World Ranger Day 2026 - City celebrates Cape Town’s nature guardians
01 August 2026
Yesterday, 31 July 2026 marked World Ranger Day 2026, themed ‘Rangers: Guardians of a changing planet’. The City of Cape Town’s Biodiversity Management Branch (BMB) is rich with passionate and well educated rangers who protect the City’s nature reserves and have showcased a proven pathway from the City’s skills development programmes to further employment and careers at the City.
The municipality recognises the essential conservation work these individuals do and celebrates how they have pursued exciting opportunities in this field by grabbing a hold of the knowledge and experience the skills development programmes have to offer. Meet Jessica Fielies, Yanga Mbatana and Sindi Mbala, three women who could not be happier with their choice of career.
‘Thank you to all our nature guardians, our rangers, for doing your best to protect the conservation areas and nature reserves across Cape Town and for the passion you have about your roles. The work of our rangers spans from wildlife protection, environmental education and community engagement to fire management. One of the biggest achievements of the City’s Biodiversity Management Branch (BMB) is the transition between job creation (direct employment), skills development and permanent employment opportunities. The branch prioritises on-the-job training for learners, students and interns and makes every effort to provide opportunities for Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and skills development staff. Each year, many of the vacancies in the BMB, are filled by EPWP and skills development candidates or by promotions of previous programme candidates. Each of these jobs or career advancements represents a changed life and new hope for a future in this beautiful city of ours,’ said the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.
Three women whose journey with the City started out in one of the skills development programmes, shared a bit of their story as a City of Cape Town ranger.
Yanga Mbatana from Langa has been with the City for five years and is currently a Heritage Education Officer
Yanga studied Nature Conservation at Cape Town University of Technology (CPUT) followed by an advanced diploma at Unisa and a Bachelor of Science honours degree in Environmental Management. Yanga started out as a candidate in one of the City’s skills development programmes in 2021. Yanga went on to become a Visitor Controller at Rondevlei.
‘I will never forget the first day I started at the Rondevlei section of the False Bay Nature Reserve. Even getting there was an adventure, I had never been there before, let alone did I know it would end up being one of my favourite places! Something I enjoyed as a ranger, was being able to communicate with community members and schools to influence and educate them about nature conservation. I enjoyed seeing how their understanding would improve and their appreciation for conservation increase. Thereafter, I would keep seeing them coming back and enjoying the reserve,’ said Mbatana.
Jessica Fielies from Ravensmead is a Visitor Controller at the Tygerberg Nature Reserve
Fielies started out as a student in the BMB in 2018 and then joined a City skills programme in 2021. In 2023 she became a Field Ranger and was then promoted to Visitor Controller at the Tygerberg Nature Reserve in 2025. Fielies also has a qualification in Nature Conservation.
‘Something I really enjoyed over the past few years, is when I used to be a People and Conservation officer and I would make a point of getting to work very early to start my day with an early morning walk at the reserve. This is when I would often spot a caracal in the very early morning hours, and it’s not very often that one spots this beautiful wild cat. There was even a time that I was called the caracal whisperer. As students, we had loads of fun, getting involved everywhere, doing bokkie captures for example. There was also a time that I worked at our Blaauwberg Nature Reserve where I enjoyed being a part of the coastal environment and walked on the beach by myself early in the morning. Lastly, I found the exposure to wildfire management exciting, just to be a part of those efforts and then planning the scheduled ecological burns was also valuable experience gained,’ said Bastiaan
Sindi Mbala from Site-B Khayelitsha relocated to Atlantis for her current role as a Visitor Controller at the City’s Witzands Aquifer Nature Reserve.
After completing her National Diploma in Nature Conservation at CPUT, she secured a spot in the City’s Kader Asmal Skills Development Programme for three years. Thereafter, she was successful in getting a contract role as a People and Conservation officer at the Helderberg Nature Reserve followed by another role as a Quality Controller at the City’s Westlake Conservation Centre. Her current role is a permanent post as Visitor Controller at the Witzands Aquifer Nature Reserve located at the Atlantis dunes.
‘One of my favourite memories of my time at the City was with the opening of the Helderberg Environmental Centre, which is a green building made up of eco bricks, old tyres and rubble; things that could have ended up being disposed of. Being part of the launch was something new and I was one of the first people to use that new, one of a kind building,’ said Mbala.
Some of the skills development programmes within the Environmental Management Department include:
- Kader Asmal Skills Development Programme, which includes
- Invasive species programme
People and Conservation programme
- River Wardens Skills Development Project
Carbon Smart Skills Development Programme
- Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Students Skills Development Programme
For information on career or training opportunities at the City of Cape Town visit:
Graduate internships, apprenticeships and learnerships.
For more information on careers in Environment Management visit:
Careers in Environmental Management Guide.
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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
