SPOTLIGHT ON NORTH COAST
“If we look after country, country will look after us.”
Jasmyn Cook is a ranger with the Yawuru Ranger Parks and Wildlife Services, Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions. She is a Yawuru/Bunuba descendant, born and raised in Broome.
What is your job?
Yawuru Marine Ranger
How do you get into it?
My personal experience was opportunistic, there was a restructure in our Yawuru team, the position was open, I have all the experience and qualifications, so I took the opportunity to fill the role.
My entire work life has been opportunistic. When I was a child, I wanted to be the garbage person on the back of the truck picking up people’s bins early in the morning. When I left high school, I was walking to Centrelink to sign up for Newstart allowance when I came across a job advert sticky taped to a light pole, I tore off one of the phone number tags, called the number, the next morning I was in a troopy heading out to a pearl farm for two weeks. I worked for that pearling company full time for 4yrs, I was offered a traineeship to become a Pearl technician. In those 4yrs I went to TAFE and got my Master 5 Skippers ticket. I moved to the east coast and started working as a garden landscaper, then bush regeneration landscaper. I still maintained my job in the pearling industry, returning to Broome for 6 months every year. After 7yrs on the east coast, I moved back west. I Worked as a garden landscaper in Perth for 2yrs. Then moved back to Broome and worked for the Shire as a garden landscaper for 2yrs. Then I applied for a seasonal tour boat operator in Danggu, Geikie Gorge, Fitzroy Crossing with Parks, and Wildlife. I became the senior Ranger for Danggu and ran the Park for 4 seasons. Then there was an opportunity to join the Yawuru team when one of the rangers went on leave for a year. I joined the team and became the Minyirr Buru lead ranger. I have been with the Yawuru team for 5yrs and began the marine role back in July 2024.
What do you love about it?
I love being back on the water, I have a deep connection to my country and the bay, Nagulagun. It makes my Liyan Wirriya. I find a deep sense of peace and fulfilment being back on the water. The Bay energises my mind and soul.
What’s your favourite thing about your local coastal and marine environment?
Roebuck bay is the heart and lifeforce of Broome. It provides munja warli for my family. It provides food and sanctuary to a vast array of different animals, both marine and terrestrial. The biodiversity of the bay is, phenomenal, like no other in the world. From the rich mudflats feeding the shorebirds that travel 10,000’s kms every year, to the migratory humpback whales birthing their calves here. The list goes on. There is so much to learn from the bay, it is vital we protect and care for its health.
Do you have any words of wisdom for other women considering a career in coastal and marine management and conservation?
You have nothing to prove, you deserve to take up space, your opinions and contributions are valid and integral to every facet of conservation. You have innate power to connect and communicate with Mother Earth. Take opportunities and listen to your intuition. We all have to start somewhere.