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 to injured guests, 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 their wonderful work 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:
Christine Dolan
Chris is the matriarch of Fitzroy Provincial Park, joining Ontario Parks in 1977 and serving over 40 years here. She is the senior park clerk, and worked in maintenance and gate prior to her current role.
Very deserving of recognition, she is a hard-working, supportive, and knowledgeable member of the park team who’s adored by her colleagues. When you ask Chris what her favorite part of her career is she replies, “Everything…but she especially enjoys working with the students because they are fun and keep her young.”
Brianna Lane
This is Brianna’s second summer at Presqu’ile Provincial Park. As the park ambassador, Brianna must know a little bit about everything that goes on in the park, which is no easy feat at a park as busy as Presqu’ile!
Brianna assists the gate attendants on weekends by processing day use and camping reservations and controlling traffic. She helps out the maintenance department with garbage and litter collection, and delivering firewood. She has also learned all about park policies and about the natural features of the park, and provides great information and education to our visitors when she is out roving through the campgrounds and day use areas. Brianna is the definition of a team player and can jump in to lend a hand wherever she is needed.
Brianna’s work ethic, initiative, and thoughtfulness are evident in everything that she does. Her quiet leadership and positive attitude make an impression on both her peers and visitors alike. Brianna says, “My favourite part of my job as Park Ambassador is the variety of tasks I complete every day, and no two days are the same! I also love sharing my appreciation of Presqu’ile’s beauty with the visitors.”
Chris Stromberg
Chris is a backcountry park warden who has called the backcountry of Quetico home for the last two decades. Chris helps to patrol and maintain Quetico’s vast 4718 km2 backcountry by canoe.
The southern border of Quetico’s backcountry abuts the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of the Superior National Forest in Minnesota and Chris works hard to keep the century old connection between Quetico and the Superior National Forest strong by organizing joint portage projects and other partnership activities along the border through his involvement with the Heart of the Continent Partnership.
Chris’ skills extend beyond the backcountry. He’s been integral to the success of Quetico’s events such as the centennial celebration in 2009, annual ski events, and more. Chris has even assisted the park biologist with Lake Sturgeon research on the frozen lakes of Quetico in the winter! Most recently, Chris was a driving force behind Quetico’s successful bid to become an International Dark Sky Park.
Bruce Miller
Bruce has been a dedicated member of our Killbear Provincial Park’s maintenance staff for the past seven years.
Bruce is our all-around handyman, fixing HVAC systems, electrical, and plumbing.
Alyssa Rodwell
As maintenance supervisor, Alyssa is one of our manual workers at Earl Rowe’s escarpment parks, Mono Cliffs and Forks of the Credit. She has been working at Ontario Parks for five year now, and is a valued member of our team.
Alyssa is capable and experienced in a vast number of maintenance jobs that keep our park in excellent condition. Repairs to equipment, electrical issues, plumbing, and even tree maintenance — there really isn’t anything this women can’t do. Thank you, Alyssa, for all of your hard work, enthusiasm, and willingness to share your knowledge with others!
Kevin Cavanagh
Kevin has 31 years of service, and joined Ontario Parks in 1990 as the manual worker. He is a skilled labourer whose contributions have made Fitzroy Provincial Park beautiful and safe for decades.
Kevin is a reliable and strong worker who’s always lending a helping hand with a great sense of humour. Kevin says he most enjoys mentoring new students and watching all the families having fun in the park each year.
Aidan Rankin
Aidan is a hard working first-year student at Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park. His diligent work ethic in his roles in maintenance and as a gate attendant helps to keep our park running smoothly.
Aidan’s favourite part of working for Ontario Parks is getting to work outside every day.
Paige Cashmore
This is Paige’s third year at Kettle Lakes. She always has a friendly face and skillfully helps visitors in the gatehouse.
Paige enjoys meeting visitors from all over Ontario and helping them make the most of their vacations!
Olivia Cacciola and Devon Mundy
Devon and Olivia are exemplary park wardens at Earl Rowe Provincial Park.
Devon’s spent six years at the park, with previous roles as a pool lifeguard and operations technician. Olivia has been at the park for four years, working as a Discovery leader, Learn to Camp leader, and gate attendant.
We are so lucky to have such experienced and dedicated wardens working at our park!
Ian Sernoskie
Ian is the head gate attendant at Fitzroy Provincial Park, and is known for his attention to detail and consistency. He is dependable and ensures the park has smooth gate operations and communication within all departments.
Ian joined Ontario Parks in 2002, and has worked at Algonquin and Fitzroy in resource management, group leadership, and visitor registration. Ian’s favorite part about working at Ontario Parks is helping people, visitors and staff alike.
Maddie Piper
Maddie has worked for Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park for three seasons, doing a little of everything.
She started as a student in the Park Store, worked a season as a maintenance student, and has now worked her way up to be an amazing store manager.
Shea Sivyer
This is Shea’s second season on Port Burwell Provincial Park’s cleaning and maintenance team, and she provides excellent leadership to the rest of her team.
She brings a positive attitude each day, helps others out when needed, and excels at finding solutions to problems on her own.
Mitch Kellar
This is Mitch’s sixth season working for Ontario Parks, and he has been an excellent addition to the Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park team.
Mitch is the parks operations technician. One of his favourite tasks in the park is to clear the hiking trails so visitors can enjoy them safely.
Emma Mintz
Emma has excelled as a member of Killbear Provincial Park’s gates team over the last three years.
She goes above and beyond while helping visitors, and has been critical in teaching new staff the ropes, doing all this with a smile.
Lauren Tiersma
This is Lauren’s first season on the cleaning and maintenance team at Port Burwell Provincial Park, after spending the last two seasons as a gate attendant at the park.
Lauren’s cheery attitude and great work ethic provide inspiration to the whole team. It does not matter the job, you’ll always see Lauren with a smile!
Austin Lane
Austin is currently in his fourth season at Killbear Provincial Park.
He is an incredibly hard-working, valued member of the maintenance team who helps set good examples for other students.
Elisa Torlone
Elisa is Kettle Lakes Provincial Park’s assistant park clerk, and this is her fourth year working at the park.
Elisa has been a passionate and caring leader in the park, helping new staff and welcoming visitors. She enjoys assisting visitors and helping people experience nature.
Peter Wasserman
Peter is a hard-working, knowledgeable maintenance member currently in his first year at Killbear Provincial Park.
A typical day for Peter includes building picnic tables and cutting grass.
Lauren Leng
This is Lauren’s first year at Ontario Parks, and she works as head gate attendant at Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park.
Her enthusiastic and friendly personality create a welcoming atmosphere in the gatehouse for park visitors and staff.
Jordan Brimner
Jordan is a maintenance student lead at Grundy Lake Provincial Park, and has been with Ontario Parks for four seasons.
His incredible work ethic and dedication to the park and his fellow students is an inspiration. Jordan can be seen leading the other students to clean the park toilets and comfort stations to keep visitors safe and happy.
Hannah Dodington
This is Hannah’s third year as a part of Killbear Provincial Park’s Discovery team.
When she isn’t busy researching snakes, Hannah spends her time managing invasive species and identifying insects, as well as maintaining hiking trails.
Liam Bruyns
Liam has played a critical part in Killbear Provincial Park’s maintenance team over the last six seasons. He is always on the go and is able to adapt to new situations with ease. He sets a great example for his fellow teammates each and every day.
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.