Form a lasting connection with nature when you get involved with a Parks Connect program

In late 2024, NPAQ was granted funding from the Queensland Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation to work collaboratively with the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service to pilot an exciting new Parks Connect program in South East Queensland. This funding was continued in 2025, enabling NPAQ to continue to host a suite of events and activities within SEQ’s beautiful National Parks and Conservation Parks, with the program continuing throughout 2026.

Connecting people & parks

Throughout 2026, NPAQ and the QPWS will be actively engaging the public with a raft of hands-on Parks Connect events and opportunities that not only underscore the ‘Connect’ theme in Queensland’s Protected Area Strategy 2020–2030 but also:

    • excite kids and families about our national parks and the fauna and flora that dwell there

    • build a network of dedicated park volunteers and supporters to protect our wild places and welcome and guide tourists and local visitors

    • encourage greater community engagement, enticing a diversity of people from all walks of life into South East Queensland’s national parks to appreciate all they offer

    • help ease the load on rangers and present a recruitment pathway for keen future Park Rangers.

Get involved with one of the fantastic Parks Connect programs listed below and start enjoying Queensland’s awe-inspiring national parks and reserves. 

Junior Ranger

Take your kids on an unforgettably wild adventure when you sign them up for our Junior Ranger events! The Parks Connect Junior Ranger Program operates out of Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Gateway Visitor Centres—David Fleay Wildlife Park (Burleigh Heads) and Walkabout Creek Discovery Centre (Enoggera Reservoir) or from select national parks or conservation parks as part of NPAQ’s Park of the Month. Choose from a range of events that include valuable nature learnings, walks, and creative nature-based tasks that will inspire an ongoing love for conserving Australia’s flora, fauna and wild habitats.        

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Cadet Ranger

An ongoing adventure for youths aged 13–18 years eager to work in wildlife conservation and national park management, the Cadet Ranger provides hands-on conservation learning and real skill. Building natural history knowledge and outdoors bushcraft, the program encourages nature-loving teens to delve deeply into caring for Queensland’s wild places. Cadet Rangers gain knowledge critical to the role of a Park Ranger, including hands-on conservation experiences, ecological skills training and citizen science activities to deepen their connection with our protected areas—all while increasing their ability to work as a team. They’ll also have fun doing it!

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Volunteer Ranger

Are you keen to get some work experience and help maintain our national parks? Maybe you’re an ex-ranger or Friends of Parks volunteer who wants to pass on your natural history knowledge and enrich the visitor experience in South East Queensland’s national parks?

If so, our Volunteer Ranger program is for you! The program equips adult Queenslanders (years 18+) with the skills to engage with visitors and perform day-to-day activities that help our national parks and conservation parks thrive, such as trail maintenance, vegetation management, helping guide tours, and ensuring facilities are well-maintained. 

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Park of the Month

Reconnect with nature and your community with Park of the Month! Set in a different SEQ park each month, Park of the Month encourages everyone to learn more about their local national parks, conservation parks and reserves – and the species that live there. By attending activities and events on park, you’ll improve your connection with nature and your mental and physical wellbeing. Whether guided walks, cultural understandings, citizen science initiatives, birdwatching tours, spotlighting events, demonstrations of how to pack a backpack, bushcraft tips, arts and crafts, damper-making or rewarding nature-based artistic activities, Park of the Month promises to be a refreshing nature-escape to add to your calendar.

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Parks Connect is proudly supported through funding from the Queensland Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation.