Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Wittenberg.
Hi Ben, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in the Upper Midwest, La Crosse, WI to be exact. In 2002 I received a B.S. in Recreation and Resource Management from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and soon after graduating, relocated to the Raleigh area. I began my career path with Wake County Parks, Recreation, and Open Space in February of 2003 when I took a temporary, seasonal position with Lake Crabtree County Park. The following February, I was promoted to Park Technician at Blue Jay Point, where I’ve stayed ever since. A couple more successful promotion opportunities, and in the spring of 2015, I accepted the Manager position here.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When my wife and I first moved to Raleigh, we had absolutely nothing lined up: no jobs, no housing, no resources. Essentially, we were just a couple of newlyweds who blindly rolled a U-Haul into Raleigh at 2:30 am along with a dog, cat, and red-tailed boa. This was early November that year, just in time for the crippling ice storm. Wait, I thought we left that weather in Minneapolis?! We found a townhome to rent, though our entry-level positions (her at the front desk of a Hilton Hotel and me as a temporary Park Aide at Lake Crabtree) were just enough to pay the bills. We’d both worked as bartenders in the Minneapolis area; that’s actually how we met and decided to take on second jobs here to help get by. Our 40-hour work weeks immediately morphed into 65-70, which was a lot, but for the time being was manageable. Again, young newlyweds with only a few pets and ourselves to care for. Two years later, we purchased our first home and kept our noses to the grindstone. During this time, I had moved over to Blue Jay Point as a Park Technician with the Operations and Maintenance team, a position I held for 4 years before becoming the Assistant Manager of Operations on my second attempt. Eventually, though, the non-stop work took its toll when at one point I realized I had worked 63 days straight. So, we slowed the pace some and started a family. OK, so maybe didn’t slow the pace, but rather changed the pace. Far from being newlyweds at this point and raising our first child, I finally gave up the Raleigh bartending gig after 12 years. No regrets.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I oversee two Wake County Parks: Blue Jay Point and Green Hills. Essentially, I manage the fantastic staff who care for and provide educational programming at these 2 parks. Budget, recruitment, scheduling, project analysis, and my fair share of operational duties are all part of my work. The one thing I’m most proud of is our staff. We have 7 permanent and several temporary staff who are all dedicated professionals devoted to ensuring a safe, enjoyable, and educational visit for all our patrons.
There are several amenities that make Blue Jay unique within the Wake County Park system. First would be our overnight lodge which has a very specific mission, “ … to offer extended stay, site-specific overnight environmental education experiences” to those who stay. Traditional and home school groups, various scouting groups, environmental groups, and church groups make up the majority of our lodge guests. However, any group can stay there as long some parameters are met. At least one person from the group is required to attend a Leadership Orientation Workshop (LOW), with a 3-year renewal. We also expect that the entire group stay for the duration, with each person completing at least 6 environmental education activities per night of stay. There’s a wide range of acceptable activities that may include use of our Discovery Boxes, environmentally-themed guest speakers, staff-led programming, and outdoor learning experiences that are part of your group’s curriculum.
Packed with exhibits, our Visitor Center is a real gem within the park. All of the exhibits in our foyer deal with water and particularly Falls Lake, which is a dammed portion of the Neuse River. There’s a 3D representation of the Neuse River Basin, an explanation of how lake water is treated to become potable water, a representation of the water cycle, as well as another on the Falls Lake Watershed. Moving down the hallway, you’ll encounter numerous panels offering information on human’s impact on the earth, biodiversity, recycling, green consumerism, and more! Finally, in the Nature Discovery Room, you can see a representation of forest succession, from grasslands to softwoods and, eventually, mature hardwood trees. Additionally, there’s lots of hands-on displays here with information on forest, stream, and field habitats, local bird species and their nesting habits, and finally, multiple posters showcasing local snakes, reptiles, and amphibians!
Another unique amenity is the small portion of North Carolina’s Mountains to Sea Trail (MST) that runs through the park. All told, we have about 5 miles of foot traffic-only trails in Blue Jay Point, including just over 3 miles of the Falls Lake Trail, which is part of the greater MST! This trail blazed in white, runs from our northern boundary with Six Forks Rd to the same boundary on the southern edge of the property and mostly mirrors the shoreline the entire way. The MST runs from Clingmans Dome in the Great Smokey Mountains to Jockey’s Ridge in the Outer Banks and totals nearly 1200 miles!
A fourth unique opportunity at Blue Jay is the Go Ape Treetop Course found here. Go Ape is a relatively new amenity that first opened to the public in March of 2015. At that time, the Treetop Adventure Course was the only option as the Journey Course (originally called the Treetop Junior Course) opened in July of 2016. Go Ape satisfied something that was long missing from Blue Jay’s recreational offerings: a more intense, immersive, and organized form of recreation. Additionally, and one major reason we were receptive to the Go Ape idea, the course is constructed and managed with minimal disturbance to the existing environment. It seamlessly blends into the site and during the growing season, is nearly imperceptible to the average park patron, except for all the laughter, monkey calls, and obvious good times had by participants!
To learn more about Go Ape, course restrictions, age requirements and to book your next adventure, visit their website at: https://www.goape.com/location/north-carolina-raleigh-durham/
Contact Info:
- Website: wake.gov/parks/bluejay
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bluejaypoint
