Insider Guide – Belair National Park

Don­na Fer­schl – Senior Ranger in the Ade­laide and Mount Lofty Ranges region

How would you describe your job to some­one at a BBQ?

Unpre­dictable – no two days are the same. I can go to work with a clear plan and guar­an­teed it will always change. My role is very var­ied, using so many dif­fer­ent skills and experiences.

How did you get into this line of work?

I fol­lowed my pas­sions which are ani­mals and the envi­ron­ment. I worked with wildlife for many years in a cou­ple of roles but there were lim­it­ed career oppor­tu­ni­ties avail­able in Adelaide.

When a ranger posi­tion came up it gave me a career path and led me from han­dling wildlife to pro­tec­tion and conservation.

What do you encounter in a ​‘nor­mal’ day on the job?

There is no nor­mal day on the job, it is so diverse. My day could involve any­thing from office admin­is­tra­tion to being out in the field run­ning school activ­i­ties, trail audits, fire man­age­ment, man­ag­ing vol­un­teers, search and res­cue or facil­i­ty maintenance.

What’s the most amaz­ing thing you’ve seen at Belair Nation­al Park?

Recent­ly, see­ing all the creeks and water run­ning in areas of Belair Nation­al Park that it wouldn’t nor­mal­ly be has been amaz­ing. See­ing native ani­mals in their nat­ur­al envi­ron­ment is always spe­cial, like see­ing bandi­coots in the wild by the vol­un­teer centre.

What are your insid­er tips about Belair Nation­al Park?

Come pre­pared because there is so much to do. Leave enough time to spend the whole day and real­ly explore all the way into the park. Go for a walk, for exam­ple to Amphithe­atre Rock or Echo Tun­nel, and dis­cov­er the hid­den gems through­out the park.

Through­out the month of Sep­tem­ber, Belair Nation­al Park is being cel­e­brat­ed asPark of the Month– an ini­tia­tive between Nature Play SA and DEW.

For more insid­er tips on what to do on your next vis­it, check out5 trea­sures in Belair Nation­al Park.