Skills to ensure spaces

STUDENTS of conservation and land management are rolling up their sleeves to help protect Dandenong Ranges National Park.
Six students from Swinburne TAFE are assisting Friends of Glen Harrow Heights Reserve and Parks Victoria with the management of Belgrave’s Glen Harrow Heights Reserve.
Under the guidance of Parks Victoria rangers and TAFE lecturers, the students are learning how to identify native plants and manage issues such as environmental weed and pest animals within the reserve.
Parks Victoria ranger in charge Matt Hoogland said Parks Victoria placed great value on such projects.
“This is a great opportunity for the students to gain valuable handson experience in environmental management,” Mr Hoogland said.
Swinburne TAFE lecturer Gaye Delisle said the students would receive a wide range of environmental experiences balanced with TAFEbased activities.
“In addition to working with Parks Victoria, there are opportunities for camping, bushwalking, active involvement with local council projects and friends groups,” Ms Delisle said.
Parks Victoria’s liaison manager for the project is Shane Reger, a graduate of the Conservation and Land Management course at Swinburne TAFE.
Mr Reger said a similar project ran last year at Kallista Natural Reserve and it is hoped a similar project will take place next year in Violet Larsen Reserve in Tecoma.
Mr Reger said such initiatives in the region made sense. “You’re doing a conservation course with a national park at your back door it works so well together,” Mr Reger said.
Ferntree Gully resident and member of the TAFE team Cherelle Baldock said she had learned a lot.
“It’s good going through the reserve, seeing what problems there are and how to fix them,” she said.
Miss Baldock hoped the experience would also be useful for her future career.
“I’d like to be a ranger in the Dandenong Ranges. That would be ideal for me,” she said.
The community is invited to a presentation by the students from Swinburne TAFE on the work they have been undertaking at Glen Harrow Heights Reserve.
The information session, which includes a light supper, will take place at 8pm on Tuesday, 15 November at The Barn at Glen Harrow.