and just watch the birds come by.

 

Joy James:

Do you use the Merlin bird ID?

 

Madi Heater:

I do. Yeah. I've got Merlin and eBird.

 

Joy James:

Which do you like better?

 

Madi Heater:

I like Merlin just because it's based off of the bird calls, and that's been my goal, is to learn the birds by their calls. So, it helps me to improve that knowledge. But eBird has a bigger database, so it's more scientific than Merlin. But they're both awesome.

Joy James:

That's wonderful.

 

Madi Heater:

Yeah.

 

Joy James:

Shameless plug here, we had a podcast where we interviewed a serious birder who was like the Audubon Youth Birder of the Year, and she was a biology student here. It is an awesome interview, if any of you want to check that out.

 

Madi Heater:

For sure. It sounds awesome.

 

Joy James:

Nick.

 

Nick Perkins:

I would say fishing is my favorite. Even though I go hiking a lot, a lot of times when you're hiking you're just putting your head down and you're not really appreciating what's around you until you stop at a scenic place. By fishing, you're there, you're in nature, and you could just sit there and bask it and appreciate it. And that's my favorite part. And sometimes you catch a big fish and that's really exciting.

 

Joy James:

I've had people tell me that even if you don't catch a fish, it's still great.

 

Nick Perkins:

Oh, yeah. There's plenty of times where I've gone fishing and haven't caught anything.

 

Joy James:

Yeah. Do you fly fish? Do you cast?

 

Nick Perkins:

Mostly just rod and reel. I have been trying to learn how to fly fish, but not as much my thing.

 

Joy James:

Okay. I think App State has a health physical activity with fly-fishing, if you wanted to...

 

Nick Perkins:

Yeah.

 

Joy James:

I've seen them out there.

 

Madi Heater:

There's also a club.

 

Nick Perkins:

Okay.

 

Madi Heater:

But we actually, shameless plug for our club, last weekend we had our fishing trip. So, we actually took a bunch of people up to Price Lake and practiced both rod and reel and fly-fishing with a few students from App State.

 

Joy James:

That's awesome. Tell us the name of your club.

 

Madi Heater:

We are the National Park Trust Club here at App State.

 

Joy James:

That's fabulous. We'll be talking more about that as we move along. Let me finish up with two more questions. How do you think you became comfortable in the outdoors? Nick, you mentioned you played a lot. You mentioned, Madi, that you were going to this festival and camping. What about that made you comfortable to want to spend time in the outdoors?

 

Madi Heater:

I think a big thing for me was just learning more about the outdoors and the environment surrounding me. So, once I was able to identify the trees, then I had a lot more of a personal connection to them, and that made me want to spend more time outdoors to learn more trees and learn more information about the outdoors. So really, just getting that personal connection in there, that was the biggest thing for me in getting comfortable being outside.

 

Joy James:

Awesome.

 

Nick Perkins:

Yeah. I agree with Madi. As I've started to learn more about the different kinds of trees and birds and animals and how they all interact, I definitely have a greater appreciation, and I get excited when I see little things I don't see often. But also, I spent so much time outside as a kid, I just prefer to be outside. I don't like to be cooped up inside. That's just my comfort place in that sense.

 

Joy James:

A space that you feel comfortable.

 

Nick Perkins:

Yeah.

 

Joy James:

I know the outdoors, even though there's so much going on, it calms me even though there's a lot of activity. It's different than being indoors.

 

Nick Perkins:

Especially if I'm able to get away from people, be there on my own.

 

Joy James:

So, solitary.

 

Nick Perkins:

Mm-hmm.

 

Madi Heater:

Yeah.

 

Joy James:

Well, and the other thing think's interesting, you both mentioned it, with fishing, you need to know what fish, you need to be able to identify where they are. So, you're learning natural history and you're making personal connections by identifying the trees and all that for our recreation, and then helps us connect and then we want to learn more.

So to me, it's always fascinating to hear how people become comfortable in outdoor settings. Do you have a story about an outdoor experience that was very influential for you? It could be a funny story, a lesson learned story, or this is why I became the major that I am, or this is why I want to spend time in the outdoors.

Madi Heater:

Yeah. I think this isn't necessarily specifically for the outdoors, but specifically for the stars. At camp, we used to have this massive field, and at night we'd go lay in the middle of the field and there's no light pollution at camp, so you can see all of the stars. It literally just looks like you're looking up at a glass dome sitting on top of you with just hundreds of thousands of stars. I think that moment has always really stuck with me, just how vast the universe, but also just how small we are and how much there is out there in the natural world other than people.

 

Joy James:

Awesome. Do you still get out to watch the stars?

 

Madi Heater:

For sure. Yeah.

 

Joy James:

We're very lucky here we have Dark Sky. How about you?

 

Nick Perkins:

My grandparents live in Arkansas and I visit my grandpa a lot and we like to go hunting together, and we've been doing that since I was pretty young. And I remember, I have this one vivid memory of us sitting in the blind, we'd been there for a couple of hours, I was getting kind of bored. I was wanting to leave. And then, I noticed something up in the tree. There was three baby raccoons. They're trying to be quiet, but they're all just also bored, so they're just playing around. And I was like, wow, if I wasn't sitting here for hours, I wouldn't have seen that. And I don't think I've seen a baby raccoon since. But that really just gave me appreciation, I guess.

 

Joy James:

Yeah. That's awesome.

 

Nick Perkins:

Yeah.

 

Joy James:

You've said this a couple times, being out helps you see things you wouldn't see on a normal basis. And in the outdoors random things happen. The stars are always out there, but there's different experiences with the stars. You see a shooting star. And then, like you say, right now I'm really excited because the wildflowers are popping. And so, it's like an Easter egg hunt going out to find those Easter eggs or see the warblers that are coming in.

 

Becki Battista:

I love how Madi enjoys gazing at the stars at night reminding us of our small place in this very vast world. Nick shared a heartwarming childhood memory of watching baby raccoons play with his grandfather. I really appreciate how they highlighted the unpredictability of nature, with each season bringing its own unique stories. You can certainly begin to hear why these two students have become National Park Ambassadors at App State, serving as liaisons to promote and celebrate our national parks.

Today's episode is proudly sponsored by the HOPE Lab. At the HOPE Lab, we're committed to finding creative ways to promote outdoor activity. Visit appstate.hopelab.edu to explore the benefits of spending time outdoors. Let's return to the interview to delve deeper into their roles as National Park ambassadors.

 

Joy James:

I'd really like to get into talking about why we brought you here. First, I wanted to acknowledge how proud I am and thrilled that y'all were able to become the National Park Trust College Ambassadors. And I want to share with the community what college ambassadors do, and also acknowledge that y'all are the first college ambassadors for App State. So, share with us what you've done, the groundwork you've laid and what you're hoping to do.

 

Nick Perkins:

Yeah. Simple terms, we are the bridge between the National Park Trust and our school here. And the goal of National Park Trust is to get people interested in outdoors, especially people who don't have background in recreation and don't feel like they have access to those activities. Getting those people involved in caring about nature and just given them new experiences. And also, there's a community aspect as well. That's why we formed the club, not just to be ambassadors, but also create a community of people that we could reach out to with these things and hopefully that they tell their friends.

 

Joy James:

Awesome. What activities has your club organization done or what have you done while you've been here?

 

Madi Heater:

We do a bunch of different stuff. We've done a few stewardship events. We've gone up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and worked with the volunteers in the parks to clean the Asutsi Trail, to cut down dead limbs, cut back branches, and get it ready for the winter season. We've also cleaned up Boone Creek on campus. We've planted trees with the Watauga River Keepers. And then, we also do some more fun stuff. Earlier this year we went to Worley's Cave, we did a caving expedition over in Tennessee. It only cost participants $10 to come out with us. Everything was provided once they got there. We've also been fishing. That's another thing, our club has a ton of fishing rods. We've been working with the Department of Sustainability, we've been keeping stuff there and partnering. They've also helped us out with some events.

 

Joy James:

Nice.

 

Madi Heater:

And we held our first annual trivia night.

 

Joy James:

Where did you do that at?

 

Madi Heater:

Actually, just right here on campus. It was over in Rankin Science.

 

Joy James:

And how many members do y'all have?

 

Madi Heater:

On Engage, I believe our official member count is about 55 people.

 

Joy James:

That's awesome for your first year of a club.

 

Madi Heater:

Yeah. But we've had, I think, over 100 different people come out and come to our events in one way or another. It's been really awesome getting to work with students on campus and see what they want, not just what we want.

 

Joy James:

I love the mix of stewardship and fun, really represents well, I'm sure, what the National Park Trust Fund is trying to get out. Let's do stewardship and also engage with our public lands.

 

Madi Heater:

Yeah, for sure.

 

Joy James:

As Madi was talking about the club, and one of the things, I think, y'all had to do to become a club is you had to make a constitution, you had to have a certain amount of members and a board. And this is through Student Affairs, they have a clubs program that anybody can create a club based on what they're interested in. It has this online presence called Engage is where clubs are able to interact with each other and get people to RSVP if you want to. You can invite campus-wide, it could be invite only.

And the other thing, they have funds for our clubs. And so, you can, I think, get up to $1,500 to have a speaker come in and talk to your club. And then, they'll fund travel if you want to go to a conference or get training. It's a really great thing on campus. Could you share what your plans are, the club next year, and if someone was interested in becoming a college ambassador, what they might do?

 

Madi Heater:

Yeah. We're working on that process right now, getting ready to transition for next year. The best way to get involved, first off, is just joining the club, specifically on Engage. That's where we post all of our events. So, if you ever just want to see what we're doing, what we have done, Engage is the best place to check.

 

Nick Perkins:

And it's free to join, there's no club dues.

 

Madi Heater:

Yeah. Our club is completely free, and that's a big part of our club, is providing outdoor recreation opportunities at low to no cost so everyone can get involved. But for the actual college ambassador, we have to go through an application process with the National Park Trust.

 

Joy James:

And who is the National Park Trust? We've been talking about it, but I haven't addressed what that is. So, what's the National Park Trust?

 

Madi Heater:

They are a stewardship foundation that was originally formed to buy land around national parks and then donate it to the national parks. But since then, they've expanded their operations a lot and mostly focus on recreation and stewardship opportunities. And the college ambassador program is one of their newest opportunities. I think we're going into our third year now of it. It's specifically for college students and getting them outdoors. And so, that's what we are here for. We get funding from the National Park Trust in order to provide events on campus for students so they can get outdoors without having to pay for it.

 

Joy James:

Okay. And that's how you're able to offer no dues for them?

 

Madi Heater:

Yes, exactly.

 

Joy James:

That's really incredible, because most people, to join a club, you have to pay at least five bucks a semester. If they wanted to become an ambassador at their local community college or college, they would go to the National Park Trust website, which we'll put on our show notes.

 

Madi Heater:

Yeah.

 

Joy James:

And what was the application process?

 

Madi Heater:

You pick two people that you want to represent your college or university. It's pretty much you come up with an idea of what events you would want to see on your campus and how you would make them happen. And based on that planning process is how they pick their ambassadors just to see if you could realistically have these events and if it's what they're looking for. But it's a super easy application. It's really new, so it's really easy. This is the time to get involved now.

 

Joy James:

When I first saw it too, I saw that they were advertising and promoting the different colleges. So you're up there as a partner, as a university, with National Park Trust. This is another perk for your university that you might be at, that you have this engagement and representation. I mean, the basic part for me is that my students are out there getting to have access to the natural areas, but it's also sometimes nice to have a...

 

Madi Heater:

Larger impact.

 

Joy James:

Yeah. Larger impact. That's a great way of putting it. So, what has been your favorite thing about being a college ambassador at App State?

 

Nick Perkins:

Definitely the opportunities that we get through the National Park Trust. Like Worley's Cave, making that so affordable for everybody. That was super, super cool. I've never gone caving before, and that was definitely the peak of what we did. It was just a whole lot of fun.

 

Joy James:

Did y'all work with outdoor programs? Or did you just find somebody or you knew something about Worley's Cave? How'd you organize that?

 

Madi Heater:

In the GES department, or the Geological and Environmental Science department, one of our professors actually is a co-owner of a outdoor adventure company that runs trips in Worley's Cave.

 

Joy James:

That's awesome.

 

Madi Heater:

So, we were able to make the connection through the professor in order to get us a discount and make it more manageable. But her company, Earth and Water Adventures, helped us to guide us through the cave.

 

Joy James:

I'll make sure to put that on our show notes as well. I'll get that from you so that other students could do that. That ends the segment here in terms of talking about y'all's ambassadors. Was there anything I should have asked that I didn't, that you want to share?

 

Madi Heater:

I was just going to make a quick comment on the last question you asked. I think it's been really cool to see the impacts on other people. I heard the story a few... It's been a few weeks now. But one of my friends from the camp that I used to work at, I invited her out to our very first event, which was the stewardship event, cleaning up the trail. She didn't come with any friends, she only knew me there. And at that event, she met her best friend and now they live together. And now, her best friend is also coming to work at the summer camp where we had originally met a long time ago.

 

Joy James:

That's awesome.

 

Madi Heater:

So, just getting to hear those personal impact stories and how getting to come to one of our events is how they met and started this whole separate adventure. So, just getting to hear that has been really incredible.

 

Joy James:

Thank you for sharing that.

 

Madi Heater:

Yeah.

 

Joy James:

That's wonderful. We're going to come back and get a little bit of dirt on getting outside.

 

Becki Battista:

Madi and Nick's roles as National Park Ambassadors have been an incredible experience, not just for them but for others as well. The National Park Trust Ambassador Program focuses on encouraging college students to spend time outdoors, providing opportunities to connect with nature, and allowing students to join without any membership fees. It's amazing how students attending events hosted by the club has fostered such meaningful friendships along the way. Let's get back to the interview for our segment, getting the dirt, on Madi and Nick's experiences in the outdoors.

 

Joy James:

I always like this part of the podcast because I get to ask some interesting questions. Not that the other questions weren't interesting before, but this is really getting the dirt on helping others who might not be as comfortable in the outdoors, see what your experiences are. The first question is, what is your biggest fear in the outdoors?

 

Madi Heater:

I think my biggest fear in the outdoors is just, when I'm going camping, waking up to an animal outside my tent.

 

Joy James:

Has that happened?

 

Madi Heater:

I've definitely been camping before and heard coyotes outside of my tent. So yes, unfortunately. Luckily, they didn't come in, though.

 

Joy James:

That's what I'd be worried too.

 

Nick Perkins:

Yeah. My greatest fear is ticks. I hate ticks. I mean, there's also poison ivy, but at least you can identify poison ivy and try to avoid it. But ticks, they just find a way.

 

Joy James:

And they're all sizes. It's not even like... I have a body of freckles, so it's when the freckle moves that I realize I have a tick, if I even know that it's on there. So, you're right. That is a... And then, Lyme's disease.

 

Nick Perkins:

And that's the worst part. It's one thing that you got a little bug sucking on you.

 

Joy James:

And yet, you still go out.

 

Madi Heater:

Yeah.

 

Joy James:

Coyotes, bears. I woke up to a buffalo chomping on cud outside my tent in Roosevelt National Park.

 

Madi Heater:

Wow.

 

Joy James:

Yeah. That was a little daunting. Then I've also had a cow over at Doughton Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway. What is your most embarrassing outdoor moment? It doesn't have to be the most embarrassing, but what was an embarrassing moment?

Madi Heater:

I went on this canoe trip, this was a few years back now. And we were overnight camping on islands in the middle of Lake Jocassee. It's a lake in South Carolina. We were out camping on Lake Jocassee in some of the islands in the middle of it. And I don't know what I had for breakfast that morning, but we were in the middle of the lake and I have never paddled so fast in my life to make it back to an island. And I think I ran through a ton of bramble patches. Luckily, we made it, but that was a rough morning.

 

Joy James:

Yeah, I've been there. How about you, Nick?

 

Nick Perkins:

All right. I'm going to tell this story, and you cut it out. I went hiking, and it was a good five, six mile hiking trip. And I wore these pants that were way too hot and it was a hot day. And I got this huge sweat stain and I just had to live with that the whole hike with all my friends, and they just kept commenting on the butt stain. That was pretty embarrassing. That's what came to mind.

 

Joy James:

Totally. And we ask the embarrassing question and your biggest fear question because sometimes those things cause apprehension and anxiety to not wanting to go outside. So, to hear people who are avid outdoor people talk about these, I mean, very human experiences, going to the bathroom, sweating, and then your friends kind of joshing you, harassing you a little bit.

 

Nick Perkins:

In their shorts.

 

Joy James:

Yeah. And then, just the discomfort of it all. But yet, y'all still prevail. I mean, we still go outside despite some of these challenges that we face. That's one of the reasons we love to ask these questions, is to showcase that, hey, everybody's human. And it's still worthwhile to get outside.

 

Madi Heater:

For sure.

 

Joy James:

All right. Two more questions. What is a must have piece of outdoor gear or equipment that you never leave without? You couldn't live without it in the outdoors.

 

Madi Heater:

I always have a backup pair of socks. It's just wet socks are the worst, that's how you get blisters. So, I just always have a backup pair of socks on me.

 

Joy James:

Wool or cotton.

 

Madi Heater:

Wool. Cotton kills. Do not wear cotton outdoors.

 

Joy James:

Right.

 

Nick Perkins:

Probably a knife.

 

Joy James:

Knife. Pocket knife? Big knife?

 

Nick Perkins:

Just a practical knife.

 

Joy James:

You mean about five, six inches?

 

Nick Perkins:

Mm-hmm.

 

Joy James:

And is it one that flips out or...

Nick Perkins:

A fixed blade.

 

Joy James:

Fixed blade. Thank you. I don't even know what I'm talking about.

 

Nick Perkins:

Well, I guess I have different knives for different things.

 

Joy James:

So, it depends on the thing that you're doing.

 

Nick Perkins:

But I always try to have a knife on me because I don't want to be caught without one.

 

Joy James:

Yeah. No, I understand. I grew up with my dad carrying pocket knives and I have knives all over the place. Yeah. My dad first gave me one of those... What'd you say? A fixed blade? And it looked like I was Crocodile Dundee back in the 80s. I'm like, "What am I going to do with this, dad?" He's like, "You never know."

 

Madi Heater:

Yeah. The true test is, do you have a knife on you right now?

 

Joy James:

Yeah.

 

Nick Perkins:

No, I don't.

 

Joy James:

Well, in the university. Our producer, David's showing us his knife. Have you heard of the knuckle buster knives? The Leatherman... You open up and... My dad called them knuckle busters because you're constantly thinking you can use it for a tool, and it doesn't work as well as your other knives.

 

Madi Heater:

Yeah.

 

Joy James:

All right. Last question is, what is your favorite local spot here in Boone or the high country area?

 

Madi Heater:

I think this isn't super, super local, but Grayson Highlands. It's right across the border in Virginia. It's only an hour from Boone, but that has to be one of my favorite spots. Just go see the wild ponies, go backpacking. It's such an incredible place.

 

Joy James:

It's beautiful.

 

Nick Perkins:

My favorite would have to be the Nature Preserve. I mean, Grayson Highlands is a lot cooler, but I spent so much time in the Nature Preserve, especially [inaudible 00:27:16]. It's over by the Greenwood Lot. And yeah, especially when I was living on campus and whenever I needed a break, whenever I needed to get out, just go to the Nature Preserve and walk around. And I really appreciate having that here, because I don't think that's a common thing for a lot of schools.

 

Joy James:

Well, it's funny you mention this. I was talking to Dr. Wayne Williams, a professor emeritus of Rec Management. And for one of his classes, he would always take students out to the Nature Preserve. And I was mentioning it, and I'm ashamed to say I've never been to the Nature Preserve, so I need to get out there because, right now, apparently the wildflowers are blooming. So, it's a really cool spot. And I'm assuming when you went out there, not a lot of other students were out there, which is what made it nice.

 

Nick Perkins:

It depends on the day. But I would say, yeah, I don't think as many students really take advantage of it. But you'll, of course, see people out there. And you'll see non-students out there too, especially on weekends since you could park.

Joy James:

I want to thank both of you, Madi and Nick, again for your service as College Ambassadors for National Park Trust. Next year, y'all will both be here running the club, or is there someone else taking over the club?

 

Madi Heater:

I'll still be running it. Nick's going to help to pick the new ambassador, but we have a few upcoming seniors that are interested that'll be working with me to run the club next year. And we're always looking for student input on what you want to see us do. So if you want to reach out, check us out on Engage, my information's on Engage.

 

Joy James:

Okay. Awesome. Well, thank you both for your time today. We really appreciate it.

 

Nick Perkins:

Thank you.

 

Joy James:

And that's a wrap.

 

Becki Battista:

Wow. Being a park ambassador sounds like such an exciting and rewarding experience. Congratulations to Madi and Nick for becoming the first park ambassadors on our campus. I encourage any student listening to Explore This Club or visit the National Park Trust to learn more about our amazing national parks. As we wrap up this episode, don't forget to check out the notes page for resources on the National Park Trust and App State's National Park Trust Club. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Madi and Nick for sharing their invaluable insights and stories with us.

The Appalachian Outdoorosity Podcast is the brainchild of Melissa Weddle, Becki Batiste and Joy James. Special thanks to our dedicated podcast producer, Dave Blanks, from App State University Communications, for his exceptional work behind the scenes. We leave you with the falling quote from Michael From, "A national park is not a playground, it's a sanctuary for nature and for humans who will accept nature on nature's own terms."