National Park Service: World Ranger Day

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Today is World Ranger Day! As a former park ranger and current Volunteer-In-Park, I volunteered at Slater Mill, part of Blackstone River Valley National Historic Park (BRVNHP).

The side of a long, wooden, painted yellow, two-story building with many windows and white trim.

This special day was originally created by the International Ranger Federation (IRF) and the Universal Ranger Support Alliance (URSA). Park rangers around the globe work daily to protect the environment, including plants and animals, along with preserving cultural heritage, such as historic sites like Slater Mill or intangible heritage like dances and stories.

A red painted wooden building on the left and a yellow painted wooden building on the right. Behind and center is a parking lot. A two-story red-painted wooden building behind a small garden.

At BRVNHP, visitors had the opportunity to learn more about the history and ecology of the area by taking a tour and complete several different Junior Ranger badges. The new Junior Ranger packet for Slater Mill incorporates the circular shape of the water wheel and is bound together by cord made at the mill. Other available badges included Junior Angler, a booklet focused on fishing which I completed as a park ranger in Texas, and Junior Birder, another booklet only available at BRVNHP. Four-legged visitors could earn a B.A.R.K. Ranger badge. Visitors could also look through a telescope to spot a peregrine falcon living in a bell tower across the Slater Mill parking lot.

A white tent with no sides, with 'Blackstone River Valley National Historic Park' printed on the side, along with the National Park Service insignia. Underneath the tent is a table with a black table cloth printed with the same words and insignia. On top of the table are signs, Junior Ranger booklets, and Junior Ranger badges. A small, tabletop telescope with the National Park Service insignia on the side.

While World Ranger Day at Slater Mill was fun and relaxing — at least as a volunteer! — the day has a solemn history. Working as a park ranger or volunteer at Slater Mill is relatively safe, but rangers in other parts of the country and the world are at risk. According to The Thin Green Line Foundation, an organization that works with IRF to support park rangers and their families, around 150 rangers are killed in action every year. A combination of higher safety standards, improved laws, and better funding will create a safer working environment for rangers.

Watch the video below learn more, and be sure to thank the ranger during your next visit to a forest or park.