The latest Green Army recruits have given themselves a well-earned pat on the back, celebrating their efforts towards local nature conservation at their graduation ceremony at Lithgow District and Community Nursery on Thursday, July 21.
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The Green Army is a program organised by the federal government, Skillset in partnership with Campbell Page and Lithgow City Council and is open to people aged 17 to 24 looking to gain experience in conservation work.
It involves a lot of hands-on work and supports our local environment with a number of heritage conservation projects.
Lithgow’s own division of the Green Army has been responsible for things like restoring habitats for threatened species and treating noxious weeds in Lithgow’s Local Government Area.
Environment Team Leader for Lithgow City Council Damon Cupitt commended the latest round of Green Army recruits for putting in some serious hard yards.
“These guys work with a number of professional contractors and it gives them a chance to see if this is an industry they want to be in," Mr Cupitt said.
Being part of Green Army is a full-time job with early starts and a full working week.
For some participants it’s their first big career move after high school.
One of the participants that graduated on Thursday, Lisa Woodward, said it was also a way to make a new friends.
“I think I’ve gotten a lot of self-confidence out of the project,” she said.
Lisa had previously worked in retail and Green Army was a welcome change for her.
“It’s really nice to work outdoors and I find it really fulfilling.”
Green Army will be starting with a new batch of recruits soon and has plans to keep working on conservation projects for at least another two and a half years.
PICTURED ABOVE:
From back: Glenn McHugh, Thomas Staff, Thomas Kennedy, Kiara Thomson.
Front: Lisa Woodward, Lisa Paton, Emma Fitzgerald, Seth Gibbons and Lithgow mayor Maree Statham.
