Today I had the pleasure of meeting a group of young Green Army participants working to help the Wet Tropics environment recover from damage caused by the yellow crazy ant.
This dedicated group of young Australians is passionate about protecting our precious Wet Tropics against invasive species like yellow crazy ants.
Their project will help to restore the ecological values of areas affected by the yellow crazy ants by removing invasive weed species that have thrived in the areas decimated by the ants.
Other work in the area includes bait stations to control yellow crazy ants next to the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.
There are ten Green Army projects approved under the first three rounds of the Programme that are taking action to tackle and work to control the spread of yellow crazy ants.
Across the ten projects there are up to 100 Green Army participants working hard to combat yellow crazy ants in and around the Wet Tropics.
I congratulate the young people involved in this project whose hard,work will deliver environmental results in and around the Wet Tropics.
The Green Army Programme provides opportunities for 17-24 year olds to train and work in the environment for up to six months.
Green Army projects include restoring native vegetation, heritage restoration, protecting animal habitats and regenerating wetlands in urban, rural and remote areas.
For further information on the Green Army Programme visit www.australia.gov.au/greenarmy
(ENDS)