Jilakin Rock Rangers

Community Mediators

Jilakin Rock 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.

Jilakin Rock Rangers.

What Rangers Do

The Jilakin Rock Rangers are Blazing Swan volunteers who help participants find solutions to problems that they can’t immediately resolve by themself. Rangers help preserve community welfare, safety and quality of 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:

• Mobilise medical, fire response, law enforcement or other safety services.
• Assist participants in acclimating to the Jilakin Rock City environment and community.
• Help agitated and disoriented participants get back to their campmates.
• Mediate situations and/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.
• Prevent vehicles from endangering pedestrians, cyclists and campsites.
• Keep roads clear for pedestrians, bicycles and emergency vehicles.
• 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.
• Promote the 11 principles to participants
• Build social capital with fellow Blazers as participants and integral members of the community.

Rangers out walking the dirt.

Becoming A Ranger

The process of becoming a Jilakin Rock Ranger is very simple:

• Complete the Volunteer Application Form
• Read the Ranger Training Manual
• Attend a training session hosted by the annual Ranger Lead

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

• Must be over 18
• Must report sober for shift
• Must wear Ranger shirt and lanyard for easy identification
• Should arrive well rested for shift
• Should arrive 10 minutes early for shift
• Should arrive on shift friendly, cheerful and ready to make a difference

Yep…that’s it!

Ranger applications for 2019 will open later in the year.

Ranger and Black Swan

Types of Ranger

• Ranger Lead: Coordinator for 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 team.
• Ranger Co-Leads: Experienced Rangers who support the lead, mentor Rangers and help pick-up any gaps in scheduling.
• Black Swan: Responsible for handling all Ranger radio traffic and marshaling resource requirements identified by Rangers on shift.
• Ranger: The main force of the Rangers are made up of the volunteers and community members interested in supporting their friends family and community. The Rangers work in pairs and travel around the event making sure that all participants are in a safe, respected and enjoyable space.
• Green Dots: Offer support in more complex situations often involving participants who may be experiencing a challenging time psychologically.

Jilakin Rock Ranger training held at Swan’s Nest.

Ranger Training

Annual Ranger Training for new and returning Rangers is held at Swan’s Nest a month or so before the event.  Additional training is available on-site for those unable to make it. Advanced Ranger Training (ART) events are held sporadically throughout the year according to interest and need. All current Rangers are welcome to attend these if eligible. Click the training name to sign-up.

Training Dates

See our latest training dates over here.

Rangers support the Blaze community.

Ranger Shifts

Rangers will be asked for a minimum commitment of three shifts: 2 x day shifts and 1 x night shift.

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

Stay Connected

Ranger Reflux: The antidote to information overload is a periodic newsletter emailed to all Rangers in the Jilakin Rock Ranger community. You can join this list by emailing a request to: rangers(at)blazingswan.com.au