The LEAD Ranger programme delivers tailored training, long-term support, and mentoring to develop wildlife crime-enforcement leaders and ranger instructors who remain based in the ecosystems they are protecting. Established in 2017 with the vision to develop professional ranger trainers within existing ranger teams, LEAD Ranger leaves a legacy of local trainers onsite to maintain and expand professional skills which are essential for protecting wildlife and each other.
The programme develops confident rangers with the competencies to perform the duties of their role to the highest standard and to instruct their peers in new skills, sustaining change at an organisation level. The programme has shown to reduce ranger casualties in the field, increase access to first aid for rural communities, and reduce funds spent by organisations on training rangers by up to 50%.
THE LEAD RANGER MODEL.
LEAD Ranger utilizes a proven train-the-trainer methodology and is designed to ensure knowledge and skills flow from those directly trained by the LEAD team through to local organisations and surrounding communities, sustaining the potential for change and impact well beyond the initial training provided by LEAD.
The LEAD Ranger curriculum is delivered across four core instructor courses: Coach Ranger Life Saver (4 wks); Basic Field Ranger Instructor (6 wks); Intermediate Field Ranger Instructor (6 wks); and Advanced Field Ranger Instructor (8 wks).
LEAD Ranger is an initiative delivered in partnership between Thin Green Line, Ranger Campus, and Akashinga (formally the International Anti-Poaching Foundation).
With your support we can continue to deliver life-saving training to rangers, their local organisations, and their communities.
Ranger Development.
Early in her career Constance Mwanda was repeatedly discouraged by her male colleagues who told her that being a ranger was ‘men’s work.’ It had been Constance’s dream since she was a child to become a ranger, so she defiantly told them, “Let us women try — we might be better than you!”
When Constance participated in LEAD Ranger training in 2019, she excelled. Having graduated as a Ranger Life Saver Instructor and training her colleagues through the support of her employers, Constance is now a head trainer for a team of over 200 rangers in Kenya.
Flow on Effects.
Prior to participating in LEAD Ranger, Big Life Foundation were training 150 rangers using external consultants at a cost of approximately USD $200k/yr. Following their participation in LEAD training (12 rangers trained), Big Life report that they are currently training their entire workforce (350 rangers) using internal training capacity alone, at a cost of approximately US $100k/yr. Additionally, since receiving LEAD training, no field related preventable deaths have occurred within the Big Life workforce.
Training in Action.
Following their participation in LEAD Ranger, Wildlife Works have reported their patrol team implementing their skills immediately after returning to work. On one occasion in 2022, poachers were fleeing a patrol team and became involved in a serious motorbike accident. Acting on their new knowledge, the Wildlife Works rangers immediately provided first aid including bracing broken bones, to ensure the poachers were stabilised, before transporting them to the hospital. The rangers exemplified LEAD’s heart-to-heart approach where community members, also those involved in illegal activities, are provided the care they need when a Ranger Life Saver is around to help.
Building on the success of LEAD Ranger to date, planning is currently underway to expand operations. In 2023 the LEAD team plans to deliver eight Coach Ranger Life Saver courses, enrol more than 20 new organisations from five new countries, and train over 100 new coaches.
It is estimated that with this additional capability the LEAD programme can reach a further 500 individual rangers with specialised training.
By investing in capability building, we support rangers to achieve their full potential.
LEAD Ranger provides a culturally appropriate, scalable approach to workforce development, helping to prevent ranger deaths and injuries, and reducing training costs for local ranger organisations to ensure long term sustainability of their vital operations.
