By JESSE GRAHAM
THE GREEN Army has marched on through the hills, working to spruce up areas of the Sassafras Creek Forest Trail and bring a damaged footbridge back to life.
The Green Army workers spent last week working at the Emerald end of the 13-kilometre trail, removing weeds, pruning the track and reinstating an old footbridge.
Group leader Martin Forster said the eight Green Army workers had been working in conjunction with Parks Victoria and landcare groups to improve the track.
Using equipment supplied by Parks Victoria, the team has been brush-cutting, removing sycamore weeds and replacing rotten boards on a 30- metre footbridge.
“We’re ripping up all of the rotten boards, putting down new ones and putting down wires so it’s gripping and you don’t fall over,” Mr Forster said.
Johns Hill Landcare Group member Karen Alexander said the Green Army had supplemented the work of local group Meander, which specifically cared for the Menzies Creek and Emerald Tourist Track, and thanked the group for its efforts.
“This group is a great group, a really wonderful bunch of young people – they’re interested, they seem to work hard and we’re really pleased they can be there,” Ms Alexander said.
She said that sycamores were important to be removed along the trail regularly, as they could take over areas if left unchecked.
The Green Army project was established after the Federal Government made its establishment one of their election commitments.
The group began working in the Dandenong Ranges after being launched by La Trobe MP Jason Wood and Environment Minister Greg Hunt in October last year.
Working with the Community Weed Alliance of the Dandenongs (CWAD), the Green Army erected 120 metres of fencing at Belgrave Lake Park last month to protect sensitive platypus habitat.
For more information on the project, visit www.environment.gov.au/land/green-army.
