Environment warrior Ben Gladstone recommends other young people join the Green Corps.
By Sarah Schwager
LOCAL young adults with a passion for the environment are being encouraged to help get Western Port back to scratch.
Amid numerous concerns over the health of the bay and its joining creeks and rivers, one group of 17 to 20-year-olds will take on the challenge.
The Green Corps team will work for six months on Walsdorf Creek, an important tributary to the Cardinia Creek, which ultimately affects the quality and health of Western Port, to increase native habitat and improve the creek’s water quality.
As part of the project, the group of 10 will also undertake training in conservation and land management while earning a wage and gaining practical skills and experience.
One local Cranbourne resident, Ben Gladstone, has just completed his six-month training and work experience with the Green Corps.
Ben, 20, finished up on a similar project in the City of Kingston helping to restore and revegetate natural areas.
Graduating with a Certificate I in Conservation and Land Management (CaLM), First Aid Certificate I and several units from Certificate II in CaLM, he eagerly recommended the program to others.
He found out about the project, run by Conservation Volunteers Australia, through a friend and eagerly set out on his six-month traineeship in February.
Ben developed a passion for the environment as a youngster, spending six years volunteering to help clean up Cranbourne Railway Station.
He now plans to work in the environment field, such as at a nursery, as a park ranger or for an environment organisation.
“You learn a lot and get to work as a team.
“I have already asked all my friends to go in it. If could do it again, I would,” he said.
The new project starts on Monday, 27 August.
Recruitment for this project is underway and anyone interested in being part of this new team in the City of Casey can call Sasha Roos on 9326 8250 or email sroos@cva.org.au.
