Andrea Roberts
One of the youngest Dartmoor National Park Authority sector rangers, Andrea Roberts has been looking after Dartmoor for nearly fifteen years. She explained to Nichola why she and her fellow rangers love this remarkable and diverse profession - often a job for life.
A Suffolk lass, Andrea left school and began working for Renault as part of its sales and marketing team. By her early 20s she felt there must be more to life and left the UK looking for adventure. She travelled to Australia, Canada and America over three years, working along the way. In Connecticut she trained as a lifeguard with the American Red Cross and worked in a ‘Camp America’ summer school; in Canada she was a housekeeper at a high-end ranch offering the cowboy lifestyle to tourists in the middle of the wilderness.
On returning to the UK in 2002 Andrea decided to retrain rather than go back to an office and took a diploma in countryside management. The first post she applied for was assistant ranger on Dartmoor. In 2010 she was promoted to sector ranger and ever since has been responsible for monitoring the sector which runs from Burrator to Ivybridge, covering Cadover and Shaugh Prior. There are 15 national parks in Britain, all run independently and publicly funded, although recent budget cuts have meant that all the parks now have to raise additional funds locally. Although sector rangers have their headquarters in Bovey Tracey and an office in Princetown, they are expected to be out and about most of the time. The role comprises many different aspects of moorland management with an ethos of encouraging responsible use of Dartmoor. Andrea is one of eleven rangers covering nine sectors and she is the eyes and ears of the park, on the ground 365 days of the year in all weathers. Her role is both pro-active and re-active with planned events running alongside call-outs while she monitors key, busy areas either on foot or in her vehicle. She says it is important for rangers to have a high-profile, visible presence on Dartmoor. She often travels with her two dogs who offer her some protection as a woman often working on her own, and are also good company.
All of the Dartmoor rangers are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the 500 miles of public rights of way on the moor so Andrea works closely with The National Trust, South West Water and the Maristow Estate as well as individual farmers and commoners. The rangers also organise and oversee many volunteer events from litter picking and archaeological restoration to clearing pathways. Voluntary wardens are assigned to each ranger and on the 4th Saturday of every month Andrea and her colleagues meet the invaluable Roborough Rock Volunteers to tackle erosion, litter picking and clearing vegetation on Roborough Down. With the assistance of the Harrowbeer Interest Group, Andrea uses this opportunity to educate visitors and raise the profile of this valued area. She also assists the emergency services when required, as using her local knowledge to locate people in trouble on the moor or deal with anti-social behaviour is all part of the job. She has been on joint patrols with the Rural Crime Engagement team which is dedicated to challenging misconduct in rural areas. Sadly, another part of Andrea’s job involves tackling fly tipping, dog attacks on sheep and inappropriate use of the land such as driving off road and lighting fires.
One of the joys of her job is meeting the public and Andrea enjoys talking to people at village shows and on school visits, about using Dartmoor appropriately. One of her roles involves running the ranger Facebook and Twitter accounts which are a vital form of interactive communication. With over 4000 followers, social media is a useful tool for the public to report incidents and for rangers to promote events. For many years the ranger team has also run the Ranger Ralph scheme, an activity club for 5 to 12-year-olds, where Andrea and the other rangers take part in hosting events every month such as pond dipping, den building and navigation skills. There are over 800 members and the success of this programme has led to the Junior Ranger course for 12 to 16-year-olds with an interest in ecology and conservation. Fifteen children are selected to assist rangers on appropriate tasks over the course of a year, giving them an enhanced experience of being a real ranger.
Andrea obviously loves her job and enthuses on the outdoor lifestyle that it brings – come rain or shine. The public always tell her how lucky she is to be a ranger, but I think she knows this already; once a ranger, you’re a ranger for life - all day and every day, watching over Dartmoor.
Nichola Williams
For more information visit www.dartmoor.gov.uk; Twitter: @RangerDartmoor; Facebook: DartmoorNPRangers