ANTELOPE ISLAND — What a good boy, Lenny. Not only did you meet more than 17 small and squirmy children eye to eye, you also let the daring among them touch that scaly tail of yours.
One nature program down, many more to come.
Lenny the whiptail lizard just made his debut on the educational circuit at Antelope Island State Park in the hands of caretaker Michelle Croft.
Her warm hands likely had a calming effect on the wiggly cold-blooded creature, Croft tells a group of 8- to 11-year-old girls visiting the island for a class on reptiles and amphibians.
“I think he’s pretty comfortable in my hands, which is awesome. We’re happy about that,” says the park naturalist, who captured Lenny recently in the rocks at the island’s Buffalo Point so he could be part of wildlife programs for children and adults.
Nothing like seeing a real reptile — or any other critter — up close to help people connect with and better appreciate the creatures, Croft says.
Proof of that comes after the program, as Croft carries Lenny to her car in a clear plastic box and a visitor approaches to ask, “What we got?” Croft gently lifts out the lizard and soon a small crowd gathers in the parking lot for a better look at a whiptail.
Introducing folks to tiny reptiles or enormous bison is all in a day’s work for the park’s naturalist, who offers programs on everything from owls to brine shrimp. Croft has also led island hikes, planned star parties, overseen school field trips and taken a turn at manning the visitor center information desk.
A fascination with animals is something this former Ohio resident understands well.
“I remember being 12 and the lady from the zoo came and brought a cheetah (to school),” says Croft, who grew up in Beaver Creek, near Dayton. “I just thought that was the coolest thing in the world. I wanted to be her.”
First impressions
“A naturalist is like a science teacher,” Croft explains to the children gathered in the shady pavilion at Bridger Bay, “but instead of being in a classroom, I have the whole island as my classroom.”
It’s an island Croft had never heard of when she started job hunting in 2009 after graduating with a degree in natural resources from The Ohio State University in Columbus.
She had, however, visited the Great Salt Lake once before and didn’t count it a pleasant experience. The beach near Saltair had a foul smell, it was overrun with brine flies and Croft lost a shoe trying to wade through the mud.
“So my first impression was ‘Eewww!’ ” the 30-year-old says.
Yet, Croft says, when she got a call about a possible job at Antelope Island State Park, she decided to come see what it was like, since she wanted to work somewhere in the West.
“Once I got across the causeway,” she says, “I thought, ‘It’s a beautiful place out here.’ ”
Then, she says, “I stayed (overnight) in the park housing and there was a bison looking in my window the next morning. It’s definitely a very unique place.”
As park naturalist for the last year, Croft says she has tried to help island visitors see beyond common perceptions of the Great Salt Lake — “It’s buggy, smelly and dead,” she quips — and discover the many wonders of Utah’s salty inland sea.
‘Sneaky feet’
Today’s class for a West Point girls’ church group starts with reptiles. The children learn about scales and body temperature and get to touch the skin shed by a gopher snake, the most common snake on the island.
“You should feel it, it’s very cool. It actually feels like paper,” Croft says as she holds out the tissue-thin skin to one child after another.
Next, it’s off for a trek through sand and sagebrush to look for reptiles and other animals. But first, the kids learn how to walk quietly on “sneaky feet” — toes first, then heels — so they won’t frighten wildlife.
The walkers soon discover tracks in the sand and then spy a whiptail lizard, who scampers under a bush for cover.
“It’s really big — it’s bigger than Lenny,” Croft tells the kids as they gather around to spot the reptile. “Good sneaky feet, you didn’t scare him away.”
Later, 11-year-old Brooklyn Dee of West Point says, “I liked finding lizards. It was really, really cool.”
Not so scary
One 9-year-old, however, isn’t quite so sure about the reptiles.
“They’re scary,” says Anna McCormick of West Point.
Snakes, bats and spiders do prompt a fear factor in some, Croft says, but she likes to explain why these critters do the things they do.
“The more you understand, the less afraid you become,” she says.
The snakes, for instance, eat mice and rats on the island, she tells the kids. And the large orb-weaver spiders that the children spotted outside the visitor center — they counted more than 130 — help control insects.
“We like them here. ... If you see one, do not smash them,” Croft says. “They eat mosquitoes, biting flies, biting gnats. We’d rather not have all those biting insects.”
Amber Mason of West Point, an activity leader for the church group, says she wanted the girls to learn about frogs, snakes and bugs “to understand they’re not scary and they have a purpose on this Earth.” She liked the hands-on approach of the program.
‘Jaw-dropping’ wonder
Adding fun to education is important, says Natalie Bagnell, an intern at the park.
“Kids don’t usually notice they’re learning as much as they are,” she says.
Kaitlyn Hartwig, a parent who has attended several programs aimed at home-schoolers, agrees.
“You feel like you’re learning the whole time and all you did was play. ... The kids were just jaw-dropping interested,” the Riverton mother says.
Interpretive programs go beyond “regurgitating facts” and are key to the mission of a state park, says Ron Taylor.
“The outcome of interpretation is to have people leave wanting to know more and wanting to do something about what they have learned,” the park manager says.
At first, for example, folks may be “freaked out” about the orb-weavers, but once they understand the spiders’ role, Taylor says, “Now it’s something you might even bring the kids out to look at.”
Naturalist programs on the island have included animal presentations by Hogle Zoo, Junior Ranger programs and a “Howl at the Moon” hike for people and their dogs.
Winding path
Croft, who will be leaving Antelope Island State Park later in August, started college wanting to be a veterinarian, then a thespian, then a costume designer.
Eventually, she took a class in environmental education and realized, “Oh my gosh, this is exactly what I was looking for. After that, I never looked back.”
“I love teaching, I love being outside and teaching,” she adds. “To be able to connect the two is really great.”
Upcoming Program
• Saturday: “Salty Waters.” Find out why the Great Salt Lake is so salty, and float in the water during this 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Junior Ranger program. Meet at the beach’s outdoor picnic area.
Admission to Antelope Island State Park is $9 per vehicle. The park is west of Syracuse, off Interstate 15’s Exit 332.
For more information, call 801-721-9569.
