Welcome to our Tribe: Patricia Crain

Patricia Crain, Class of 2018, Recent Bluestem Chapter Transfer

My name is Patricia Crain, and I have been a nature lover all my life. I grew up in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and even when I was very little I felt that there was too much concrete everywhere. I spent as much time outside as possible and loved to go camping. I was a Girl Scout until I became the troop leader and spent every summer living in tents at Girl Scout camps until I graduated from college.

After college, I had a family and moved to Dallas, and eventually, I moved to the country and took a job teaching math at Sanger High School. I loved my classroom with an entire wall of windows! My students called me “Ranger Crain” because I was always sharing off-topic nature tidbits, and I managed to annoy the whole school by taking my students on “nature walks” around the parking lot.

Eventually, my husband and I were lucky enough to find some property near Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, and when I retired in 2014, it became MY refuge. I joined the board of the Friends of Hagerman, hiked all the beautiful trails as much as possible and discovered my love of birding.

I became a Master Naturalist with the Bluestem chapter in 2018, where I made many friends and enjoyed every minute of the AT and awesome field trips. I followed many of my friends in transferring to the BPMN for the opportunities here, and I am looking forward to meeting new people!

Currently, I manage the Friends of Hagerman NWR website, I create the monthly Featherless Flyer, serve as an admin for the Friends of Hagerman NWR Facebook Page and I am the Chairperson of Communications on the Friends of Hagerman Board of Directors. My favorite form of VH, however, is working in the Hagerman NWR Visitor Center, where I enjoy meeting folks from all over the world, helping them plan their day to see as much nature as possible.