NATURALIST and TV presenter Nick Baker attended an award ceremony last week, for the first group of teenagers that completed the Dartmoor National Park junior ranger programme.

Nick’s inspirational talk on his life’s journey with wildlife set the scene for the awards in which 12 junior rangers’ achievements were celebrated.

Over the last 12 months of this pilot programme, the junior rangers, aged 13-16, have been working towards achieving not one but three different awards – the Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) junior ranger award, the John Muir explorer eight day award and the Europarc junior ranger certificate.

Helen Jenny, former national park member and passionate advocate of Dartmoor and young people, organised and led the programme as a volunteer, with the national park’s education and ranger teams providing practical support.

The programme was specifically designed for teenagers and also helped to provide a progression for those who have come through the DNPA Ranger Ralph Club route.

The Ranger Ralph Club invited children aged 5-12 and their families to learn about the area while the junior ranger programme allows children aged 12-16 to come along without their parents.

As part of the programme junior rangers had undertaken a range of practical conservation tasks, combined with valuable outdoor learning experiences linked to the environment, as well as outdoor activities such as rock climbing and cycling.

One newly qualified junior ranger said: ‘It was really good to do some work and not be treated like a little kid.’

Another newly qualified junior ranger was Christian from Yelverton.

He said: ‘I have gained an understanding of my local area, its history and its wildlife.’

Kevin Bishop, chief executive of DNPA, was present at the award ceremony.

He said: ‘The junior rangers were inspirational — they demonstrated why the natural environment is important and why we need to provide opportunities for people to enjoy it and get closer to nature.

‘From their presentations you got a very real sense that their experiences will form lasting memories and help shape their future lives.’

Following the success of the 2015 pilot programme it is planned to recruit another group of junior rangers in the New Year, with the first group of junior rangers being offered a chance to stay on and mentor the new recruits.

Orlando Rutter, senior learning and outreach officer for Dartmoor National Park, said: ‘We tried out the pilot last year, with the children who had moved up from the Ranger Ralph Club and joined the junior ranger programme which meant leaving their parents behind.

‘It is a programme for girls and boys but unfortunately we only had boys apply so we need to look at ways to make it more appealing for girls.

‘We will look at running the junior ranger programme again next year and will start recruitment in January ready for the February half term. We want local children to apply, they will need to commit to coming out on 11 events.

‘Last year in December 2014 we held an induction and did something monthly until December 2015, which could be a big commitment for younger children.’

l Pictured are Nick Baker and the newly qualified junior rangers.