Environmental Conservation Professionals
Protect, manage and restore ecosystems and landscapes, and enhance them via appropriate management and conservation, promote public understanding and awareness of the natural environment and help to develop and implement appropriate policies to achieve these objectives.
A long weekend at the park
You are a park ranger on a coastal reserve at the start of a long weekend, with the campgrounds filling and a hot, windy forecast. It is Friday midday. Cars are streaming in, and a few things in the park need attention at once. You are the only ranger on this side until tomorrow.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
We drove four hours for the coastal walk to the lookout and it says the track is closed. We have kids who have been in the car all day. It looks fine to us. Can you let us through, just this once?
Let them through quietly, since the track looks fine and the kids have been waiting
Other families see them go in and follow. The track was closed because the cliff edge was unstable after rain, and you now have visitors where you cannot see them.
Explain why the track is closed, offer two nearby walks that are open and give the kids something to look forward to
The family is disappointed but picks a short walk to a beach. The kids see a goanna, and the parents thank you on the way out. A no goes down better with a yes beside it.
Tell them the track is closed and that is all there is to say
You are right and the track stays safe, but the family leaves cross and one of them walks around the barrier anyway. A closed sign works better with an alternative.
There is a camper with a fire burning in the pit next to the dry grass. The fire ban was announced this morning, but I am not sure he has seen the sign. I am a bit nervous about telling him on my own.
Ask Dennis to leave it with you, then walk over and explain the ban in a friendly way, helping him put the fire out safely
The camper puts the fire out and apologises. It was handled well, though the ban notice should have been at the campground entrance this morning.
Tell Dennis to ignore it, since the camper will probably put it out soon
The fire is left alone, and a gust scatters sparks into the grass. A small fire is put out quickly, but it was close enough to frighten the whole campground.
Go with Dennis, explain the ban calmly, help put the fire out, then update the notice at the entrance
The camper is embarrassed but cooperative. With a clearer notice at the entrance, the rest of the weekend goes without another fire. Rangers deal with both people and signs.
Feral pigs have been tearing up my fence line from the park side again. I have rung three times. Your colleagues say it is on a list. I am about ready to deal with it myself.
Tell her the control program is already scheduled and she should wait for her turn on the list like everyone else
She waits, the damage worsens, and she complains to the minister. Pointing to a list does not help someone who feels ignored.
Listen, inspect the fence with her, record the damage and tell her when her area is covered
Mrs Whitford feels heard, and her area is moved up the list on the strength of your notes. Neighbours of a park help a lot when they feel respected.
Say you will pass the message on to the pest team and leave it there, since they handle the pigs
The message goes on, but she hears nothing, and her fourth call is not friendly. A few details taken now would have made a difference.
How it went
At dusk the campground is quiet, the track is still closed and a landholder has a name to call. Park rangers look after wild places and the people who visit and live near them. Would you enjoy a job that is part conservation, part teaching and part patient diplomacy?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The frogs in the path of the new boardwalk
A fictional case set in a coastal national park with walking tracks, campgrounds, bushland and a wetland.
The situation
Marlee was an ecologist advising on a new boardwalk through the Gulgong Swamp at the edge of a coastal park. Council had funding to finish before summer, and the route had been planned by the engineers. On her first site visit at night, Marlee heard calls she did not expect and found a rare frog breeding in the exact patch of wetland where two supports were to be placed. The project manager said the frogs were tiny and that they could be relocated if necessary.
What they did
Marlee explained that moving the frogs was not simple and might not work. She mapped where they were breeding over several nights and offered the engineers a new route that kept the supports out of the breeding pools. She worked with the engineers on the sums, and also asked the Traditional Owner rangers about the culturally important parts of the swamp. Together they agreed a path that avoided both sets of concerns.
How it turned out
The boardwalk was finished a little later than the funding plan, and was slightly longer. The frogs bred again that spring. Marlee said the project manager came round once he saw the engineers could solve the problem with a different line on the map.
What would you do?
- How would you convince a team that has a deadline to change a plan?
- Why might it matter who you ask about a place before you build in it?
- What do you think is the hardest part of protecting something nobody can see?