Recruitment is underway for Volunteer Community Rangers
We have recently reported to Friends’ members on the planned Volunteer Community Rangers scheme for Richmond and Bushy Parks. The scheme is vital for educating visitors about the Park and discouraging inappropriate behaviour. The Royal Parks (TRP), who will run the scheme, are now recruiting volunteers, to be trained in February/March next year and start work in April. Information on the scheme, a role description and an application form are given below.
The Friends have worked closely with TRP on the scheme and we are delighted it is going ahead.
The Royal Parks charity is looking to recruit 20 volunteers for the first stage of its Volunteer Community Ranger trial.
The trial will start in Bushy and Richmond Parks, the two largest of London’s eight Royal Parks. Together they provide over 3,500 acres of historic parkland and are home to over a 1,000 deer.
Between April and October, the community rangers will aim to improve the visitor experience in both Royal parks by educating visitors on the wildlife and history of the parks and giving tips on how to protect them.
The trial hopes to emulate the success of similar initiatives in the capital including the Park Champions at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and Team London Ambassadors.
Volunteers need to be over 18 and must be able to commit one day a fortnight (on a weekend), between April and October. Full training will be given.
Deadline for applications is 20 January 2019
Tom Jarvis, Director of Parks at The Royal Parks, said:
“The service is being introduced with two things in mind. First, to improve the experience of the eight million visitors who come to Bushy and Richmond Parks, and want to learn more about their nature, history and horticulture. And second, to push our conservation messages of leaving no trace and being respectful to the wildlife that inhabit these parks.
“Richmond Park is a National Nature Reserve, and both parks have been designated by Natural England as Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Protecting the parks, and the thousands of species that flourish here, from the endangered stag beetle to the soulful skylark, is a key aim of this initiative.”
Photo by Anne Ross