Recovery for Rangers: beyond the smoke and ashes

Kangaroo island staff with their newly decorated office

The 2019-20 Kangaroo Island bushfire was the largest the island had ever seen, burning almost half of the island, including nearly the entire Flinders Chase National Park.

Amongst those heavily affected were the Rangers and NPWS staff of Kangaroo Island. Many who were fighting the fires while losing their homes, work offices and park infrastructure, along with the native vegetation and wildlife they support.

The 2019-20 Ravine bushfire on Kangaroo Island, photo by Jared Pippos

The South Australian Ranger Association know well that the effects of bushfire can be felt long after the smoke has cleared and the road to recovery for Rangers can take many years. SARA applied for an Australian Ranger Bushfire Support grant following the fires, generously offered by The Thin Green Line Foundation, whose dedication and support for Rangers was unwavering in a time of need.

The $5,000 grant was awarded to SARA and has been spent over the past few years to make sure Rangers on KI were able to feel supported through the personal and emotional toll of such a devastating event. This included funding travel to the mainland so more Rangers from KI could benefit from social time with peers and networking events such as the SARA Annual Migrations.

SARA Regional Representative for Kangaroo Island Matt Angrave thanked SARA and TGL for their support, ‘It’s been really valuable for staff to manage stress through connecting with their mainland colleagues and to have a break from bushfire recovery back home.’

The team on KI were thrilled to use some of the funds to decorate their newly built office and lunchroom this month with photos taken by local Ranger and 2024 photo competition winner, Sam Correll. ‘I’m really happy to donate my photos to help the Rangers feel more at home in our new office and we feel really supported by SARA and TGL through what has been a tough time.’

Glow mushrooms and Jumping spider photos taken at Rocky River by KI Ranger Sam Correll and printed and framed with grant money from the Thin Green Line Foundation to decorate the newly built staff office

Bushfire recovery continues to be a huge workload for the Ranger staff, and they plan on spending the last of their funds on some items to provide fun and cheer around their office and temporary accommodation facilities, including some board games, outdoor games and a Bluetooth speaker to play music.