Who are AGCAP Rangers?
AGCAP Rangers are everyday folks who have dedicated themselves to preserving green spaces intended for queer people and/or provide activities, programs, and education to queer people who are adventuring, camping, exploring, or simply enjoying nature. Many of our rangers do not carry the title "Ranger", but are Camp Hosts, Camp Attendants, Groundskeepers, Educators, or a myriad of other key roles at outdoor adventure venues.
How do we support our rangers?
AGCAP Rangers is dedicated to providing opportunities for networking, training, and career advancement for camp and park rangers across North America's gay campgrounds and adventure spaces.
Are AGCAP Rangers really rangers?
By pure definition a ranger is anyone who maintains a park, forest, wilderness, or countryside, AGCAP Rangers not only do this, but demonstrate a commitment to supporting the general public, especially other queer folks, accessing these spaces in a safe and educational way. Yes, our rangers are real rangers. No, that's not up for debate.
RANGER TRAINING
& AGCAP CERTIFICATION
Being a ranger can sometimes mean being prepared for experiences outside your job description and even further outside your paygrade. Nonetheless, every campground needs at least one person trained in basic ranger skills. Ranger Alli and AGCAP Rangers are committed to ensuring that all training they provide is affordable and accessible.
We offer three distinct training modules. To become an AGCAP Cerified Ranger, you must complete all three modules. Each module takes 25-35 hours to complete.
3C's
Clerical, Community, & Commerce
In this module topics include: Processing Permits
What to look for & how to make sound judgements
Presenting to Guests
Best ways to engage, Reading the Room, Tour Tips
Inform & Refer
I Don't Know What I Don't Know, Passing on the Burden Not the Buck, Tips & Resources
Leading through Camper Conflict
Conflict in the Campground, Desculation Tactics, Should I Call for Help?
Patrols & Parking
Ranger Belt for Patrols, Seeing Beyond Presentation, Don't Be A C(A)NT, Parking Attendant Techniques, Vehicles & Campground Safety
E-Prep
Emergency Preparedness: Response & Coordination
First Aide & Health Emergencies
CPR, Basic First Aide, Mental Health First Aide, Overdoses & Narcane, Bloodborne Pathogens
Inclement Weather & Nat. Disasters
Evacuation: When to Make the Call, Can't Evacuate Situations, Sometimes ya Gotta Hide (pt1), Sheltering in Place - Tips & Readiness
Fire: Building, Safety, and Control
Maintaining Order
Crowd Control, Large Event Preparedness, Traffic Control, Lost Person, Protests & Civil Disobedience, Engaging Law Enforcement
We Wish We This Wasn't A Training
Chemical or Gas Spills, Contaminated Water, Active Shooter, On the Edge, Threats of Danger, Drugs and Illegal Substances
W&W
Wilderness & Wildlife
Identfying Plants & Fauna: From the Edible to the Poisonious
Who Shares Your Backyard?
What to do if... (Animal Edition)
Ponds, Lakes, & Waterways - Preservation and Erosion Mitigation
Trail Maintenance and Mapping
Signs, Markers, and Spray Paint
More About AGCAP Ranger Training Modules
All AGCAP Training Modules include condensed versions of these three training modules. We also provide these trainings - available for free to all AGCAP Rangers - each quarter.
Resist, Recycle, Ranger
A 45-minute training focused on the RANGER values and principles. A lot of being a "ranger" is making judgement calls. Our goal is that anyone who completes an AGCAP training has learned and internalized the RANGER values, leading to better judgement.
Training Dates: May
Prioritizing the Mission
During the Covid shut down, I went through some pretty serious personal stuff and found myself out hiking the Smokey Mountains in January, trespassing. I sat at my camp (surrounded by about 9inches of snow) crying, smoking a joint, and writing in my journal, when a Ranger on long skies approached. He looked at me, asked if I was okay, reminded me I was trespassing, and went on his way.
Knowing when to cut a break or how to assess if someone is a risk is tricky and delicate - but getting it right can save a life or, as I know, not worsen an already rough situation. This training explores the notion, "Does this prioiritize my mission?"
Heading
Won't Alway Know
(or get it right)
Rangers may be superheros, but they are not perfect beings. We mess up. We make mistakes. This 45 minute training is a reminder that the world is not solely on us and that to error is to be human.
Accepting responsibility, learning to ensure mistakes do not repeat themselves, doing better in the future, and giving providing grace to others when they mess up is the ranger way.
Heading
Birds are not real. They are cameras controlled by the government to spy on the people. Covid was a way to keep us in our houses while they changed the batteries in the birds. Stay woke friends and #trustnobird
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