National Park Service youth education programs founder retires
Ranger Lyndon poses with students on the Big River Journey field trip on the Mississippi River. Photo credit: National Park Service.
By: Lyndon Torstenson, Educational Partnerships Manager/ Education Specialist, Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, National Park Service.
Lyndon Torstenson recently retired from the National Park Service. His passion for river education and his dedication to the environment set a gold standard for inspiring future generations within the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area. His tireless work with partners is legendary, and his efforts built a solid foundation for future education programming along this magnificent stretch of river.
Lyndon with students at the Meeker Lock and Dam. Photo credit: National Park Service, 2007.
What did you do for the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area?
As the park’s manager for formal education, it was my job to develop and coordinate the park’s education programs, connecting teachers and kids to the Mississippi River and its watershed, stories, stewardship, and meanings; and to use the Mississippi River as a place for learning. Since the park has no education facilities of its own, and limited staff (especially considering the hundreds of schools and hundreds of thousands of students in our metro service area), my job entailed the development of partnerships for conducting programs. I also co-founded, led, and served on the steering committee for a watershed partnership of more than 70 organizations to promote public stewardship of the river and area waters.
Lyndon Torstenson. Photo credit: National Park Service, 2020.
What drew you to the park and made you want to become a ranger?
The opportunity at Mississippi NRRA to connect lots of people and kids to the natural world is extraordinary. This urban park represents the greatest river in North America and lies in the middle of millions of people and hundreds of thousands of kids! So when I became a licensed teacher, the prospect of working as an educator for the National Park Service was exciting to me. Kids need nature and the outdoors as much as they need food and water, and this park can make a lifelong connection for them to the river, wildlife and nature. Natural resources also need our care, and this park can begin the process of fostering stewardship.
You have a long history with this park, as the person who started several education programs that have served and still serve thousands of students. What are some accomplishments you achieved as a ranger that make you proud?
I’m most proud of the partner relationships we developed as a park. There were no organized formal education programs when I began, and no education facilities or National Park Service land for conducting programs. Our success depended on forging relationships with organizations that could help us get students on and along the river for learning experiences, as well as those that could help us conduct programs. Today, our education programs benefit from collaboration with twenty partner groups - such as Padelford Riverboats, Wilderness Inquiry, Science Museum of Minnesota, Minnesota DNR, Minnesota Historical Society, Audubon Society, Hamline University, and many others.
“As a result [of these partnerships], we’ve now served more than a quarter million students in our park, or approximately 25,000 students and youth annually.”
This video was filmed in August 2020. Copyright Mississippi Park Connection, 2020.
The park’s education programs like Big River Journey have been recognized by state and national awards - including the National Park Foundation’s “Education Partnership of the Year" award, and the Minnesota Environmental Initiative’s “Environmental Partnership of the Year.”
A collaboration I co-founded called Metro Watershed Partners now includes more than 70 organizations that meet monthly to collaborate on public outreach for pollution prevention. The partnership has reached millions of people through state fair exhibits, social media, radio and television, and other initiatives such as the Adopt-A-Drain program that inspire people to act for clean water. This collaboration has also been recognized with multiple state and regional awards.
Citizen Science tree-tagging project at Crosby Farm Regional Park. Photo credit: Mississippi Park Connection, 2019.
What’s been your guiding philosophy for how to best educate students about nature and parks?
There is a developmental continuum for environmental education that begins with kids developing a sense of safety and comfort in the outdoors, and affinity for wildlife and nature. This is fundamental to human development. Many of our programs for elementary students support kids in this way. As kids get fascinated and see eagles and learn to love the river as a place they belong, they want to explore and learn more, and come back for more advanced experiences like paddling voyageur canoes.
“Eventually they become interested in caring for the river and its habitats through positive environmental attitudes and behaviors. The desire for learning carries back into the classroom, and stewardship becomes a daily lifestyle and lifelong commitment.”
At the same time outdoor educational experiences should be place-based (by using concrete local features and stories to develop larger understandings), hands-on, physically active, learner-centered, and inquiry-based. And of course, education programs should strive to support academic standards, such as learning from phenomena and integrating the NGSS and 3D science framework.
Youth Education Team trip to Lions Levee Park. Photo credit: National Park Service, 2009.
What advice do you leave for educators wanting to get students to learn more in natural settings?
When teachers use the natural and urban environment as a context for learning, relevancy is increased, student interest and engagement increase, and behavioral problems and ADHD are reduced. Such engagement builds a foundation for community belonging, purpose and participation that is the basis of civic life.
My advice for teachers is to work with community educators and partners, such as those involved with National Park Service (NPS) education programs, glean tips from teacher professional development trainings, and work with teammates at your school to integrate field experiences with pre- and post-trip activities in the classroom. The NPS and its partners are here to help!
Big River Journey Field Trip on the Padelford Riverboats. Photo credit: Bethany Birnie / Mississippi Park Connection, 2019.
Who do you look up to in your profession, and how have they influenced or inspired your work during your time with the park?
I have learned much from Richard Louv, author of Last Child In the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder and several other books. I highly recommend his books for all teachers and parents. Louv underscores the vital importance of nature for child development. His work is championed by the Children and Nature Network (C&NN) and supported by vast research compiled by C&NN and Dr. Catherine Jordan, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota, (who is on Mississippi Park Connection’s board).
I also recommend David Sobel, author of Place-Based Education: Connecting Classrooms and Communities and several other books. Sobel celebrates teachers who emphasize the connection of school, community, and environment. Place-Based Education uses the local community and environment as the starting place for curriculum learning, strengthening community bonds, appreciation for the natural world, and a commitment to citizen engagement. Sobel is the Director of Teacher Certification Programs in the Education Department at Antioch Graduate School.
What is your hope for the future of this park?
There are so many developments in the works that make the future prospects bright for the park and its education programs!
“I like to envision a time when experiences at the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area are an expected part of every student’s education in the Twin Cities area.”
With the development of a new River Learning Center (RLC) and with the established partnerships that the park enjoys with the Science Museum, Minnesota DNR, Minnesota Historical Society, Wilderness Inquiry, Wakan Tipi Center, Mississippi Park Connection, and so many more, the opportunity is on the horizon for the park to be a premier learning site on one of the world’s greatest rivers.
The Mississippi NRRA is becoming a core fixture of the metro area in terms of recreation, learning, natural environment, culture, and civic pride! I look forward to a time in the near future when the Wakan Tipi Center in Saint Paul provides lessons in Indigenous culture, filled riverboats again provide hands-on science learning for excited kids, the River Learning Center engages students in hands-on restoration and climate education in the “learning forest,” and canoe-loads of students are coming and going from Bdote. Saint Anthony Falls will offer additional history and engineering explorations at the head of a restored river gorge. I’m giddy about the possibilities!
Youth Education Team canoe trip to Lion’s Levee Park. Photo credit: National Park Service, 2009.
What will you miss about the park, and what are you looking forward to in retirement?
I’ll miss our awesome partners, volunteers, teachers, and park colleagues! I’ll miss working with kids on riverboats! But I look forward to being a volunteer, working with my partner to restore white pines along a section of the Saint Croix River, reading books, biking and using my canoe more!