AS the summer break kicks off, school leavers, job seekers and GAP year students are urged to put their thinking caps on and come up with some ‘green’ projects for the coming year.
Federal MP Warren Entsch has today launched the Coalition’s ‘Green Army’ environmental plan in Leichhardt, which will see thousands of young people around Australia take on environmental projects to clean up the community.
As well as improving the environment, participants will receive a training allowance, valuable work skills and potential qualifications in different areas of environmental remediation.
“We are asking the community to submit ideas for worthwhile projects,” said Mr Entsch. “It may be cleaning up a local creek, restoring a bushwalking path, establishing a boardwalk or planting mangroves for example.
“I can think of a number of possible projects – revegetation in the Torres Strait Islands after they were denuded by the Beche de Mer industry, the clean-up of floating waste that washes in from the Gulf onto Western Cape York, and various projects around Cairns where ongoing work is required.”
Mr Entsch said it was important for the community to come up with the projects to make sure they are locally driven and are the right priorities for Leichhardt.
“We are keen for local environment groups or councils to be involved. They can work together with the Green Army to get the job done or they may act as co-ordinators for projects which they see as a priority for our area.”
The Green Army will be comprised of teams of up to 10 people, including a co-ordinator, to tackle local environmental projects. Each project may take up to 25 weeks to complete.
The Green Army will be a key part of the Coalition Government’s environment policy if elected, as the Coalition has a strong track record of delivering on-the-ground environmental projects.
“Our area did very well when we had the Green Corps program under the Howard government,” Mr Entsch said. “We can now add to that good work by continuing it through the Green Army.”
For more information, please download the documents below:
1. Green Army Project Proposal Template (Word document)
2. Green Army Frequently Asked Questions (PDF document)
