20 April 2015

FEDERAL Member for New England, Barnaby Joyce said young people involved in developing a bush foods and artefact site as part of Stage 1 of a Green Army project have begun on-ground works at Oxley Reserve.

“The project will protect and conserve Indigenous heritage by increasing the accessibility and sustainability of a significant Aboriginal site,” Mr Joyce said.

“The majority of sacred sites in the region are inaccessible to the public and are threatened by invasive species.

“Participants will control weeds, develop walking trails and propagate bush foods to support the development of an experiential learning environment for the local community.

“During the next six months we will see first-hand the benefits and improvements made to our local environment through activities undertaken by the Green Army,” Mr Joyce said.

“These participants will not only be generating real environment and conservation benefits for our community, but they will be gaining valuable practical training and experience to help them prepare for the workforce or further training and improve their career opportunities.”

The Green Army is a key Government commitment with $525 million budgeted over four years.

The Programme will encourage practical, grassroots action to support local environment and heritage conservation projects across Australia, providing training to 15,000 young Australians by 2018. This investment in the Green Army will bring the Government's total investment in natural resource management to more than $2 billion over four years.

Further opportunities to join a Green Army project can be found online at www.environment.gov.au/green-army.