The green amongst the gold
Issued: 30 Jul

In fact, part of the Gold Coast North Ranger teams’ patch is one of Queensland’s first national parks declared under the State Forests and National Parks Act 1906, within the Witches Falls section of Tamborine National Park.

‘This magical area protects remnants of Tamborine Mountain’s plant communities, from rainforest with distinctive piccabeen palm groves to wet eucalypt forest dominated by tall, flooded gums, all providing essential habitat for an array of wildlife within a landscape almost entirely surrounded by urban and rural development,’ Ranger Jess said.

While Gold Coast South’s patch protects a number of national and conservation parks, including Nerang National Park and one of our smallest national parks, Burleigh Head National Park.

‘This small but mighty wild, natural headland in the heart of the Gold Coast protects a great diversity of habitats including rainforest, pandanus groves, coastal heath and rocky foreshores, and offers visitors a chance to see whales in spring, and sea-eagles soaring along the coast.’

‘All up, our team manages around 4,000 hectares, which doesn’t seem like much in comparison to some other protected areas in the State, but when you look at the number of visitors we’re getting to these national parks, it’s very significant.’

‘Burleigh Head National Park alone gets around 1.1 million visitors a year, and it’s only 27 hectares!’

Ranger Jess’ passion for her patch is clear, and she wants everyone to enjoy the area just as much as she does.

‘We want to get that balance of people having that important time in nature for their wellbeing while also still protecting the wildlife and plants that are there. These little green patches of national parks sprinkled amongst the Gold Coast are important refuges.

‘We often get reports of people seeing noisy pittas hopping around in our national parks, and you think, ‘how did this tiny bird get there?’, but they come down from the hills during the winter looking for things to eat.

‘I’m a bit of a bird nerd, so it’s hard to pick a favourite animal but all the birds are definitely up there. The size of a powerful owl is pretty awesome, standing up to 60cm tall, they’re a big bird and they just glare at you and have massive talons. And I’m thinking “I’ll just leave you alone and keep going now, sorry to interrupt your day”. They’re pretty cool.

‘I always enjoy being out on our protected areas, just taking in all the different things you can see. Like seeing some of the wildflowers that only pop up every now and then or seeing the beautiful wildlife, so close to suburbia. It’s pretty special. Lots of little magic moments like that, thinking “oh, look at that today.”

Being surrounded by such an urbanised area and having so many people enjoying our Gold Coast national parks, doesn’t come without its challenges.

‘A lot of the time people don’t necessarily see these areas as national parks, it’s where they go for their morning walk, just like any other council park. So they don’t always understand why they can’t take their dog or bike in there. And unfortunately, there are those that think they can do things they shouldn't be doing in our Gold Coast national parks, like four-wheel driving or motorbike riding where they shouldn't be.’

Ranger Jess has some great, simple advice for any visitor to one of our amazing national parks or other protected areas on the Gold Coast, which would go a long way in helping ensure these special areas remain.

‘Do your research on where you’re going and what is and isn’t allowed there.

‘Our website is the point of truth and is the most reliable, correct source of information for our visitors. Don’t necessarily believe everything you’re seeing on other sites or other peoples’ social media posts. And please pay attention to the signs. We’ve put a lot of effort into writing those, there’s great information on there, so please take the time to have a read.’

Even though the protected areas Ranger Jess and her teams manage aren’t that remote, and are easier to navigate through, it’s still important to let someone know where you’re going and when you’re expecting to be back.

‘Telling someone what your plans are is really important, so if something does happen, they know to send help and emergency services know where to go to look for you,’ Ranger Jess said.

‘Sadly we do get people that create their own tracks or will deliberately go and ram our gates that have ‘no vehicle’ signs on them, to get their four-wheel drives onto areas where traffic could do real damage to the environment. And the time we spend on repairing signs, as well as infrastructure like gates or removing graffiti is time taken away from more important jobs.’

‘And there’s no shortage of those jobs, that’s for sure. A day in the life of a Ranger is never dull. It can be anything from cleaning our visitor facilities like barbecues, toilets and maintaining walking tracks by blowing leaves off so they don’t get slippery, to doing weed control in a particular area.’

‘We have wildlife monitoring cameras out checking for pest animals, like cats or foxes, but also native animals as well and we do health checks at different sites to monitor the health of the ecosystems. At this time of the year, we’re also preparing for planned burns, doing test burning, raking around trees with hollows to protect habitat. Lots of varied work.’

‘We’re also making sure everyone’s visiting safely and doing the right thing, doing compliance checks as well as checking visitor counters, monitoring how many visitors we’re getting so we can make sure we’re maintaining that balance between people enjoying our beautiful national parks as well as ensuring the health of the ecosystems.’

‘Obviously, there's always some administration to do as well.’

In another month or so it will be 18 years of working for Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service for Ranger Jess, starting off her QPWS career as an education Ranger at David Fleay Wildlife Park. She still has a passion for educating our community on the importance of our protected areas.

‘There’s a great sense of pride wearing the Herbie badge and Ranger uniform. By wearing that we’re in charge of protecting those areas and the responsibility that comes with that, and we don’t take that lightly. We’re ensuring they’re protected for future generations.’

‘No tree, no me. It’s pretty simple. Without trees, there’s no way to breathe.’