Our Background
The SANParks Honorary Rangers movement has a rich history. The first volunteers were active in the Kruger National Park as early as 1902, where they helped alleviate the workload of full-time rangers. The organization was officially established on 5 May 1964 but functioned informally until 1987 when the Association of Honorary Rangers was formed with 301 founding members. Rules, uniforms, insignia, and financial structures were adopted and as of 1988, Honorary Rangers were required to attend orientation courses to be accorded official appointments.
Today, there are over 2,000 SANParks Honorary Rangers – all volunteers – based in 31 regions around the country and working in 19 of our national parks.
Over the past 10 years, SANParks Honorary Rangers has provided SANParks with over R248,6 million in public and business donations and volunteer support.
