What does a forest ranger do?
A question I get asked a lot.
To be honest, the term “Forest Ranger” means very little. It sounds cooler than what it is most of the time. To some, it means taking care of nature, to others it means picking litter and managing traffic on busy days.
My role in the Forest is technically named “Volunteer Community Forest Ranger”. I soon ditched this when I started because I had a lot of people asking if I was a volunteer myself. No, I am not a volunteer, I wouldn’t put myself through the stress of this shit for free.
In essence, I am a volunteer coordinator and Forest Ranger. My role requires me to build a volunteer program in an Ancient Woodland located in the North East of London, UK. Over the past two and half years, I have learned practical nature conservation skills, which I then went on to teach to a dedicated group of volunteers who give up their Fridays and Saturdays to help improve nature.
I do believe that I have the best job in the forest. I get to work on the ground, creating new projects, building new homes for wild creatures, learning practical skills, and working closely with amazing people who really care. I feel blessed to have been given a chance, even if I felt completely inept when I started.
My colleagues on the other hand, well … their jobs can be a little less glorious. A lot of the time tasks include daily checks where they make sure the “formal areas”(aka where most of the people go) are safe, litter pick (of which there is much of) and then there are some forestry works such as cutting back paths, ensuring trees are safe after windy storms, ensure that coppice cycles are rotated as much as needed - which is pretty cool if you ask me.
The job is far from idealistic and the environmental sector can be quite defeating to work in, especially when your views do not align with the views of your management. Pay is shit most of everywhere you work because this sector is perpetually underfunded. However, we make our job what is it. Trying to build a better team environment has allowed us to get more done and feel like we are making a difference in this tiny piece of the world. It’s refreshing to hear members of the public compliment the good work they see the staff and volunteers do around the Forest. Seeing people from all walks of life get more involved, whether that’s through volunteering, reporting issues, asking questions, or getting curious about this space. I think we need more of that in the world, and I feel blessed to be a part of it.
Yes, some days leave me anxious, defeated, and straight up in the pit of despair. But there are also great sides to it, perks that you can enjoy. Management is hardly ever breathing down your neck telling you to get the next deadline done. Instead, we are dictated by the seasons. Winter is a time for forestry, an exciting endeavor for many. That’s when the chainsaws come out, the hedge-laying projects start, planting new trees, and the big landscaping stuff starts new projects. In a time of the year when most hate their existence because they aren’t getting enough sunshine and vitamin D, we are out there, braving all weathers, to try a get the most exciting things done before nature wakes up again from its slumber.
Spring is usually time for cleaning everything up, big litter picks to get those pieces of rubbish stuck in hedges, mulching tree whips so they can survive a potentially hot and dry summer ahead, and caring for the orchards so they can bear fruits in the summer. I love watching spring roll in. The forest becomes deafeningly loud as the birds pair to mate, the new chicks start to come out and are adorably oblivious, flowers start to bloom, the hedges we chopped up with our axes come into leaf and indicate that we didn’t kill our layed trees, and the forest becomes green once again. it’s exciting to be around this.
Summer, on the other hand, is dreaded. Most people generally do not care for the value of the space they walk through. Litter piles each evening and afternoon, and people feel entitled to park wherever they feel like when car parks are chock-o-blocked. People can become rude and spout verbal abuse to the staff at this time of year. It is a strange dynamic to work in. It’s always when you’ve had the longest day, a day where you have been hard grafting in the sun, bordering heat stroke that these energy vampires strike. You tell someone they can’t have a BBQ (for obvious reasons of trying to not burn the Forest down to the ground in the mid-summer heat when we’re going through another drought) and they start screaming and yelling at you, how they have a right to do whatever they feel like, some threaten you, some are just disrespectful. it is at those moments you have to fight the urge to not scream at them or just burst into tears.
And just like that Autumn comes, kids go back to school, things start to calm. The weather gets cooler, and planning for the winter starts again. And then the leaves fall, the forest becomes painted in yellows, pinks, reds, and browns and all of a sudden every crook and cranny of the forest becomes a growing zone for fungi of all kinds. Each year I learn something new about fungi. Autumn is my favorite, a level of calmness drapes over like a blanket over the Forest, nature starts to slow and take a beautiful transformation into its slumber, and most of those who would disrespect the space in the summer, wouldn’t dare get their white trainers muddy. It is at these moments that you find people who care about the space the most to come along and share what they have seen and found. and winter starts again.
Working as a Forest Ranger is fucking rollercoaster ride. Many ups and and many downs. Depending on the day I can feel blessed or cursed to work here. I am trying to be more positive rather than let myself dwell on the frustrations of missed opportunities and strange management styles. it can be a battle. I’m manoeuvring around which battles are worth the fight. I know that my days in this job are limited, but I’ll take in what I can get before it is time to leave.
