Welcome to the Jilakin Rock Rangers

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

They provide over 1000 hours of 24/7 coverage at the event each year.

With the 3000 participants, volunteer and crew expected at the 2024 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 for you!

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.

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.

Becoming A Ranger

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

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
  • Be in good standing within the Blazing Swan community

Yep…that’s it!

Types of Ranger

  • Head of Department for Rangers aka “Ranger Wrangler”: Leads the Ranger Ops 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 Ops Team: Experienced Rangers who volunteer some extra time behind the scenes pre, during, and post event to make sure all things Ranger are taken care of and ready for Blazing Swan.
  • Grey Swan: Experienced Rangers who support the Black Swan during shift and help to mentor newer Rangers. Typically these will be members of the 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.
  • 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. 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. Requires Advanced Ranger Training, contact the Ops team to find out more.

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. Additional training is available on-site 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.
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.

Ranger Shifts

Rangers are invited to do 14 hours of event shifts, including at least one Swing or Graveyard shift (6 hours), and are asked to also assist with one of the burn perimeters (Effigy or Temple).

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 signing up here. Note this is for Rangers only.

The most up-to-date information is posted to our Facebook group.

Latest Ranger News

Rangers
December 9, 2023

Ranger Applications OPEN!

The Jilakin Rock Rangers (Rangers) are one of the largest volunteer groups at Blazing Swan.   They provide over 1000 hours of 24/7 coverage at the event each year.   With the 3000 participants, volunteer and crew expected at the…
Read More
CommunityRangersVolunteer
July 26, 2022

Rangerpalooza Training

As part of our new initiative to cross pollinate Rangers our new "Rangerpalooza training starts soon. The Jilakin Rock Rangers follow the same recommendations as Burning Man - we attempt to help other sectors of the Community with Rangering as…
Read More
ParticipateRangers
September 1, 2018

Ranger Training Update

  Howdy Rangers - old, new and in potentia. As promised we've got some Ranger training dates (and Kraken) coming up - mark these in your calendar and make sure you follow the links below to book a spot! Rangerly…
Read More