This year NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) volunteers have made a world of difference in our own back yard.
OEH Chief Executive Officer, Anthony, Lean said over 3000 active volunteers contributed thousands of hours working in NSW National Parks, at the Royal Botanic Gardens and Taronga Zoo.
Mr Lean said: "Quite frankly, many of our projects are only possible because of our volunteers' work and what better time to say thank you than during National Volunteer Week."
"The theme for National Volunteer Week is "make a world of difference" and our volunteers truly have done just that."
"We have programs in national parks, working to save threatened animals and plants through the Saving our Species program, transformative bush regeneration work, provide educational and tours, and use digital tools to contribute data to citizen science projects, monitoring and reporting on the world around us.
Mr Lean said: "Volunteering connects people to the environment and heritage and builds the social fabric and resilience of society. It is rewarding to work with like-minded people and share accomplishments."
This year, OEH volunteers helped make many projects successful including:
- Volunteer mountaineers cleared the challenging, historic 15.5km Hannels Spur walking track leading to the summit of Mt Kosciuszko for adventurous hikers and experienced trail runners.
- Our partners 4WD NSW contributed to many key projects where they used their 4WD capability to access difficult terrain and help with challenging problems.
- The new Crescent Head Dunecare group on NSW's North Coast combines local conservationists and young international visitors (many on surfing tours) to remove weeds in the coastal rainforest.
