How can National Parks attract kids?

Half of all park service leaders are expected to retire by 2016. Budget problems make it hard to fill all open positions. Junior Ranger program hope inspire new generations.

2016年有半数公园导游员将退休，预算问题导致空缺岗位难以填补，少年管理员项目有望鼓舞新一代人。

In 2014, America’s national parks attracted a record-setting 292.8 million visits, but the typical visitor to the country’s biggest parks is edging closer to retirement age.

2014年，全美国家公园接待游客数量达到创纪录的2.928亿人，但大部分游客都已接近退休年龄。

The average age of visitors to Denali is 57 years. In Yellowstone it is 54. But in the past decade, the number of visitors under the age of 15 has fallen by half.

德纳里峰和黄石公园的游客平均年龄分别是57岁和54岁。但在过去的10年间，15岁以下的游客数量却减少了一半。

It’s not just the visitors who are getting grayer. According to the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), half of the employees in park service leadership positions are scheduled to retire by 2016, which could lead to even more understaffing for the national parks. Right now, there is one park guide for every 100,000 visitors.

这不仅仅是因为游客逐年变老的缘故。根据国家公园保护协会了解，到2016年，国家公园将有一半的员工退休，这会加剧员工短缺的局面。目前，每一名公园导游员要接待10万名游客。

The aging park employee problem is even worse if you look beyond those near retirement age. Seventy-five percent of National Park Service employees are at least 40 years old and only 7% are 29 or younger.

员工临近退休年龄，从长远角度来考虑，员工老龄化的问题更加严峻。国家公园管理局75%的员工年龄超过40岁，29岁以下的员工只占到7%。

So what’s not attracting the younger generation to having some of the most beautiful offices in the country?

如何才能吸引年轻一代到美国最美丽的“办公室”工作呢？

Retired Yosemite Park Ranger Bob Roney (aka Ranger Bob)，"I started in the ’60s and ’70s, the hippie generation. People were wanting to get back to the land. I don’t see that as much today," says Roney.

罗尼是一位已退休的公园管理员，曾在约塞米蒂国家公园工作，“我从六七十年代开始做这份工作，那是被称为嬉皮士的时代。人们向往回归自然，但是现在都看不到了。”罗尼说道。

"People want modern conveniences. Young people are more city-oriented and tend not to be wildlands-oriented."

“如今人们都喜欢现代化的舒适，年轻人更喜欢向城里扎堆，不再喜欢野外大自然。”

Jodie Riesenberger, program director for NPCA, says it’s a little more complicated than that.

乔蒂.雷森伯格是国家公园管理局的一名项目主管，认为情况远比上述原因复杂的多。

"The National Park Service gets far more ranger applicants than there are jobs available," Riesenberger said. "The issue is recruiting diverse applicants who represent America’s demographics. Additionally, our national parks are facing a budget crisis. Even if there are ranger openings, they don’t always have the resources to fill them."

“我们收到的管理员求职申请比现在的空缺职位还多，”他说：“问题在于收到的申请来自形形色色的美国人，并且现在国家公园面临着预算危机，即使有管理员的职位空缺，也没有充足的财力来填补。”

800,000 new Junior Rangers

新增80万名小管理员

As more and more rangers race toward retirement, the National Park Service is looking to inspire a love of the outdoors in new generations.

随着越来越多的管理员临近退休，国家公园管理局正在想办法启发下一代人对野外大自然的热情。

More than 800,000 children last year got their Junior Ranger patches and certificates. The activity-based program is designed to foster interest and educate kids (typically between ages 5 and 13) about national parks and the park service.

去年，有超过80万名孩子取得了小管理员徽章和证书。这项主题活动旨在培养和启发孩子(大部分在5到13岁之间)对国家公园和公园工作的认识和兴趣。

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来源:互联网爱语吧作者:Sunmore