Everything you need to know about being a park ranger in South Australia

World Ranger Day is cel­e­brat­ed annu­al­ly on 31 July to thank the world’s rangers for what they do on the ground to pro­tect nat­ur­al and cul­tur­al heritage.

South Australia’s park rangers have a pas­sion to con­serve and pro­tect the state’s environment.

They man­age nation­al parks and Coun­try on behalf of South Aus­tralians and future generations.

A park ranger’s role is diverse. Each day brings some­thing new and different.

It can vary from cus­tomer ser­vice to pest ani­mal and plant con­trol, to bio­di­ver­si­ty pro­tec­tion and cul­tur­al her­itage pro­tec­tion, to fire man­age­ment and emer­gency response, and then to com­pli­ance and law enforce­ment, project man­age­ment and administration.

Here’s four duties park rangers in South Aus­tralia take care of:

1. Cre­at­ing vis­i­tor experiences

Park rangers work with the local com­mu­ni­ty and vol­un­teers to cre­ate vis­i­tor expe­ri­ences that show peo­ple how to make the most of the state’s parks.

They also help main­tain park facil­i­ties like signs, tracks, carparks, walk­ing and bik­ing trails, shel­ters, camp­grounds, toi­lets, BBQs and playgrounds.

2. Pro­tect­ing native plants and animals

Con­serv­ing the state’s native plants and ani­mals is not an easy task.

Park rangers man­age native veg­e­ta­tion to pro­tect South Australia’s wildlife and biodiversity.

This includes con­trol­ling pest plants and fer­al ani­mals, reduc­ing graz­ing pres­sure, lim­it­ing land and water­way pol­lu­tion, and pro­tect­ing threat­ened species. 

3. Pro­vid­ing emer­gency response

Park rangers pro­vide emer­gency response dur­ing the fire sea­son to help bat­tle bush­fires, as well as pro­vid­ing sup­port inter­state dur­ing bushfires.

Park rangers also assist in park emer­gency sit­u­a­tions, like if a hik­er gets lost or injured.

4. Patrolling the park

Park rangers are on patrol to keep the park safe for all, as well as to con­serve the area. It’s about pro­tect­ing South Australia’s parks for future gen­er­a­tions to enjoy.

Park rangers inves­ti­gate acci­dents, com­plaints and ille­gal activ­i­ties in parks.

Love the sound of being a ranger? Did you know you can now vol­un­teer as one? Check out our sto­ry on the Vol­un­teer Ranger Pro­gram.