Meet Our New Crew
Posted on 16 May, 2016 by Connecting Country
For four years now, Connecting Country has assembled an annual Works Crew to undertake planting, weed management, rabbit control and fencing on many of the properties we are working with. The crew for 2016 started just after Easter, and are enthusiastic about the season ahead. We wish to share a warm welcome to Anna Pike, Rachel Campbell and Luke Archer. Once again, the crew is headed up our inspiring Crew Leader, Alex Schipperen.
A warm welcome to our new crew members (L-R); Luke Archer, Rachel Campbell, and Anna Pike. Crew leader, Alex Schipperen, is on the far right.
Let us introduce them:
Anna has studied Environmental Management at university and was a Project Firefighter in Gelibrand. In the long term, Anna wants to become a park ranger, so the plant identification skills she’ll learn with Connecting Country are a top priority. Anna isn’t fazed by the hard work ahead – after spending her summer cutting through fences for fire access, she realises it’s about time she put some up again.
Rachel comes to us from Woodend, where she is an active part of Woodend Landcare’s Thursday Crew. When she heard that the annual koala count in Wombat State Forest totalled zero, she realised some serious work needed to be done and she wanted to get involved. This led to Rachel to undertake a Diploma in Conservation Land Management. Joining the Works Crew will give Rachel the practical on-ground experience she needs to complement her studies.
Luke has spent the past 12 months working with the Green Army, around Daylesford, Wedderburn and Mount Alexander. He’s developed skills in plant identification, weed control and erosion control, which he hopes to expand on with the Works Crew. Luke loves the outdoors, and has visions of a landscaping apprenticeship in the future. He’s most looking forward to learning about seed collecting and helping out with our nest box monitoring program.
Over their time with Connecting Country, Anna, Rachel and Luke will obtain their chemical use certificate, first aid certificate, learn chainsaw operation and tree felling, and their construction industry ‘white card’ induction – all great foundations for future work. For now, however, they are busy fencing off areas in preparation for the planting season ahead. Please do say hello if you see them out and about.
The works crew are an important part of our Connecting Landscapes across the Mount Alexander Region project funded by the Australian Government.
It is so good to see that our students and others have such great opportunities to get some more practical experience. They get quite a bit from our courses but to have the opportunity to follow up with real paid work is great. They can put it on their resume and make them more job ready into the future.
Well done!
Thanks Terri. Unlike many jobs, these positions are designed to give our staff as many skills as possible in the months they are with us. Staff also complete formal TAFE training whilst employed by Connecting Country. This should allow them to go on to other positions with the Conservation industry.
Jarrod