Episode Guest
Angie Manuel – Interpretive Manager
Indiana Department of Natural Resources – Division of State Parks
Episode Transcript
Missy Rentz: As we continue to celebrate winter in the parks today, we’re exploring Indiana. Angie Manuel, who is the interpretive manager for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources in the division of State Parks, is joining me today. Angie, welcome to The Parks Podcast. I love talking to you and learning about what’s going on in Indiana. The weather, especially recently, would indicate that it’s winter, but we are just a few days away from the calendar indicating that it’s winter and while, everybody’s starting to celebrate the holiday season or in the midst of celebrating the holiday season. Parks are a great place to go to for the holidays and festivities, but also all throughout winter. What’s going on in Indiana this winter?
Angie Manual: At state parks and other DNR properties winter swings heavy with snow or cold temperatures, and then we get sunshine and beautiful outdoor days. And so Hoosiers just watch the weather and when it’s good they get outside and they have lots to look at when they get there.
Missy Rentz: Your website and the Parks podcast have a huge list of activities that. Are happening and really you keep it updated year round with really unique activities. So there’s a couple of events that I think are so interesting. All of’em are interesting, but two of them I’m gonna point out’cause I think they’re really unique. At Summit Lake State Park, they have Snowman Trail and Winter Craft Bonanza, which seems like a spectacular activity for kids.
Angie Manual: It is, it’s a family friendly activity. Head out into the park on a trail where they have some. Fun winter and holiday cutouts, and you can take a selfie with those fun cutouts. There are also some clues since it’s a scavenger hunt type activity. You get to the right. Selfie station and if you’ve chosen the right one and snapped a photo with it, you can head back up to the office and claim your prize. And while you’re up at the office, they have a room dedicated for winter and holiday crafts so you can enjoy some outside time and some indoor
Missy Rentz: Oh, that sounds like so much fun. The perfect activity for families, for sure. And then taking it back to like nature in Clifty Falls. They’re doing a Christmas bird count on December 27th. What is a bird count? What does that entail?
Angie Manual: Yeah, so there’s different ways of doing bird counts, but Clifty Falls State Park and some of our other state parks as well partner with the Audubon Society often in their region, or it may be a statewide initiative, but they will head outdoors. And it’s a blitz. You head outside for a few hours, sometimes all day. If you’re courageous enough with your binoculars, you keep your ears open and you count and document as many birds as you can. And they’re looking for diversity in species and the amount of beautiful birds that you see. So that’s a. December bird count. They do another one in around Valentine’s Day too. And that’s a backyard bird count. So get outdoors and help count Indiana’s birds.
Missy Rentz: That seems important. Why? Why is it important that we host Bird Counts?
Angie Manual: Yeah, if we don’t know what birds are in our backyards or out in our natural areas, it may be that those populations are declining and we, if we’re not paying attention we can’t create conservation efforts for them. We always need to make sure that we have cardinals and crows and jays and woodpeckers and again, some of those specialty winter birds like snow owls and other winter migrants. So it’s important to get out and count them to make sure that we are keeping tabs of their populations and if we need to intervene and do some conservation efforts, we can do that because of those. Bird counts. They keep us knowledgeable and again, making conservation efforts on their, on the birds be account.
Missy Rentz: Can you be a newbie to the birding to be able to do something like this? Or do you have to be an avid. Bird watcher.
Angie Manual: That’s a great question. And that’s why going to some of these events is a good idea. If you are a novice if you’ve never. Identified birds in your life, but enjoy being outdoors and love birds. Go on a program like this because you can go with an expert and you can tag along and you can learn something along the way. Conversely, if you’re an expert birder, you can get out there and take somebody new and get them into the activity with you. So wherever you are on the spectrum of birding, get out there and you can enjoy it.
Missy Rentz: I’m so intrigued by birding. It’s something I haven’t done yet. What other birding activities, are happening in Indiana?
Angie Manual: Yeah, so a unique one that whitewater Memorial State Park does is they offer Sandhill Saturdays. And that’s because Sandhill cranes, which are typically a migratory bird and often leave Indiana for the winter, they actually love it around the whitewater. Memorial State Parks Reservoir. And so they hang out in the coves where the water is often shallow. It hasn’t frozen over. They can still find lots of food. And so the interpretive naturalists there will lead. Sandhill Saturday hikes and they’ll do lots of viewing with scopes and binoculars. And the fun thing about Sandhill cranes is you can listen to them. You don’t always have to be able to see them, but just listening to a sandhill crane is magical, especially in the wintertime.
Missy Rentz: Throughout the park system, there’s lots of like wonderland of lights, Nights of Lights. It’s a really good place to go to get into that festive spirits.
Angie Manual: It absolutely is. We, and this is something that has taken off over the years. It used to be that our recreation season was. Memorial Day to Labor Day, and then it became a little bit more springtime and a little more fall time into October. And then, November, people still have to come out around Thanksgiving and, black Friday or what we call opt outside. And my goodness, now it’s just rolled right into December and people are, just as much enjoying the holidays, the Christmas season. Any of those celebrations, they do it with lights. Sometimes we have a campground full of campers, believe it or not, in December, who will set up lights and they’ll be driving tours and visitors may pay a few dollars to come see it, and it becomes a great fundraiser. So it’s something you can enjoy in the warmth of your car. It and still get in the holiday spirit.
Missy Rentz: And I really like that because you guys are doing, you have, the traditional holiday lights, you have the some craft events that are taking place, but you also really do lean into the nature and you give people the opportunity to go out and celebrate nature in this unique way. Parks have really unique things to see and hear during the winter.
Angie Manual: That’s essentially part of our mission with state parks is to always make it about the resource, whether that is natural resources, plants and animals, and landscapes and habitats. But also our culture and history. So it may be a Christmas theme. But we’re gonna bring into it wildlife or talking about evergreen trees or frozen landscapes that are beautiful and fun to play in. So that’s our state park mission is to always keep in mind the resource, how wonderful and beautiful is. Otherwise, it’s just, your basic backyard.
Missy Rentz: I like hiking, but being in the park in the winter, even if it’s just for a few minutes or hitting the playground or whatever, there’s this, there’s another kind of beauty to it. When it’s quiet, it’s, you still see animals. You still hear animals, maybe even more of them because it’s so quiet. It’s a really magical place to be and to see what’s happening with nature in the wintertime.
Angie Manual: It sure is. Yeah, animals are somewhat forced to come out during the daytime because that’s when it’s sunny and most warm, so they’re out foraging for food or finding access to water. So yeah, in the wintertime it’s. More likely that you’ll see wildlife specifically birds because all the leaves are off the trees. Bird watching is a little bit easier. And sometimes in the winter we see bird guests to Indiana who love Indiana winter. So you’re gonna get to spot a unique bird that time of year and in the snow. All the animals leave signs that they’ve been there. So a fox may have walked through the trail just before you, or rabbits may have been hopping around, or a bird might be skipping down into the snow to wash their wings a little bit. So you’ll see all those signs of wildlife in the snow if you keep your eyes open.
Missy Rentz: You gotta really be present. It’s so beautiful. I just absolutely love it. I think that a lot of people think about winter and think about their own hibernation and the idea of coming. Going outside to the park, just doesn’t even come to their mind. Whether it’s because it’s cold or there’s nothing to see or whatever. What do you recommend people who are just getting curious about this whole going to the park and then the winter, how do you recommend they approach a visit?
Angie Manual: Yeah, certainly they can decide for themselves what. Feels comfortable to them if they’d like to go on their own. Certainly there’s things they can do to prepare themselves, whether it’s watching the weather, the temperature, the snowfall the iness, and they can prepare with good footwear and, jackets and hats and things like that so they can decide if they wanna go on their own in that capacity and stay safe and have a good time. Or if they’re not a hundred percent sure, absolutely. Look up the DNRs calendar for those state park programs. And maybe that’s a way that you can join others on a winter walk or a nature hike. We still do those in the winter. Sometimes they’re indoors, but a lot of times they’re outdoors because as you said, winter can be really beautiful. There’s a stillness and a beauty out there, and even if it is cold or crazy, you can commiserate with your fellow hikers and attendees and just have a really great time. Again, decide if they wanna go on their own. Or just pull up the calendar and see what’s available at the park nearest them.
Missy Rentz: And you had, you and I, before we started recording, we’re talking and you mentioned something I think is so important is that it do, you don’t have to go out for an eight hour day, it, you can have quick visits to the parks.
Angie Manual: Absolutely. And a lot of times yeah, sometimes people forget that. Being outdoors in the winter and yeah the brisk wind on your face or you do feel the warmth of the sunshine in the winter, and those rays from the sun really help with your mental wellbeing. In the winter when people do get closed up inside or they are a little bit less social. If they have seasonal deficiencies just getting outdoors for 30 minutes can really boost their spirits. So outdoors in the winter is just as important as outdoors in the summer.
Missy Rentz: And I think that’s one of the benefits of having a state park pass in any state that you live in, is that it’s just really easy to visit. And, most states now have parks very close to almost everybody within the state. And Indiana is the same way.
Angie Manual: Yeah, it’s it’s great that annual past you mentioned is a great gift for yourself, but also a great gift for a friend or family member. And that pass gets your vehicle in, whether there’s just one person in that vehicle or five people in that vehicle, it gets you into all 36 of our state parks for an entire calendar year. So that is a lot of adventure packed into one annual pass.
Missy Rentz: Yeah, it’s, it is a really great gift. It was definitely one of the top on my gift guide this year because I think it, gifting experience is is so meaningful to people to, to have throughout the year. One of the big events taking place in Indiana and throughout the year is first day hikes, and I think like we are gonna do an episode on first day hikes, but it’s not gonna air until for another week or two. I think for a lot of people, starting to think about what they’re doing on New Year’s Day and starting that plan is important. Indiana is a big supporter of the first day hikes program. What’s happening on January 1st in your parks?
Angie Manual: Yep. So Indiana State Parks has participated in the nationwide initiative called First Day Hikes for as long as it’s been in existence, and it has become such a tradition for people when we. All 36 of our properties do something. It may be a naturalist LED hike. It may be a climb up a fire tower, it may be a horseback riding group. We even have a couple off-road vehicle properties who do activities. So every single. E every single one of our properties offers something and it’s typically followed up with some hot chocolate or coffee and some cookies just to get you warmed up afterwards. But boy, like I said, it has become a tradition and people come every single year often with their family,’cause again, get outdoors. Maybe you’ve. Indulged in so much food from Thanksgiving to Christmas and then into New Year’s that getting outside for a walk is a really great thing.
Missy Rentz: It really is, and I think you can approach first day hikes in multiple ways. If you’re an avid outdoor person and used to it, there’s, it’s just fun to be outside and there are things that you can do in the park that you are able to get, off the beaten path or very adventurous. But if you are new to parks, the guided programs are a really great way to, have your hand held, introducing you to the parks. I’ve been in parks where, it’s a guided hike and you learn so much more about how to enjoy a hike and whatnot. So it’s a great entry point for outdoor people or would be outdoor people.
Angie Manual: It sure is. And that’s something that our, interpretive naturalists are trained to understand, which is when folks come to a program, they’re not just there for the information. They could look up that information, online if they wanted to, but sometimes they’re looking for a group experience. Sometimes they’re looking for that, oh, I’m a first timer and I’d really some extra help. So our professional interpretive naturalists are trained to. Make it a really positive experience if you’re a first timer, so that experience leads you to the next experience, which then leads you to the next experience. We always want you to have a good time on that hike, a comfortable time.’cause if you’re not comfortable, you can’t learn and you can’t have a positive experience.
Missy Rentz: Yeah. Angie, I am so grateful to you for introducing us to Indiana State Parks. I can’t wait to get out and explore them. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Angie Manual: You’re very welcome. I appreciate the opportunity to share with folks what they can do around the holidays and what they can do after the holidays. Don’t forget winter doesn’t end until March 21st keep coming back in January and February and March, and the next thing you know, it’s spring.
Missy Rentz: Exactly. Thank you and have a very happy holiday to you and your family and a happy holiday to listeners. Until next time, we’ll see you in the parks.
Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please be sure to like and share on your favorite podcast platform. Music for the parks podcast is performed and produced by Porter Hardy. For more information, please follow us at The Parks Podcast, or visit our website at TheParksPodcast.com.