Spotlighting endangered animals, viewing the Ned Kelly film set and a day out on the water with Parks Victoria were a fitting climax to what has been another successful Diversitat National Green Jobs Corps project.

The team has done a tremendous amount of work for various agencies like Landcare, Barwon Water and Parks Victoria, in addition to spending many hours at Diversitats new Northern Community Hub at North Geelong.Under the overall direction of the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority, the team has built cages in wildlife shelters, constructed long sections of farm fencing, built seating and paving amongst established landscaped areas and planted thousands of trees to help sustain our diminishing Koala population.

As the team had done such a tremendous job over the previous six months, the team was taken to Mt. Rothwell, previously known as Earth Sanctuaries.  The first stop was to view the Ned Kelly film set, from the Heath Ledger version.  For young people developing an interest in construction, it is a very engaging experience to run a rapidly discerning eye over buildings that look authentically constructed in the 1870’s.  Closer examination revealed bluestone blocks made of chipboard, concrete rendered walls are actually made from vinyl flooring, even buildings that appear quite substantial really only have two walls and a roof!

After a hearty BBQ, the team collected torches to head off into the gathering dusk to attempt to spotlight a bevy of highly endangered Australian species that once thrived in the area prior to the coming of Australian settlement.  Animals such as Bandicoots, Potoroos, Brush-tailed RockWallabies were seen regularly, but the real highlights of the night were the Burrowing Bettongs.  These animals have all the charisma and more of a Meerkat and had the audience captivated with their antics and cuteness.

To complete a great six months for the team, a day working on South Channel Fort was undertaken.  This involved boarding a Parks Victoria work boat to motor for 30 minutes to the work site across southern Port Phillip Bay.  Stops along the way included Popes Eye, to view the Australasian Gannett colony, a magnificent, large diving sea bird, which has been seen by divers 10 meters below the surface. It was then onto the Chinaman’s Hat where there is a thriving population of adolescent male Australian Fur Seals.  The seals put on a great display of acrobatics, both in and out of the water.

Once on South Channel Fort, one of the team’s final tasks was to plant 400 shrubs to support the colonies of Little Penguins and White-faced Storm-Petrels.  The real pleasure for the team was exploring the forts tunnels, from which the public is excluded, and checking out the old gun emplacements.  It would have been a terrifying place to face an enemy if the forecast invasion had eventuated.   Once the shrubs had been planted, the Parks Victoria Ranger took the team past Portsea and Point Nepean National Park, skirted The Rip and then headed back to Queenscliff.  What a great day out and something they should remember for a long time.

Diversitat is now recruiting young people aged between 17 and 24 interested in undertaking conservation, farming and construction tasks to gain a Certificate 2 in Conservation & Land Management.  Work clothes and transport is also provided. For more information call Stuart on 0427 885 941.  You must be eligible to receive Centrelink benefits