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Outreach and Education<br />
The SVRA offers ATV safety classes and educational materials in both English and<br />
Spanish. Education and outreach programs focus on safe OHV operation, Junior Ranger<br />
activities, and protecting park resources.<br />
At the SVRA, Junior Rangers learn about the importance of nature and their heritage<br />
while participating in fun activities and earning their Junior Ranger badges. For example,<br />
members of the 4H ATV Safety Project play OHV safety-themed games and then challenge<br />
parents, sheriff’s deputies, and park rangers on their knowledge through games and<br />
activities. Interpretive outreach programs take the park to the people whether it is organizing<br />
and leading an after-school Junior Ranger Club or staffing the Heber Dunes SVRA booth<br />
at popular community events like the Heber Annual Car Show, the Mid-Winter Fair and<br />
Fiesta, or the Annual Children’s fair. These outreach efforts introduce current and future<br />
park visitors to Heber Dunes SVRA and all it has to offer to the local off-highway recreation<br />
community.<br />
Heber Dunes SVRA has an oral history project that provides visitors from older generations<br />
who have recreated at the park and remember its history to share their stories. Oral<br />
histories are added to the information gleaned from local newspapers, photograph albums,<br />
and museums. These “voices of the past” helped make Heber Dunes SVRA what is it today<br />
and are being treasured and preserved.<br />
After-School Junior Ranger Club<br />
Heber Dunes SVRA interpretive staff offer an After-School Junior Ranger Club program as<br />
part of existing After-School Education and Safety programs at local schools. This community<br />
outreach program is offered to third and fourth<br />
graders at five El Centro elementary schools. Junior<br />
Ranger Club meetings are 60-90 minutes long and<br />
are held weekly throughout the school year.<br />
The After-School Junior Ranger Club expands<br />
the beloved California State Parks Junior Ranger<br />
program into a series of meetings that follow the<br />
guidelines in the Junior Ranger Handbook. Kids<br />
learn the Junior Ranger promise, play games, make<br />
crafts, explore nature, and have the opportunity to<br />
earn their Junior Ranger badges and certificates. The meetings are also mini-lessons tied to<br />
state common core and science education standards, which are intended to help introduce or<br />
reinforce what is currently being taught in the K-12 classroom.<br />
2017 Program Report 195