Almost every kid has lost a treasured belonging, but it’s what 8-year-old Maya Zrihen did afterward that sets her apart.
Maya and her siblings have been collecting Junior Ranger badges on family trips to national parks.
“National parks are very beautiful, and I want to protect them, so that’s why I’m a Junior Ranger,” she said.
To earn free badges, visitors complete various educational activities and pledge to care for the parks. Maya, her big sister Daniella and her little brother Jonathan display the badges on hats and vests they got while visiting Zion.
“They go everywhere with these hats and vests … They’re very proud of being part of this program,” said their mom Mor Zrihen. “They take it upon them(selves) to educate their friends about what they’re learning in the parks.”
So when Maya lost her collection while playing outside last month, she was devastated. But instead of dwelling on the loss, she took matters into her own hands.
“I don’t give up when things like that happen,” Maya said.
The letters
Having seen her mom write to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, requesting badges for Junior Ranger activities, the kids completed when the visitors center was closed during the pandemic, Maya was inspired to write to the parks, too.
“I’m homeschooled, and I like writing letters,” she said.
By hand, she wrote:
Dear Rangers of Arches,
My name is Maya Zrihen and I am 8 years old. I live in South Florida and my brother, sister, and I are all Junior Rangers. Unfortunately I lost my hat with all my badges, including Arches National Park. My family and I visited the park on March 30, 2023. I am heartbroken to have lost my Zion hat and Arches badge. I completed my booklet, earned my badge and swore my oath. I am attaching two pictures for support. I would gratefully appreciate it if you could send me a new replacement badge.
Respectfully, Maya
“She found the envelopes, and she got the stamps, and she researched the address on her own,” her mom recalled. “I just oversaw it, and she drew the badges she lost, and she made sure there was backup.”
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The lessons
Mor had encouraged Maya to go for it. “But you gotta do this on your own. That’s on you,” she said, noting to teach her kids to value and appreciate what they have, “Mommy only buys things once.”
“We purchased the vest and the hat for them so that they can wear them with pride, so they can feel like real rangers, and they do when we travel. But that’s not a need. That’s a want,” Mor explained. “If you lose it, that’s your responsibility to replace.”
The letters allowed Maya to take responsibility, but that’s not all.
“The writing really gave her a chance to practice all the skills needed for writing and literacy. This is an authentic piece of argumentative writing so that she can prove a point,” Mor said. Also, “One of the lessons was to put yourself out there. You never know. ‘No’ is OK to receive as a response, but you never know what response you will get unless you try.”
The response
The rangers not only mailed Maya badges but wrote her back.
“I felt really happy,” Maya said. “I didn’t even know that they were going to send me a letter.”
Arches wrote a note on Maya’s original letter, which Mor is saving in Maya’s homeschool portfolio. Zion included a postcard and expressed sympathy for her lost badge and hope that she collects many more exploring other parks.
“We really love the fact that the rangers took the time to respond back because those are very heavily visited parks,” Mor said, acknowledging that though the badges are free, the responses took time and postage.
Maya had planned on saving up birthday money to buy a new hat and vest set for her replacement badges, but she actually wound up finding her originals after mailing out her first two letters.
What’s next
Now Maya can just focus on earning new badges.
“I want to go to Washington, D.C. (and visit) all the monuments that you can also get badges from,” she said.
Her family also dreams of visiting Dry Tortugas. Mor said she wishes they had learned about the Junior Ranger program sooner and plans to take full advantage of it and the Every Kid Outdoors program that allows families with fourth graders to visit federal lands for free.
“There’s things that you can ever learn from a textbook, but you can learn hands-on,” Mor said. “It truly grows an appreciation for the children to … not just know that you shouldn’t litter but actually see the litter, get upset about it, pick it up, make sure we protect the animals’ environments and see the world as much as they can and appreciate the land.”
“These parks are special, and you need to protect them more because animals live in there,” Maya added.
