About the rangers

About the rangers

Moors Valley is a joint venture between Dorset Council and Forestry England.

Dorset Council

The Park and Visitor Centre are looked after by a team of rangers employed by Dorset Council. They are responsible for the management of the country park area including the play areas, lakes, rivers, meadows and woodland extending north up to and including Potterne Wood. They also provide environmental education sessions for school groups, organise and run the events programme and provide visitor services in the Visitor Centre.

The Dorset Council Ranger team at Moors Valley are part of the wider Coast and Greenspace team. Visit the Dorset Council website for more information.

Forestry England

The forest at Moors Valley is looked after by Forestry England and is part of 8,000 hectares of woodland and heath they manage between Dorset and Surrey. For more information on how you can enjoy our forests locally and nationally and to find out more about the work of Forestry England please visit the Forestry England website.

Forestry England are also responsible for managing the Crown lands of the newly designated New Forest National Park.

Both ranger teams are involved in a diverse and challenging variety of work:

Management and maintenance of all the sites – day to day works such as play equipment inspections and litter picking, conservation works e.g. overseeing cattle grazing, tree felling works and maintenance tasks such as repairs to fences and boardwalks. Cycle routes etc.

Visitor services – manning the Information Point at Moors Valley, responding to visitors’ problems e.g. first aid and lost children, providing information such as websites and maps, promotion, running the cycle hire centre, organising exhibitions and interpretative material e.g. panels and leaflets.

Education – rangers lead over 5000 children in educational activities each year these include school groups, clubs and holiday events. Activities include bushcraft skills, pond dipping, fishing, cycling, tree studies, mini-beast hunts and orienteering.

Recreation and lifestyle –  the rangers organise events to get people involved in countryside recreation and to encourage people to be more active. These could be anything from walks and cycle rides to outdoor exercise classes and Nordic walking.