From the time he fished for Murray cod with his parents on the Murray River banks, and trekked into the southern alps, Simon Stratford has grown to love the outdoors.
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He was in the mountains when he asked his girlfriend, Melissa Kamp, to marry him, and later exchanged vows with her at Mount Buffalo.
After conservation and land management studies at university he worked for the federal government, compiling an environmental impact assessment around Melbourne, the first of its kind on impacts of an expanding urban population.
Then he left for a job he never dreamed of, only to discover a record 290 people had applied for only 11 position as rangers with ACT Parks and Conservation. When told recruiters had whittled this down to 60 he gave himself no chance.
"I wanted to do what I was passionate about, being in the environment and learning about it," he says. Mr Stratford, 33, was one of the 11 people chosen. These days he thinks working at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve is brilliant.
"Every morning I drive through the front gate, wind down the window, the yellow-tail black cockatoos are flying overhead and the mountains are in front of me. It is just magnificent," he said.
Cleaning toilets and collecting rubbish hasn't taken the gloss off working in the mountains, and interacting with people, including an elderly woman who lamented she had never seen a platypus in the wild, until she attended his talk about them at Tidbinbilla, when one surfaced in front of them.
Regional manager, National Parks and Catchments, Brett McNamara said being a ranger was not about managing the environment, it was all about the people.
"What we look for in candidates is people who are very people-orientated. We need people with good inter-personal skills and to be able to educate people as well," he said.
Mr McNamara said everyone from academics to plumbers wanted ranger jobs, and could expect intense weeks during controlled burns, and to help in search and rescues and work in the snow and other extreme weather.
"Our new rangers will help us manage our wildlife; build walking trails; maintain barbecues and toilets in our picnic areas and campgrounds; control invasive pest plants and animals; and undertake fire management works such as controlled burns," he said.
"We look for candidates who possess a knowledge or experience in natural and cultural resource and rural land management and those who can demonstrate life experience, strong interpersonal skills and a desire to learn will also be considered."
Prospective rangers should be prepared to work a roster which includes weekends, public holidays or evening shifts, and wear a uniform.
