Becoming a game ranger is ideal for those wanting to pursue a conservation related career, but it does require quite a versatile skill set. Being a ranger does project the facade of being quite a glamorous career. After all, you spend your time…

The exam done and dusted by 9 am so we had the rest of the day at a relaxed pace.

We tried playing rounders/ baseball but that was a disaster as no one good agree the rules and I could see the potential for a Lord of the flies style melt down.

Started…

I went to South Africa for 2 months and did the FGASA level 1 field guide / ranger course. FGASA is the Field Guide Association of Southern Africa. The course was based around a theoretical part and a practical part. 

The theoretical part of the course was on based around a text book which we went through in a classroom setting. Gerry who was the head ranger at Kwantu reserve was our teacher and he went through the book with us. Gerry was amazing, he went through the book pointing out important parts and elaborating on sections. He has so much experience so could give us personal stories to relate to each section. The sections of the book were:

Introduction to guiding in the natural environment

Biomes of Southern Africa

Creating a guided experience (this part was covered in a separate textbook)

Geology

Astronomy

Weather and Climate

Ecology

Taxonomy

Botany and Grasses

Arthropods

Amphibians

Reptiles

Fish

Birds

Mammals

Animal Behaviour

Conservation Management

Historical Human Habitation

The practical part of the course was done with Gerry and the other rangers. When ever we were out on the reserve they would tell us information about everything we saw (animals, birds, plants, grasses, insects, clouds etc.) and would also quiz us on things we saw, asking us to identify everything and give them information about them. This also included sounds such as bird calls or frog calls. This part of the course required us to buy our own books which we would use to identify things. So I had a book on birds which I could use to identify birds I saw based on particular characteristics. 

For the course we also had to do a two day first aid course which had a very very easy test at the end of it. I'll be posting more about the course and be posting more of my photos over the next few weeks so keep checking in.