Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 74
INSIDER TIPS FROM SUSAN SACHS
3 OF THE SMOKIES'
BEST-KEPT SECRETS
Secretive amphibians. " If you are in
high-elevation areas with big, wet
rocks facing the sun, look in the rock
cracks for salamander faces staring
back at you. "
Underwater adventure. " Snorkeling
in clear mountain rivers is as beautiful
as a coral reef, especially in the spring
when the small fish are in breeding
colors. But it is cold-I mean, really
cold-so wear a wetsuit. "
Fun with fungi. " If you're into
lichens, this is the place to be. It's a
hotspot, for sure. "
-NH
lems home with me and take things very
personally. It was just really damaging
my psyche. "
Determined to salvage her sanity, she
dropped everything, withdrew her savings,
and backpacked through Portugal,
Israel, Egypt, Turkey and Greece. As a Jew,
she was especially drawn to the Homeland
and the kibbutz, or communal, life
in Israel. At one of the nature preserves,
an oasis in the desert, she gave guided
tours of medicinal plants in English.
" And I was like, 'Oh my God. This is
what I want to do.' "
Eventually weakened by giardia-a
parasitic intestinal infection she picked
up in Greece-she returned to the States
after two adventurous years. But her
newfound crush on nature education
soon grew into a full-blown passion during
an internship at the Audubon Naturalist
Society in Bethesda, Maryland. On
her first day, she accompanied a group of
kindergarteners to a pond.
" The kids were scooping up bullfrog
tadpoles and just screaming, and they
were so excited, " she remembers. " And
again, I was like, 'Yes, this is it. I want to
work with kids.' I knew it was the right
fit for me. "
Over the years, a string of ranger jobs
led her to parks from Virginia to California.
Sachs had never even been to the
Smokies when, in 1999, she was hired
as the first coordinator for a hands-on
GSMNP program at a public elementary
school in Gatlinburg. Moving straight to
Tennessee from her park education director
post in Big Sur, California, was " like
yin and yang, " she says with a laugh. " It
did take me a while to get used to the
Southern way of life. It was more of a culture
shock for me than when I lived in
Israel, to be honest. "
Since then, Sachs has held various
posts at GSMNP, creating citizen science
projects and educational programs
" I'm most proud of helping create the next
generation of 'me's'. " -Susan Sachs
74 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 3
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 4
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 5
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - Cover4
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