Jilakin Rock Rangers

Welcome to the Jilakin Rock Rangers

The Jilakin Rock Rangers (JR Rangers) are one of the largest volunteer departments at Blazing Swan.

They provide over 1000 hours of 24/7 coverage at the event each year with anywhere from 60-100 volunteers making up our crew.

With the 3000 participants, volunteers and crew traditionally expected at the event, we are seeking a large cohort of new and returning Rangers to help us deliver exceptional coverage. Read on to find out if Rangering is right for you!

Community Mediators

JR Rangers are participants who volunteer a portion of their time at Blazing Swan in service of the safety and well-being of the Blaze community. Rangers act as non-confrontational community mediators, providers of reliable information and facilitators of public safety.

Day or night, pairs of Rangers can be found walking the streets of Jilakin Rock City, engaging with the community, enjoying the art and always ready to help sort things out.

What Rangers Do

JR Rangers help participants find solutions to problems that they can’t immediately resolve by themself. They help preserve community welfare, safety and quality of their experience, and uphold the 11 Principles of Blazing Swan. Empathic surfers on the edge of chaos, Rangers rise out of the dust when needed and recede when things can be left on their own. 

Some of the things that Rangers may be involved in include:

• Mobilising medical, fire response, law enforcement or other safety services.
• Assist participants in acclimating to the Blazing Swan environment & community.
• Help agitated and disoriented participants get back to their camps & mates.
• Mediate situations or disputes between participants (without telling people what to do).
• Address and report any instances of non-consensual physical or sexual assault.
• Reunite lost children with their families.
• Keeping roads clear & preventing vehicles from endangering pedestrians, cyclists and campsites.
• Inform participants of potentially hazardous weather situations.
• Observe interactions between participants and outside agencies.
• Maintain safety perimeters and scene control as needed.
• Act as an information resource to the community.
• Build social capital with fellow Blazers as participants and integral members of the community.

Types of Ranger

• Head of Department for Rangers aka “Ranger Wrangler” or “Ranger Lead: Leads the Ranger Operations Team in organising all training, scheduling, Ranger mentoring, and information prior to the event. Primary point of contact for any Ranger concerns and between the event manager and Ranger Ops team.
• Ranger Operations Team aka “Ranger Ops”: Experienced Rangers who volunteer year round behind the scenes to make sure all things Ranger related are taken care of and ready for Blazing Swan.
• Silver Swan aka “Shift Lead”: Experienced Rangers who support the Black Swan during shifts, help to mentor newer Rangers, and give the fearless Ranger Lead some well deserved time off at the event. Typically these will be members of the Ranger Ops team, or trusted visiting Rangers with a wealth of experience.
• Black Swan: Responsible for handling all Ranger radio traffic and marshaling resource requirements identified by Rangers on shift.
• Cygnet: a HQ based role that focuses on assisting Black Swan with interfacing with participant walk-ins and the general running & cleanliness of our Ranger HQ. No special experience is required and is the perfect role for those Rangers who may experience decreased physical capabilities of “walking the dirt”.
• Dirt Ranger: The main body of the Rangers are made up of the volunteers and community members interested in supporting their friends, family, and community. These Rangers work in pairs and travel around the event making sure that all participants are in a safe, respected and enjoyable space.
• Green Dot Rangers: Offer support in more complex situations often involving participants who may be experiencing a challenging time psychologically. Requires Advanced Ranger Training, contact the Ops team to find out more.

Becoming A Ranger

The process of becoming a Jilakin Rock Ranger is simple:

1. Complete the Volunteer Application Form.
2. Read the Ranger Training Manual.
3. Submit the Ranger Training Manual Review.
4. Sign-up for your Ranger Shifts.
5. Attend a face-2-face training session hosted by the Ranger Ops team.
6. Sign up to the Ranger Reflux Newsletter & Official Facebook Group to stay up to all the latest information and to get to know the other members of your crew.

There is no previous experience necessary, but there are some guidelines and expectations that all Rangers must accept and adhere to:

• Applicants must be over the age of 18.
• Be in good standing within the Blazing Swan community
• Must report sober for shift.
• Must wear the supplied Ranger shirt and lanyard for easy identification.
• Should arrive 10 minutes early for shift.
• Should arrive to shift friendly, cheerful, well rested and ready to make a difference.

Ranger Training

Two Ranger training sessions are held for New (“shiny penny”) and Returning Rangers, one roughly six weeks before the event, and one roughly two weeks before the event. Additionally, training is available on-site at the event for those not in the metro area. 

Advanced Ranger Training (ART) events are held periodically throughout the year according to interest and need, and a Green Dot session is held onsite as well as one pre-event in the Perth Metro area if there is enough interest registered through the volunteer intake each year.

Ranger training is open to all, including our Green Dot training, so feel free to come along, or if you’re an existing Ranger you can bring a friend who’s curious about what’s involved.

Jilakin Rock Rangers also recognise Ranger training done through a number of other local Perth events. Currently, we accept those who have completed Ranger Training as a part of “Rangerpalooza Training” within the last 2 years via; Blossom Festival, The Wild Campout, and Pox-Eclipse.

Ranger Shifts

Rangers are invited to do 14 hours of event shifts, including at least one Swing or Graveyard shift (6 hours) to receive a full refund on their Volunteer Ticket price.

We also encourage every Ranger, new & returning, to also assist with one of the burn perimeters (Effigy or Temple). Although, you do not have to be a trained Ranger to assist with a burn perimeter, you just need to attend the Burn Perimeter Training Briefing.

Shift Structure

• Graveyard 12:00am – 6:00am 6 hours
• Morning 6:00am – 10:00am 4 hours
• Lunch 10:00am – 2:00pm 4 hours
• Afternoon 2:00pm – 6:00pm 4 hours
• Swing 6:00pm – 12:00am 6 hours