Green Army commences new role in maintaining Darwin’s parks and reserves

The first recruits for City of Darwin’s $1million Green Army initiative, have been inducted into their new roles and will start work immediately with a focus on maintenance and beautification, upgrading and cleaning of parks and reserves, laneways and footpaths, weed removal, pruning and tree planting

The initiative was unanimously supported by Council at the last ordinary meeting and launched through four recruitment agencies late last week.

Each Green Army member will be working 6 hour shifts, 5 days a week, with staggered starts throughout the day.

Darwin Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis said that the initiative aimed to provide short term employment opportunities to Darwin residents who had recently lost employment as a result of COVID-19.

Mayor Vatskalis advised “the interest in these roles has been enormous and clearly demonstrates that some members of our community are really hurting at the moment.

“Although we haven’t been able to employ all the applicants, this initiative has been able to provide short term casual employment for 100 locals.”

The Green Army will be split into smaller working groups and undertake works across the entire municipality.

Mayor Vatskalis added “the focus of these works is areas we haven’t been able to access for some time – so our Green Army initiative will provide great outcomes for Darwin residents. Three thousand five hundred trees will also be planted and by the end of June we will have a tidier, cleaner and more attractive city.”

All recruits will be provided with full training and be eligible for the Construction White Card at the conclusion of the initiative on 30th June 2020.

The Australian Government’s COVID-19 social distancing guidelines are adhered by all City of Darwin’s indoor and outdoor workforce and the Green Army will also comply.

For further information go to www.darwin.nt.gov.au/council/about-council/careers/green-army

For further information on City of Darwin’s response to COVID-19 go to www.darwin.nt.gov.au/covid-19