Every effort should be made to maintain our state parks at their present level. Rather than cut back we should be looking at ways to use our state parks to stimulate education in natural history studies, making better usage of our state parks as an educational resource.

A visit to any of Alabama's State parks by school groups or families can be a wonderful experience. I'm not talking about just camping and fishing, but about actually observing and studying the many forms of plants and animal life found abundant in our state parks.

From the beaches and wetlands of Gulf Shores State Park to the lush green forest of Mt. Cheaha State Park to the canyon country of Little River Nature Preserve and Desota Falls State Park, Alabama has a great natural wonder and resource. Yet our schools, both public and private, have failed to incorporate significant usage of the state parks into their curriculum. As a result we are raising a generation of children who do not know how to identify birds, insects or even the wild flowers found growing near their homes.

If people do not even know about the flora and fauna around them, how can they be expected to make educated decisions with respect to preservation of the environment? What is lost when we turn our state parks into golf courses, resorts and playgrounds? Could it be that what is lost is an understanding, respect and value for our natural environment? Is that what our judges and legislatures, put in office by campaigns funded through rich corporate enterprises, developers and landfill operators want?

This is, perhaps, the greatest failure of our state educational system. But it is also a failure of our state park system which should be working with schools, planning and enabling field trips to parks, providing guides knowledgeable in natural history, conducting educational programs and helping to educate and inform the public with respect to the biodiversity and ecology of our state parks.

There is no reason why we can not spend the money necessary to make our state parks an educational experience rather than a resort experience. But the choice has to be made, do we want our state parks to be a play ground for the wealthy or an outdoor schooling adventure for everyone?

Sincerely,
Terry Lynch
Date: 24 Feb., 2003

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