Ontario Parks staff tackle a huge array of tasks and challenges.
Our days are diverse. You might find us researching rare species, applying First Aid skills, maintaining safe and healthy water systems, building a boardwalk, or welcoming families to a busy campground.
We’re stewards of our province’s most treasured natural resources. We’re educators, instilling a love of nature in new generations of Ontarians.
Internationally, World Ranger Day celebrates the wonderful work that is protecting our parks, and commemorates park rangers killed or injured in the line of duty in park organizations with high-risk activities.
We’re proud to keep our parks safe and welcoming to visitors, while protecting our amazing natural world.
Take a look at just a few of our everyday heroes:
Janice Niro (she/her)
You’ve probably never seen her, but you’ve definitely heard her voice on the phone.
Janice Niro has been with Quetico Provincial Park for 40 years.
Let that sink in. 40 years!
Janice is the calm, supportive role model that every workplace needs.
She is the Ontario Parks reservation system wizard, the one who makes the coffee, and a friend to everyone: co-worker, outfitter, camper.
When this blog comes out, she will have been retired for two full days, so we figured we could share this photo of her from the 80’s. We are going to miss you so very much!
Nick Ypelaar (he/him)
Nick has been an integral part of Awenda Provincial Park’s Discovery department for the last six years.
On every shift, Nick’s passion for natural and cultural heritage, Awenda, and the Ontario Parks system is ever apparent to park visitors and staff alike.
Lucky Awenda campers and park visitors may have witnessed Nick’s natural curiosity, friendly demeanor, and enthusiasm at a number of Discovery programs and guided hikes at the park.
When he’s not working, he can often be found exploring the park snapping iNaturalist observations to help push Awenda higher up the provincial parks leaderboard, or out late stargazing and taking photos of the night sky.
Kaitlyn Skoyles (she/her)
This is Kaitlyn’s first season with Port Burwell Provincial Park’s cleaning and maintenance team.
She is far from inexperienced though, as she is a lifelong camper herself!
Kaitlyn’s positive, can-do attitude and great work ethic are infectious and she is a team motivator! No matter what job she is doing, you will probably see Kaitlyn at Port Burwell smiling from ear to ear.
Colin Hill (he/him)
Colin is in his third season at Port Burwell Provincial Park as a gate attendant.
Colin is very detailed oriented when performing his duties and he is always friendly and helpful, going out of his way to assist not only the customers, but also his fellow co-workers.
Stephanie Iscaro (she/her)
This is Stephanie. She’s the head gate attendant at the Bass Lake Cluster. Stephanie is a diligent, conscientious, and delightful person.
She has a very positive outlook and is always willing to help out, participate, or take on additional tasks to assist other programs beyond her duties of revenue reconciliation for the cluster and gatehouse supervisor at Bass Lake.
Emilio Wagner Munguia (he/him)
This is Emilio’s first season on the cleaning and maintenance team at Port Burwell Provincial Park, and he is already proving to be an excellent park ranger!
Emilio works hard every day, he knows what is expected of him and doesn’t need to be told. He is always willing to do what is required to help others and this work ethic provides an excellent example for his co-workers.
Caroline (she/her) and Julia (she/her)
This dynamic duo are both gate attendants at Bronte Creek Provincial Park.
Caroline and Julia are park visitors turned staff, enjoying their first summer by welcoming Bronte Creek campers with a friendly smile!
Jaida (she/her) and Addie (she/her)
As part of Bronte Creek Provincial Park’s maintenance crew, Jaida and Addie are kept busy cleaning picnic shelters and collecting garbage, ensuring that the park is safe for both visitors and wildlife.
This is Jaida’s first year with Ontario Parks and Addie’s second.
Nicole (she/her) and Jackson (he/him)
What a great example of park departments working together!
Nicole is part of Bronte Creek Provincial Park’s Discovery team, while Jackson is maintenance. Together, they’ve tackled projects like spring tree planting at the park.
Brittany (she/her)
Brittany is a first-year gate attendant at Ivanhoe Provincial Park.
Her job is to greet campers as they come to the park and help them answer any questions they might have.
Brittany’s favourite part about working at Ivanhoe is getting to interact with friendly people every day!
Jada (she/her)
Jada is in her second year as a gate attendant at Ivanhoe Lake Provincial Park.
Jada’s favourite part about working at Ivanhoe Lake is being able to see the people she grew up with everyday!
Charlotte Westcott (she/they)
This is Charlotte’s sixth season with the Ontario Parks Discovery Program.
She can often be found leading hikes along the Under the Volcano Trail or answering questions in the Visitor Centre.
Their favourite part of Neys Provincial Park is “the Coldwell Alkaline Complex, or the remains of a 1.1 billion year old shield volcano!”.
Yes, Charlotte is definitely into geology!
Kaitlyn Plastino (she/her)
Kaitlyn is a kind, hardworking, and inspirational member of the Lake Superior Provincial Park Discovery Program staff!
This is her first full season at Lake Superior, and she has a passion for all things birds (pictured bringing a Merlin fledgling from the park’s Agawa Bay Campground to a wildlife rehabilitation centre).
You’ll find her sharing this passion with others, doing Discovery Programs about birds, guided birding hikes, community science programs, and so much more!
Keirin (he/him)
Keirin is a Park Store Worker in his first season at Sleeping Giant Provincial Park.
Keirin is majoring in psychology at Wilfred Laurier University, and he can occasionally be found moonlighting as a park interpreter with our Discovery Program!
Ethan Gardner (he/him)
Ethan has contributed to the Darlington Provincial Park team in many different aspects. He has held a number of roles, including park cleaner, manual worker and, most recently, Darlington’s very own park ambassador!
Ethan always goes above and beyond for the park and loves doing what he does. He’s a great team member!
Priya (she/her)
Priya is in her first year of Discovery at Murphys Point Provincial Park.
She loves working in the outdoors and expanding her knowledge of plants, especially mosses!
Jenna Oliveira (she/her)
From ensuring your campsite is ready for your arrival to keeping all areas clean and safe, Jenna’s been contributing to making Voyageur Provincial Park a welcoming place for four years.
She always shows up to work at maintenance with a smile and willingness to help!
Xavier Klosse (he/him)
This summer, Xavier joins the Wasaga Beach Provincial Park team as a Waterfront Safety Officer. During his first season with Ontario Parks, in the summer of 2021, he worked as a gate attendant. Xavier has an excellent attitude and work ethic along with maturity and an impressive ability to deescalate tense situations. These skills and his disposition are greatly appreciated by his team, park management, and everyone he meets.
Hope (she/her)
If you visit Grundy Lake in Spring, you are sure to catch a glimpse of Hope as she hikes through the park in search of turtles!
Hope is the senior park naturalist at Grundy Lake Provincial Park, and when she is not working with Grundy Lake’s Turtle Monitoring Project, she is busy leading the park’s Discovery department.
Hope started at Grundy Lake as a student in 2017 and now she leads her team in putting on interpretive programing, educating parks visitors, and ensuring that ecological integrity is a priority in all park operations.
Say hello to Hope if you see her at a program — and ask her about Grundy Lake’s turtles!
Fraser Moodey (he/him) and Ben Reed (he/him)
This year, Fraser started a new role as Park Program Educator after three years with Ontario Parks. His love and knowledge of the natural world is imparted on the thousands of visitors that attend Discovery programs at Sandbanks each year. If you’re visiting Sandbanks join Fraser on a nature walk to learn more about our dynamic dunes.
Ben is in his third year at Sandbanks Provincial Park and his first year as a Head Gate Attendant. Ben is a dedicated member of our team and spends his days managing the gatehouses and facilitating communications between all departments within the park to help everything run smoothly. If visiting Sandbanks, you’ll find Ben checking in campers or helping bring your canoe on shore.
Ben and Fraser are pictured with a snapping turtle who they have affectionately named “Chris,” after the maintenance staff who found him on the roadway.
Kendra (she/her)
Kendra came to Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park wanting to get more involved with Ontario Parks after working as a forest firefighter with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry last summer.
In her first season as a park warden, Kendra is able to combine her love of the outdoors and providing great customer service to all park visitors.
Kendra is often seen walking the campground making sure everyone is having a safe and enjoyable stay at the park — make sure to wave hello if you see her!
Grace (she/her)
This is Grace’s first year at Murphys Point Provincial Park.
She loves to scoop ice cream at the park store and interact with campers.
Aden (he/him)
As a maintenance student, Aden loves helping to keep the Murphys Point Provincial Park looking nice.
This is his second season on the job! Way to go, Aden!
Kayla (she/her)
Kayla has spend three seasons working in maintenance at Murphys Point Provincial Park.
She loves helping keep the park looking nice!
Emma (she/her) and Kassidy (she/her)
This is Emma’s fourth season and Kassidy’s second season working maintenance at Murphys Point Provincial Park.
Emma loves being out in nature and working with great coworkers, while Kassidy loves maintaining the park and talking with campers.
Delaney (she/her) and Austin (he/him)
While Delaney and Austin work in different departments at Murphys Point Provincial Park, they both share a passion for the park!
Delaney has been with Ontario Parks for five years, and currently works as a park warden. She loves speaking to children about parks and the role of the warden.
Austin, an operations technician, has been with parks for seven seasons, and loves protecting sensitive and at risk habitats and species.
Lauren Daniels (she/her)
This is Lauren’s second year with Ontario Parks and her first year in Discovery.
She delivers park programs to educate and inspire others to make connections with Sibbald Point Provincial Park’s rich biodiversity and unique history.
One of her favourite parts of the job has been watching Sibbald Point’s new pollinator gardens grow and bloom.
Cailey Ward (she/her/they/them)
While Cailey earned their Honours BSc in environmental science and psychology, they developed a passion for connecting people with nature for mutual environmental and mental health benefits. So being a Parks Discovery student at Emily Provincial Park has been amazing for her!
As a Discovery student, Cailey enjoys guiding people on how to explore nature in parks.
Madi Woolhouse (she/her) and Josiah Vandenberg (he/him)
This is Madi’s fifth season at McRae Point Provincial Park and Josiah’s seventh!
They are both maintenance workers.
Together, this dynamic duo is always smiling and lead by example with their everyday can-do attitudes, and willingness to help out with any job big or small.
They are excellent role-models for new student staff and go the extra mile for visitors whenever they can.
A huge thank you to all the amazing staff at Ontario Parks!
Don’t forget to thank our awesome staff when visiting your favourite provincial park.
Already home again? Brighten their day by posting or messaging a thank you to the park’s social media accounts.