Young Australians will be able to help deliver important local conservation outcomes with the first round of 196 Green Army projects formally launched today.
Over the next three years, 1500 projects will roll out across the country, mobilising 17-24 year olds to join the largest ever team of young Australians to support environmental action.
The first year of the Green Army will see 2,500 young people work on 250 projects across Australia. This will build to 15,000 by 2018/19.
The Green Army was a key Coalition election commitment and with $525 million funding over the next four years, the Green Army is one of the Government's major environmental initiatives.
The projects announced today include community-led projects that support practical, grassroots environment and conservation activities while providing meaningful training and skills to young people in the region.
Green Army projects include koala habitat restoration; protecting national heritage places; revegetating river catchments, coastal foreshores, rainforests and wetlands; constructing boardwalks; working closely with traditional owners and restoring culturally significant sites; pest animal management; upgrading walking tracks; and monitoring threatened species.
Participants will be eligible to receive an allowance and can gain Certificate I or Certificate II qualifications in areas such as land management, park management, landscaping or horticulture.
The Commonwealth Government has engaged five highly experienced environmental, recruitment and employment organisations to recruit Green Army participants and help manage Australia’s largest ever environmental movement.
Conservation Volunteers Australia will oversee a number of projects in every state and will be assisted by organisations including Greening Australia. Landcare Australia Limited will assist Manpower Services (Australia) Pty Ltd.
Other Services Providers include Job Futures Limited, Workskil Australia Incorporated, and Campbell Page Limited together with Skillset Limited.
These Service Providers will be responsible for managing work health and safety, training, paying allowances and overseeing project management.
Young Australians interested in joining the Green Army can apply through the appointed service providers for each state and territory. Contact details are available online at:
www.environment.gov.au/green-army or by calling 1800 780 730.
Further details on the programme and a list of the approved Round 1 projects are available at the Green Army website www.environment.gov.au/green-army.
2 August 2014