ERF Newsletter January 24
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Dear European rangers,
Hopefully you have all had a good start to the new year. Let's do all we can to ensure that some levers are pulled in the right direction in terms of biodiversity and all the other goals that we as rangers dedicate ourselves to in our daily work. I would like to take this opportunity to focus on our collective work for our profession itself, to make the voice of rangers heard in conservation policy, enabling each of us to rise to the ever-increasing challenges of our work: protecting nature, halting species loss and, increasingly importantly, engaging people and reconnecting them with nature.
A really hopeful message comes from the experiences that my predecessor Urs Wegmann reported in our interview at last year's Europarc Federation conference: What we rangers have to say is of interest to park managers and conservation decision-makers. So I would like to encourage you all to speak up and at least talk to your park management, association or in any case to us about what rangers really need to meet the growing challenges. Rangers deserve more for the sake of our entire society, so please help us communicate what that "more" should include!
Looking at Moldova, this question seems clear: In the absence of a state initiative, the ranger job is currently being set up by volunteers. How this is made possible by the European ranger network is part of our interview with the initiators. Learning from and supporting each other is also what our ranger training on re-wilding projects and human-wildlife conflicts aims at: up to 14 European rangers can learn from Romanian colleagues who have extensive experience and solutions to these issues.
And with the increasing number of conflicts in ranger work, maintaining mental health is of paramount importance. That's why we're grateful to be partner for a webinar hosted by Thin Green Line Foundation UK on 'Rangers and Mental Health'. The aim is to highlight ways in which conservationists can be protected through the combined expertise of some of the most renowned specialists in conservation and psychology. Speaking of mental health: the letters we sent from Ranger children across Europe to children in war zones finally reached our Ranger colleagues in Israel. How this brought a moment of light into the dark times for their children even inspired a report in the local media.
Please stay hopeful and healthy – for yourselves and for your fellow Rangers!
Urs Reif, President of the ERF
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Where there are currently only state environmental inspectors and too few of them, rangers are urgently needed: In Moldova, volunteers are working with an NGO to develop the ranger profile in order to tackle major challenges such as poaching, cooperation with local communities and environmental education. Two who work closely together here, where the state stays out, report.
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It's actually the place where rangers should be, says Swiss ranger and former ERF President Urs Wegmann – and yet, as a representative of his profession, he was pretty much alone at the recent Europarc Federation conference. He told us what encouraging and activating messages he brought back for his fellow rangers.
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It is cruel enough what is currently happening in the war zones of this world. But it is unbearable to see the suffering of innocent children there. We are therefore all the happier that our letter campaign from children for children in war zones has now also reached our ranger colleagues in Israel in recent weeks, after they had already brought joy to children in Ukraine. Here, too, the letters from 40 children of or with contacts to Rangers have given children light in dark times, as even the media report – including the children of Ranger Ohad Yahalomi, who was abducted more than 114 days ago. A big thank you to all the children who gave hope with these colorful letters!
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Still convinced that each of you rangers has stories to tell that show how your work helps our planet, biodiversity, environmental education and so much more, we would like to ask you once again: Send us your ranger stories! Be it habitat management, monitoring, working with children or something completely different: help us to make the importance of rangers visible so that rangers are heard. And rest assured: your stories are interesting. Not only us, but also the decision-makers in nature conservation policy, who often don't even know what rangers can and do. So, we look forward to your lines, photos and videos to bring your stories to the public!
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The Thin Green Line Foundation UK (TGLF UK), in collaboration with the National Trust UK and the European Ranger Federation, invites all fellow rangers to participate in the webinar Protecting Nature's Protectors: Rangers & Mental Health.
- on Friday, 23 February 2024, 10.00 to 12.00 GMT/11.00 to 13.00 CET
- Access via Teams
On questions like:
- What mental health issues do rangers face in the UK, Europe and globally?
- What are the barriers to putting effective support in place, and what can we do about it?
- Rangers also deal with members of the public that seek places of natural beauty in midst of their struggles. What kind of training and support can prepare rangers to act in such situations?
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We are happy to invite rangers of our member organisations to our training with focus on Rewilding (European bison) and Conflict Management between Local Communities and Large Carnivores in cooperation with the Romanian Ranger Association.
From 25 to 29 March 2024 on these topics:
- Conflicts in the European bison reintroduction area in the Southwest Carpathians of Romania – the Armeniș area
- Solutions and methods of intervention in mountain grazing areas. Training of herding dogs for guarding and chasing wild animals on grazing areas.
- Interventions in conflicts with large carnivores (especially bears and wolves)
Read the message of our Training Officer. And register now to secure one of the 14 places!
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The 10th World Ranger Congress of the International Ranger Federation (IRF) will be hosted by Gardes Nature de France (GNF) on the theme "Empowering Rangers Globally to meet the 30 x 30 Challenge" from 7 to 11 October 2024.
IRF and GNF have been developing topics like
• Marketing and Communications
• Themes and Speakers
• Program and Field Trips
• Sponsorship and Support
• Visa’s and Travel Arrangements
Follow their channels to keep informed!
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