It’s #WorldRangerDay – a day to celebrate the work of rangers worldwide.

Did you know there are more people working as hairdressers and beauticians in the UK than there are rangers worldwide?

Or that there are 80 times more people are employed to protect private property than rangers to protect the world’s life support system?

So today we’re shouting about the vital role rangers play in the conservation of the world’s natural, historic and cultural resources. It is also a day we honour those who have sadly fallen in the line of duty while protecting that precious heritage.

World Ranger Day is commemorated on 31 July because it’s the day that the International Ranger Federation (IRF) was formed in 1992. Each year, the IRF chooses a theme around which communications can be focused. For 2025 the theme is: “Rangers, Powering Transformative Conservation”. The IRF summarises it as ‘re-imagining the role of rangers – not just as protectors of nature, but as partners in community-led conservation. Rangers play a key role in building inclusive approaches that represent and understand local rights, knowledge, and livelihoods. Achieving this vision demands real change: a recognition that rangers are essential to meeting our global climate and biodiversity goals’.

In partnership with the Countryside Jobs Service, CMA’s Linda Nunn has taken a look at World Ranger Day.

You can read the article in full here.