Volunteer Ranger Program

The South Aus­tralian Vol­un­teer Ranger Pro­gram pro­vides an oppor­tu­ni­ty for South Aus­tralians with a pas­sion for the envi­ron­ment to get involved in activ­i­ties that help sup­port the man­age­ment of our park and reserves and con­nect peo­ple to nature.

Becom­ing a vol­un­teer ranger is a great way to share your knowl­edge, train­ing and expe­ri­ence with park vis­i­tors, while gain­ing rel­e­vant knowl­edge and skills.

Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice South Aus­tralia is look­ing for vol­un­teers who have a keen inter­est in nature, shar­ing their knowl­edge with oth­ers and work­ing out­doors in our parks and reserves.

Please note: The pro­gram is cur­rent­ly focused on recruit­ing peo­ple liv­ing in region­al areas of South Aus­tralia, par­tic­u­lar­ly in the Far West, River­land and Mur­ray­lands, South­ern Yorke Penin­su­la, Mid North, Kan­ga­roo Island, and Flinders and Out­back areas. 

Sound appeal­ing? Here’s all you need to know about being a vol­un­teer ranger.

What will I be doing?

You will be vol­un­teer­ing with a group of like-mind­ed peo­ple to assist and deliv­er a wide range of activ­i­ties includ­ing but not lim­it­ed to:

• wel­com­ing vis­i­tors and pro­vid­ing park infor­ma­tion to cre­ate a safe and mem­o­rable vis­i­tor experience
• rov­ing around park major vis­i­tor sites and walk­ing trails pro­vid­ing park infor­ma­tion to visitors
• deliv­er­ing guid­ed walks and activ­i­ties on local bio­di­ver­si­ty and cul­tur­al history
• assist­ing with pest plant and ani­mal con­trol pro­grams such as weed­ing or staffing gates
• par­tic­i­pat­ing in con­ser­va­tion and wildlife man­age­ment pro­grams such as com­mu­ni­ty plant­i­ng days
• assist­ing with the basic main­te­nance and pre­sen­ta­tion of park facil­i­ties and ser­vices through tasks such as clean­ing, pick­ing up rub­bish and paint­ing signs.

Down­load the Vol­un­teer Ranger Role Descrip­tion.

What skills do I need?

You will need to have:

• a pas­sion for the envi­ron­ment, con­ser­va­tion and con­nect­ing peo­ple to nature
• good pub­lic speak­ing skills and a will­ing­ness to speak to large groups and oth­er park visitors
• ini­tia­tive and abil­i­ty to work with min­i­mal supervision
• a rea­son­able lev­el of phys­i­cal fit­ness and be able to work out­doors in all weath­er conditions
• good com­mu­ni­ca­tion and inter­per­son­al skills
• a pos­i­tive attitude.

What are the oth­er requirements?

You must:

• be 18 years of age or over
• have a cur­rent First Aid Cer­tifi­cate (HLTAID011 Pro­vide First Aid or higher)
• be able to make your own way to the park (either by car or pub­lic transportation)
• have a mobile phone
• be able to attend an online pro­gram induc­tion (pri­or to volunteering)
• under­go a Work­ing With Chil­dren Check and Nation­al Police Clear­ance before begin­ning vol­un­teer duties. There is no cost for these checks.

What are the benefits?

• Train­ing will pro­vide you with valu­able knowl­edge and skills
• A free uni­form is pro­vid­ed for vol­un­teers to wear
• Oppor­tu­ni­ty to net­work with a friend­ly team of like-mind­ed peo­ple from diverse backgrounds
• Learn and apply new skills in a park man­age­ment context
• Share your pas­sion and knowl­edge about the envi­ron­ment with others
• Help vis­i­tors to bet­ter access, learn and expe­ri­ence South Aus­trali­a’s reserves
• Gain exten­sive knowl­edge of dif­fer­ent parks
• Work in some of the most beau­ti­ful and spe­cial places in South Australia
• For overnight place­ments, free accom­mo­da­tion (or camp­ground facil­i­ties) is pro­vid­ed

Which parks are involved in the program?

The Vol­un­teer Ranger Pro­gram is an ini­tia­tive devel­oped by the Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice South Aus­tralia. It was ini­tial­ly pilot­ed at Mori­al­ta Con­ser­va­tion Park and Dhil­ba Guu­ran­da-Innes Nation­al Park in Sep­tem­ber 2019. Since then we’ve expand­ed into parks across South Australia. 

Some of the parks in the pro­gram include:

• Dhil­ba Guu­ran­da-Innes Nation­al Park
• Mori­al­ta Con­ser­va­tion Park
• Para Wirra Con­ser­va­tion Park
• Gran­ite Island Recre­ation Park
• Glen­thorne Nation­al Park- Itya­mai­it­pin­na Yarta
• Deep Creek Nation­al Park
• Mount Remark­able Nation­al Park
• Ikara-Flinders Ranges Nation­al Park
• Belair Nation­al Park
• Flinders Chase Nation­al Park
• Cle­land Nation­al Park
• Lin­coln Nation­al Park
• Mur­ray Riv­er Nation­al Park.

How to join

If you are inter­est­ed in join­ing the Vol­un­teer Ranger Pro­gram fol­low these steps:

• Step 1:Read through the role descrip­tion, cur­rent vol­un­teer oppor­tu­ni­ties and site spe­cif­ic information.
• Step 2:Reg­is­ter your inter­est as a vol­un­teer.
  At this time we are only recruit­ing new vol­un­teers on an ​‘as needs’ basis. Appli­cants that match our recruit­ment needs will be con­tact­ed and invit­ed to attend an inter­view.
  Please note: Our Ade­laide-based pool of vol­un­teer rangers is cur­rent­ly full, and we are focused on recruit­ing peo­ple liv­ing in region­al areas. 
• Step 3: Attend an inter­view
  The Vol­un­teer Ranger Pro­gram Coor­di­na­tor will con­tact suit­able appli­cants to arrange an interview.
• Step 4: Place­ment
  Vol­un­teers will be offered place­ments based on their suit­abil­i­ty for the role, avail­abil­i­ty and any par­tic­u­lar skills or qual­i­fi­ca­tions that are required.

Please note: The pro­gram is cur­rent­ly focused on recruit­ing peo­ple liv­ing in region­al areas of South Aus­tralia, par­tic­u­lar­ly in the Far West, River­land and Mur­ray­lands, South­ern Yorke Penin­su­la, Mid North, Kan­ga­roo Island, and Flinders and Out­back areas.

Enquiries

For any ques­tions, please email VolunteerRangerProgram@​sa.​gov.​au