Chatham High School’s Troy Clarke, Phoebe Luxton, Malakai Walker along with Taree High School’s Joshua Cochrane and Leeton McIntosh are six months into the MidCoast Aboriginal Ranger School Based Traineeship program.

It is derived from Taree Indigenous Development and Employment’s (TIDE) Parent and Community Engagement initiative and involves weed spraying, cultural training with elders and community members, weed identification, weed removal, marine debris management and workplace health and safety.

Parent and Community Engagement coordinator Sean Ploder outlined the benefits of completing the program.

“At the end they’ll have completed paid work experience, Certificate II in conservation and land management and part of their HSC.

“They could then end up as a field officer in National Parks, council’s natural systems department, land services or in bush regeneration projects.

“Some organisations have Aboriginal employee strategies so they could also apply for those,” Sean said. 

This is the first time the program has run. 

Students, program partners and elders gathered at Saltwater Reserve on Monday, August 13 for a barbecue.

These included Gabby Barlow from VERTO, Sandra Barnett from Training Services NSW’s Way Ahead mentoring program, Amie McElroy from Booroongen Djugun College and TIDE’s Aunty Fay Ridgeway and Natasha Davis.

Sean said each partner has a specific role in ensuring the success of the program. 

Students will complete the program at the end of 2019. 

Sean thanked Biripi Aboriginal Medical Services for the use of a bus and TIDE chief executive Uncle John Clarke.