From youth ambassador to South Downs National Park ranger…
June 28, 2025
For World Female Ranger Day, we catch up with Assistant Ranger Kirsty Ferris, who went from being a volunteer youth ambassador for National Parks to becoming a fully-fledged ranger.
Why did you want to become a National Park ranger?
Becoming a National Park ranger felt like a natural path for me. The outdoors has always been my happy place. I wanted to give something back to the landscapes I’ve spent so much time exploring and appreciating. It’s incredibly rewarding to help protect these spaces and ensure others can enjoy them just as much as I have.
What was your own journey to becoming a ranger?
During college I decided I wanted to become a ranger, so I applied to do a degree in British Wildlife Conservation and started volunteering with the South Downs Volunteer Ranger Service every Friday. In 2018 I became a youth ambassador for the park and got to take part in lots of exciting projects to help encourage more young people to get involved. The highlight for me was helping to create youth action days, where young people from different backgrounds get together to learn about and help nature, these events are still happening now.
Since graduating I’ve completed an internship at RSPB Pulborough Brooks and worked as a reserve manager at Kingley Vale. But now I’m back where it all started, with the central team of the National Park Authority.
What does your average day look like?
As an assistant ranger no two days are ever the same, and that’s what I love about the job. In just a single week, I might be putting out mink rafts, conducting bird surveys at dawn, or teaming up with volunteers to clear balsam.
What’s the best part of the job?
Working with a range of volunteers, including conservation volunteers, ecological surveyors and the lumberjills (a women only coppicing group). I especially enjoy seeing how proud they are of what they’ve achieved and how it’s helped nature.
Any challenges in the job?
There can be challenges to overcome whilst being a ranger but that’s also what makes it so rewarding.
What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned since becoming a ranger?
You never stop learning. Rangers have such a wide range of work we could never be experts in everything, but we enjoy increasing knowledge about the natural world every day.